History of the Peloponnesian War

But he, supposing he had rightly understood the oracle, laid hand to the enterprise.

And when the Athenians heard of it, they came with all their forces out of the fields and lying before the citadel besieged it. But the time growing long, the Athenians, wearied with the siege, went most of them away, and left both the guard of the citadel and the whole business to the nine archontes with absolute authority to order the same as to them it should seem good.

For at that time, most of the affairs of the commonweal were administered by those nine archontes.