THE BEECHMONT CREST GUIDE TO ANCIENT GREECE
The Greek tyrants
Greek democracy wasn’t built in a day, even in Athens. The Greek city-states were originally ruled by local aristocrats. But it wasn’t long before these aristocrats were challenged by a group of upstarts. These new usurpers raised private armies and wrested political control away from the aristocrats. The new rulers became the so-called tyrants of ancient Greece. Government by the tyrants was widespread beginning in the seventh century B.C.
The English word tyrant is based on the Greek word tyrannos. As the name suggests, the Greek tyrants were autocratic rulers who governed by decree. But they weren’t necessarily despots who arbitrarily terrorized the population. In fact, many of the tyrants initially adopted “share the wealth” policies to ensure public support. By and large, the tyrants seem to have enjoyed some degree of popularity.
The situation soured by the end of the sixth century. The original tyrants had long since died, and now their descendents governed the city-states. These later generations of tyrants were not as savvy as their ancestors had been. They squeezed wealth from their populations through high taxes, and sometimes engaged in “tyrannical” behavior.
So the Greeks rose up and overthrew the tyrants. The immediate power vacuum might have resulted in the establishment of another group of tyrants. Instead, the Greeks fundamentally changed their approach to government. Two new forms of government evolved: oligarchy and democracy. Sparta became the quintessential Greek oligarchy. Democracy, meanwhile, would eventually flourish in Athens.
The tyrants were ultimately a bust; but historians remember them as important transitional figures in ancient Greece. They overthrew the old aristocrats, and their downfall paved the way for the Greek versions of oligarchy and democracy.