 In Bevan's view this reference indicated Tryphon's election as king by the 'free Greco-Macedonian states of Syria'.Boris Chrubasik argues that Tryphon took the epithet in imitation of the Parthian rulers and to emphasise his independence from his predecessors (the term "Autokrator" literally means 'ruling (by) himself').The marital overtones of it perhaps served to counter the implications of softness that sometimes were associated with "tryphe".