‭WERE TYRANTS POPULAR?

‬
I‭ntro -‬‭This essay aims to answer the question of‬‭whether tyrants were‬
‭popular in Ancient Greece, spanning from the 7th to the 2nd century BC.‬
‭It will focus on the ‘Age of Tyrants’ from around 670 to 500 BC,‬
‭supporting the thesis that tyrants were in fact popular due to their‬
‭relationship with the general populace and suppression of aristocratic‬
‭power.‬
‭A tyrant refers to “an individual who seized power for himself”‬‭(Dillon &‬
‭Garland, 2010, p257),‬‭which connotes a sense of egocentrism‬‭yet the‬
‭social attitudes towards tyranny are historically and geographically fluid,‬
‭highlighting the significance of this question. Consequently the populism‬
‭of tyrants - their appeal to ordinary people- is debated.‬

‭ ontext -‬‭The political and social climate in ancient‬‭greece during the‬

C
‭age of tyrants‬

‭The age of tyrants was distinguished by instability;‬

‭1.‬ ‭The increase in population‬
‭2.‬ ‭economic + social divisions‬
‭3.‬ ‭resentment towards the aristocracy‬‭,‬
‭-‬ ‭their inherited land owning gave them economic capital - where‬
‭they were able to further increase their wealth + productivity +‬
‭expand trade by “exploiting the plight of the poorest farmers who‬
‭made up a third or more of each demoi‬‭” (Pomperoy,‬‭2020, p80)‬
‭4.‬ ‭Political turmoil‬
‭5.‬ ‭External threats‬
‭-‬ ‭E.g‬‭Alcaus 70: Pittakos’ Betrayal of Alcaeus and his‬
‭Associates‬
‭6.‬ ‭Role of hoplite class‬
‭7.‬ ‭Populist appeal‬
‭8.‬ ‭Methods of seizing power‬

‭Were tyrants inherently bad?‬

‭The relationship between tyrants and ordinary people‬

-‭ ‬ H‭ ow tyrants interacted with general populace‬
‭-‬ ‭Policies aimed at gaining support or maintaining control‬
 ‭ OINT !‬‭The widespread of tyranny in the seventh and‬‭sixth centuries‬
P
‭hints to their favourable acknowledgement by nonaristocrats, who were‬
‭essential to the viability of a tyranny.‬
‭-‬ ‭(‭P
‬ olitics 1310b 13-14)‬‭=‬‭‘ in order to win trust,‬‭tyrants present‬
‭themselves as backing the demos against the oligarchs’‬

‭ yrant‬
T ‭ ource‬
S -‭ his popular interest opposed that of the‬
‭Kypselos of Corinth‬ ‭-7 ‭‬ .10 Nicholas of‬ ‭Bakchiadai, introduced popular reforms,‬
‭(first tyrant)‬ ‭Damascus f57:‬ ‭oracle made him well liked,seen as sensible,‬
‭Kypselos seizes‬ ‭brave‬
‭power‬

‭-‭P
‬ omeroy et al. (2020)‬

-‭ ’During Cypselus’ reign as a tyrant, Corinth‬

‭emerged as the leading commercial centre‬
‭of Greece’ = the link between tyrannies +‬
‭refined culture‬
‭ ittakos of Lesvos‬‭,‬
P ‭ lcaeua 348 (Aristotle‬ ‭Mytilenans chose Pittakos to rule as tyrant‬
A
‭a low born, become‬ ‭Politics‬‭1285a29-b3) :‬ ‭‘against the exiles’‬
‭tyrant/‬‭aisymnetes‬‭in‬ ‭Pittakos Elected as a‬
‭590 BC‬ ‭tyrant‬

‭ OUNTER‬‭-‬‭Not all tyrants ruled justly, some were‬‭prone to corruption,‬

C
‭violence and ruled through fear‬
‭Tyrant‬ ‭source‬ ‭Analysis‬
‭ ippias of Athens,‬ 9
H ‭ .32 Thucydides 6.53.3, 59.1-2 :‬ ‭ o avenge his brother,‬
T
‭528/7 - 510 BC‬ ‭The Harsh Tyranny of Hippias‬ ‭Hippaechos, Hippias killed +‬
‭exiled many‬
‭ .33 [Aristotle]‬‭Athenian Politeia‬
9
‭19.1 : Hippias is ‘Hated by‬
‭Everyone’‬
‭ ionysius the‬
D ‭ .49 Diodorus‬‭Library of History‬ -‭ killed his most influential‬
7
‭Elder of Syracuse‬ ‭13.92.1-96.4: Dionysios I becomes‬ ‭opponents, Daphnaios +‬
‭405-367 BC‬ ‭tyrant in 405bc‬ ‭Demarchos‬
‭-censorship of arts‬
 -‭ heavy taxation = strain on poor‬
‭-control of military‬
‭-‬ C ‭ elebration of tyrannicides = The cult of the tyrannicides (Dillon,‬
‭2010, p338) = drinking songs in praise of tyrannicides‬
‭-‬ ‭Aristotle’s + Aristocrats' opposition to tyrants - seen as unnatural‬
‭political order‬
‭(‭h
‬ ttps://www.jstor.org/stable/26214417?typeAccessWorkflow=login‬
‭)‬
‭JUSTIFICATION -‬‭Clear economic prosperity, more security/protection‬
‭of ordinary people, development of culture etc‬

‭Thucydides 1.13.1, 17.1: Tyranny and the Achievements of Tyrants‬

‭-‬ ‭“Relates the development of trade + growing economy to the‬
‭emergence of tyranny”‬‭(dillon),‬‭‘Security is sought‬‭out as a by‬
‭product of the tyrants’ only concern, which was for their own‬
‭physical safety and increase of their family’s power, thus helps the‬
‭people’‬
‭The relationship between tyrants and the aristocracy‬

‭POINT -‬‭Clear suppression of aristocratic power‬

‭Tyrant‬ ‭Source‬ ‭Analysis‬

‭Periander of Corinth (294)‬
‭ erodotos‬
H -‭ reduced influence of the‬
‭5.92f.1-92g.1:‬ ‭assembly‬
‭Periander and‬ ‭-network of spies‬
‭Thrasyboulos‬ ‭-control + censorship‬
‭-led with fear “murder the‬
‭ icholas of‬
N ‭pre-eminent citizens”‬
‭Damascus F58.1:‬ ‭-killed his own wife‬
‭Further Evidence for‬
‭Periander’s Methods‬

‭ OUNTER‬‭-‬ ‭Despite usurping power, some tyrants stuck to the political‬

C
‭framework already set in place and instead enhanced it with their‬
‭presence;‬
‭-‬ ‭‘Tyranny paving the way to democracy’‬
‭Tyrant‬ ‭Source‬ ‭Analysis‬
‭ eisistratos‬‭of‬
P ‭ erodotos 1.59.3-6: Peisistratos as‬ “‭ Peisistratos was master of the‬
H
‭athens‬ ‭a ‘national hero’‬ ‭Athenians, but he neither‬
‭561 BC‬ ‭disturbed the existing‬
‭546-528 BC‬ ‭Solon‬‭Poems‬‭9-11: ‘Time will prove‬ ‭magistracies nor changed the‬
‭my madness’‬‭(disagree with primary‬ ‭laws, and governed the city in‬
‭evidence + counter with..)‬‭Plutarch‬ ‭accordance with the status quo‬
‭Solon‬‭30.5, 31.2-5: Peisistratos‬ ‭and made it fine and beautiful”‬
‭preserves solon’s politeia‬

‭His positive impact:‬

‭1.‬ ‭Infrastructure development‬
‭in Athens = funded‬
‭aqueducts, bringing in‬
‭reliable water supply,‬
‭facilitated trade through‬
‭development of‬
‭infrastructure, began the‬
‭construction of the Temple‬
‭of Olympian Zeus and‬
‭Propylaea‬
‭2.‬ ‭Promotion of the‬
‭[Aristotle]‬‭Athenian Politeia‬‭16.1-10‬ ‭Panathenaic festival‬
‭: The ‘Golden Age’ of Peisistratus‬ ‭3.‬ ‭Social welfare + Political‬
‭(linked to 3)‬ ‭Reforms‬

‭ USTIFICATION‬‭- Overwhelming opposition to Tyrannies with the‬

J
‭change in political climate in Ancient Greece undermined the populism‬
‭of tyrants;‬
‭-‬ ‭Persian wars‬
‭-‬ ‭Change in political philosophy - increasing popularity of Aristotle +‬
‭plato = critiqued tyranny‬
‭7.70 Aristotle‬‭Politics‬‭1315b11-18, 1315b21-39: The short lived‬
‭nature of Tyranny‬
‭-‬ ‭Emergence of democracy in Athens + revival of oligarchy‬

‭Longevity and Regional Variation‬

 ‭-‬ ‭Contrasting the experience of tyrants in different city state‬

‭Athens‬ ‭Corinth‬ ‭Samos‬ ‭Sicily‬ ‭Argos‬

‭ - The different types of tyranny + forms it took, democratic vs‬

P
‭authoritarian,‬
‭P - how + why tyranny developed, role of reforms + culture in shaping a‬
‭tyrant's popularity + role of repression + violence in shaping a tyrant’s‬
‭unpopularity‬

‭Conclusion -‬‭Tyrants were popular.‬