Title: Cruel and Oppressive: 7 Noteworthy Ancient Greek Tyrants
Headings: Cruel and Oppressive: 7 Noteworthy Ancient Greek Tyrants
Cruel and Oppressive: 7 Noteworthy Ancient Greek Tyrants
1 – Cypselus: Corinth (657 – 627 BC?)
2 – Cylon: Athens (632 BC)
3 – The Peisistratids: Athens (546 – 510 BC)
4 – Aristagoras: Miletus (513- 499 BC)
5 – The Thirty Tyrants: Athens (404 – 403 BC)
6- Dionysius I: Syracuse (405 – 367 BC)
7 – Nabis: Sparta (207 – 192 BC)

Content: Apparently, Cypselus narrowly avoided death as a baby at the hands of the authorities in Corinth. This close brush with death in infancy is seemingly the hallmark of great leaders; the same fate almost befell Cyrus the Great of Persia. It seems as if Cypselus held the important military position of polemarch and used his influence to expel the ruling classes and assume power. Despite being a usurper, Cypselus didn’t have the same crazed tendency as modern tyrants. Although he expelled his enemies, he let them set up colonies elsewhere in Greece. Also, he increased trade with colonies in Sicily and Italy and by all accounts, the state of Corinth prospered under his leadership. Cypselus’ family followed in his footsteps and became tyrants all over Greece. When he died in 627 BC, his son, Periander, took over and is considered as one of the greatest rulers Corinth had. Under his leadership, the state became one of the wealthiest in the country, and he is also known as one of the Seven Sages of Greece;