Title: Ancient Greek Tyrants, What is meant by Demokratia
Headings: Ancient Greece Tyrants
Ancient Greece Tyrants
Ancient Greek Tyrants
Tyrannos
Democracy Definition Greek
What is meant by Demokratia
Oligarchy in ancient Greece
Tyranny Government

Content: Ancient Greek Tyrants, What is meant by Demokratia
Ancient Greece Tyrants
The word Ancient Greek tyrants find its roots from the Latin word Tyrannus, implying an “illegitimate ruler.” In politics, a tyrant can be defined as a person who illegally seizes and controls a governmental power in a polis. Ancient Greek Tyrants
Tyrants were a group of individuals who took over many Greek poleis during the uprising of the middle classes in the sixth and seventh centuries BC thereby ousting the aristocratic governments. Plato and Aristotle also defined a tyrant as, “one who rules without law, looks to his own advantage rather than that of his subjects, and uses extreme and cruel tactics — against his own people as well as others. “Thus, under common usage, the word “tyrant” carries within itself the connotations of a harsh and cruel ruler who places his or her own interests or the interests of a small oligarchy over the best interests of the general population, which the tyrant governs or controls. However, in Ancient Greek Tyrants were not considered to be negative. Tyrannos
In ancient Greece, tyrants were influential opportunists who came to power by securing the support of different factions of a deme. The word “tyranny”, then carried no ethical censure and merely referred to anyone, good or bad, who obtained executive power in a polis by unconventional means. Support for the tyrants came especially from the growing middle class and from the peasants who had no land or were in debt to the wealthy landowners. Though it is true that they had no legal right to rule yet the people preferred them over kings or aristocracy.