A tyrant, from the Ancient Greek word týrannos meaning "absolute ruler," is a ruler who is not limited by laws or who has taken power from a rightful leader. Tyrants are often described as cruel and may use harsh methods to stay in control. The original Greek term referred to an absolute ruler who gained power without legal right. However, during the Archaic and early Classical periods, the term had a neutral meaning. Later, the Greek philosopher Plato viewed tyranny as a bad form of government and called it the "fourth and worst disorder of a state."

Philosophers Plato and Aristotle described a tyrant as someone who rules without following laws and uses extreme and cruel methods against people. The Encyclopédie defined a tyrant as someone who takes over a ruler's power and forces people to suffer from the tyrant's personal desires instead of following laws. In the late fifth and fourth centuries BC, a new kind of tyrant appeared in Sicily, supported by the military.

The term "tyranny" can be used to describe different types of governments.

Etymology

The English word "tyrant" was first used in Middle English, borrowed from Old French, around the 1290s. It comes from the Latin word "tyrannus," which meant "unlawful ruler." This Latin word is based on the Greek word "túrannos," meaning "monarch or ruler of a city-state." The Greek word may have originally come from the Lydian language. The ending "-t" in the word appeared in Old French because of its connection to words ending in "-ant."

Definition

The word "tyranny" has several meanings, used not only by the Greeks but also in the study of important books throughout history. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it can mean a ruler, a ruler without proper authority, a ruler with total power, or a ruler who acts in a harsh, unfair, or cruel way. The term is often used to describe rulers who govern their people using violent or cruel methods. Scholar Paul Rahe has stated that tyrannical rule, in different ways, has been common throughout human history and that it is unlikely to end.

Greco-Roman culture

Ancient Greek and Sicilian tyrants were powerful leaders who gained control by gaining support from different groups within a city. The word tyrannos, which may have come from older languages, was used to describe anyone who took power in a city through methods not allowed by the law.

Greek tyrants often stayed in power by hiring soldiers from other cities. A thinker named Thales once said that the strangest thing to see is an old tyrant, suggesting that tyrants usually lost support over time.

One of the first recorded uses of the word tyrant was by the poet Archilochus, who used it to describe King Gyges of Lydia. Gyges became ruler by killing the king and taking his queen as his wife.

Tyrants were common in the early 6th century BC. During this time, Cleisthenes ruled Sicyon, and Polycrates ruled Samos. Many governments in the Aegean region were overthrown during revolts. Chilon, a leader in Sparta, helped unite nearby states to oppose tyrants. Sparta’s actions against tyrants in Sicyon, Corinth, and Athens helped it become a leading power before the Persian invasions. At the same time, some tyrants sought help from Persia to fight against groups trying to remove them.

Corinth had one of the earliest Greek tyrants. As Corinth grew wealthier from trade and military campaigns, conditions became right for Cypselus to overthrow the powerful but unpopular Bacchiadae clan in 657 BC. Cypselus ruled Corinth without a bodyguard, and his son, Periander, took over after him. Periander was less popular than his father and was known for harsh actions, such as killing his wife and exiling his son. Despite this, Corinth’s economy and control over trade flourished under both men. However, Periander’s harsh rule led to his eventual removal, and Corinth later became a democracy.

Athens had its tyrants later in the Archaic period. Peisistratos, a relative of the lawgiver Solon, became tyrant in 546 BC after two failed attempts. He gained support from farmers and landowners, who benefited from olive oil exports. He improved public life by building temples, festivals, and the Panathenaic Games. His sons ruled after him, but as Athens developed democracy, the word tyrant became associated with negative rule. In 514 BC, Peisistratos’ son, Hipparchus, was killed by two men known as the tyrannicides. His brother, Hippias, was later driven out by Sparta. After reforms by Cleisthenes in 508 BC, Athens became a democracy, and tyrants were no longer accepted.

Sicilian tyrants appeared later than those in Greece. In Sicily, the threat of attacks from Carthage helped leaders gain support and stay in power. Examples include Gelo, Hiero I, Dionysius the Elder, Dionysius the Younger, and Agathocles of Syracuse. The story of the Sword of Damocles highlights the dangers faced by Sicilian tyrants.

During the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, under Macedonian rule, new tyrants emerged in Greece. King Antigonus II Gonatas placed his allies in cities like Sicyon and Argos. Examples include Cleon of Sicyon and Aristodemus of Megalopolis.

In 280 BC, democratic cities formed the Achaean League, which fought against tyrants. Under Aratus of Sicyon, the league freed many cities. By 192 BC, the last Greek tyrant, Nabis of Sparta, was killed, ending tyranny in Greece.

Roman writers like Suetonius, Tacitus, Plutarch, and Josephus often compared tyranny with liberty. Tyranny was linked to rulers who took too much power from the Roman Senate. Those who supported liberty were usually pro-republic and pro-Senate. For example, Suetonius wrote about how Cicero’s head and hands were displayed as a warning against opposing tyranny. Josephus also mentioned figures like Herod the Great as tyrants in Jewish history.

The Greeks saw both rulers who took power by force and those who inherited power from such rulers as tyrants. Polybius, a Greek writer, said that any single ruler could eventually become a tyrant. Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle believed that a ruler was good if they served the people and bad if they only served themselves. They saw tyranny as rule without laws or fairness.

In the classics

Tyranny is an important topic in Western thought, often called one of the "Great Ideas." Classic writings discuss tyranny and its causes, effects, methods, leaders, and possible solutions. These works examine tyranny from different angles, such as history, religion, ethics, politics, and fiction. One idea in political theory is that tyranny is the worst form of government failure, as it misuses power and harms people. While many classic works agree with this view, not all do. For example, Thomas Hobbes argued that there is no clear difference between good and bad rulers. He said that people who dislike monarchy often call it tyranny, while those who dislike aristocracy call it oligarchy, and those who dislike democracy call it anarchy.

In Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, tyrants are described in the seventh level of Hell, where they are submerged in burning blood. This group includes figures like Alexander the Great and Attila the Hun, and they are placed alongside highway robbers.

Niccolò Machiavelli wrote about tyrannical rule in The Prince, though he never used the word "tyrant." Instead, he referred to such rulers as "princes." He used this term for all leaders, whether their rule was legitimate or not. In his Discourses on Livy, he even called leaders of republics "princes" at times. Machiavelli did not share the traditional view that tyranny is always bad, and he sometimes gave advice to tyrants in his writings.

Ancient Greeks and people who lived in the Roman Republic were generally cautious about groups trying to take control through popular uprisings. Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar shows the struggle of Marcus Junius Brutus, a Roman who opposed tyranny.

In Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume I, Chapter III, Augustus is described as taking on the power of a tyrant while still sharing authority with the reformed Roman Senate. Gibbon wrote that Augustus "submitted to the orders of the senate" and agreed to govern the provinces and lead the Roman armies. Emperors were described as "humbly professed themselves the accountable ministers of the senate," obeying its decisions. Gibbon noted that the Roman Empire could be seen as "an absolute monarchy disguised by the forms of a commonwealth."

Enlightenment

During the Age of Enlightenment, Western thinkers used the word "tyranny" to describe the system of government that existed around aristocracy and monarchy. The English philosopher John Locke, in his 1689 book Two Treatises of Government, defined tyranny as "the exercise of power beyond right, which nobody can have a right to; and this is making use of the power any one has in his hands, not for the good of those who are under it, but for his own private, separate advantage." Locke's idea of tyranny influenced later writers who connected tyranny to ideas about human rights and democracy. American statesman Thomas Jefferson called the actions of King George III "tyrannical" in the United States Declaration of Independence.

Enlightenment philosophers often described tyranny by its traits.

• "The sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no laws but his caprice." — Voltaire, Philosophical Dictionary
• "Where Law ends, Tyranny begins." — Locke, Two Treatises of Government
• "For those who misuse power will be called tyrants, not just men." — Medrano, República Mista

In 1657, Edward Sexby's pamphlet Killing, No Murder listed 14 key traits of a tyrant. The pamphlet aimed to justify the assassination of Oliver Cromwell and explain when such an act might be considered honorable. It discussed ideas from early history up to the 17th century. Among the most important traits of tyranny described in Killing, No Murder are:

• Experience in the military — tyrants are often former leaders, which gives them a sense of honor and authority.
• Using trickery instead of force — tyrants often gain power through deception rather than violence.
• Discrediting respected people, ideas, or institutions and discouraging thoughtful discussion or public involvement in government.
• Limiting public input, debate, or group discussions (such as meetings or conferences).
• Increasing military activity to distract people, raise taxes, or create new opportunities for the government.
• Favoring people or ideas that support the tyrant — for example, allowing religious beliefs only if they praise the tyrant or treating nobles as valuable only if they obey the tyrant.
• Claiming divine approval or inspiration.
• Pretending to care about God or religion.
• Causing or allowing widespread poverty to weaken the people's ability to challenge the government.

In Scotland, Samuel Rutherford's Lex Rex and Alexander Shields' A Hind Let Loose were important religious writings that opposed tyranny.

In his 1602 work República Mista, Tomás Fernández de Medrano described tyranny as a form of oligarchy that happens when monarchs believe they have the right to rule without being held responsible or challenged. He argued that rulers who harm or ignore their people rarely govern wisely or justly. Medrano wrote, "It is so deeply ingrained in the hearts of such men (and this is almost a general truth), to hate and detest tyrants as much as to love and revere just kings and princes."

A modern tyrant might be identified by clear violations of international criminal law, such as crimes against humanity.

Lists of tyrants

Some lists of tyrants include:

• 100 throughout history, such as 40 from the 20th century
• 13 tyrants from the 20th century
• 20 tyrants from the early 21st century

Many books also list tyrants by name or describe their actions.

Some English rulers, like John, King of England (who signed the Magna Carta), Henry VIII of England, and Oliver Cromwell, have been called tyrants in books.

Wallechinsky said that all leaders acted like tyrants in some way. Daniel Chirot wrote that in ancient farming societies, politics was often tyrannical by today's standards.

Methods of obtaining and retaining power

A tyrant's path may seem easy and pleasant, except for the aristocracy. In 1939, Will Durant wrote:

In The Republic, Plato stated: "The people always choose a leader they believe will protect them and help grow into a powerful leader. […] This is how tyrants begin; they first appear as protectors."

Tyrants may gain power by inheriting it from a previous ruler, rising through military or party ranks, or taking control through force.

Sometimes, political methods to gain power were added to by using lies or violence. Peisistratus of Athens pretended that enemies had hurt him to get a bodyguard, which he used to seize power. Later, he appeared with a woman dressed as a goddess to suggest that his rule was approved by the gods. The third time, he used paid soldiers to take and keep control. Dionysius of Syracuse used a similar method, claiming he had been targeted by enemies to get an armed group to protect him.

Long lists of ways to gain and keep power were written by Aristotle (Politics) and Niccolò Machiavelli (The Prince). These methods usually include using force and trickery, such as hiring bodyguards, starting wars to distract people, removing enemies, killing opponents, and making unlawful searches. Aristotle suggested an alternative: ruling fairly.

Tyrants often keep power by holding fake elections, using or threatening violence, encouraging people to support them through patriotism, and claiming that conditions have improved.