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Tyranny Research Paper

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In this essay I will attempt to prove that a ‘typical tyrant’ does not exist as each have their own ambitions. The issue with asking whether there is such thing as a typical tyrant arises from the fact that we must consider what the word ‘tyrant’ actually means. The Oxford Classical Dictionary states, “Tyranny was not a special form of constitution, or necessarily a reign of terror; the tyrant might either rule directly or retain the existing political institutions but exercise a preponderant influence over their working, and his rule might be benevolent or malevolent.” , clearly tyranny is not as simple as the modern connotation of a power-hungry despot. In comparison, the Cambridge Dictionary Online defines tyranny as, “government by a …show more content…

Contrary to the modern view of a tyrant as a warlord, some were actually quite invested in the arts and in building projects. Herodotos records that the same bloodthirsty Periander also supported the poet Arion in his invention of the dithyramb . This suggests another facet to Periander’s character (he is not just bloodthirsty, he is political too) which makes it harder to state that there is such a thing as a common tyrant. Pausanias (AD 110-c.180) comments on Theagenes’ fountain-house at Megara which was, “remarkable for its size, beauty and the number of pillars” ; this show of euergetism and munificence would make a tyrant seem important, powerful and remind the people that he is their leader. Interestingly, the tyrant of Samos, Polykrates paid the poet Ibykos to glorify himself with the quotation, “…and you Polykrates will have undying renown” which is a contribution to the arts and a means of building his own prestige. Thus we see that some tyrants follow a more political and shrewd concept of governance which actually comes into conflict with Plato and Aristotle’s views that a tyrants’ rule is barbaric in nature as these same tyrants use wisdom to craft their personae.

In conclusion, there is no such thing as a typical tyrant as ambitions vary between each tyrant. Thus, a leader such as Pittakos is defined by Aristotle as an aisymnetes which is an elected tyrant whose rule is tyrant-like and non-ancestral meaning that it is not inherited like the Kypselid tyranny. This illustrates the point that ‘tyrant’ is just a label used to depict one-man rule and therefore it is difficult to speak of a common tyrant as they each their own

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