Tyranny is the power of one

In modern language, the concept of "tyranny" has a sharply negative meaning associated with the arbitrariness of the supreme ruler, trampling on the rights and freedoms of citizens. In the XlX century, however, the term was no longer used in the social sciences, replacing it with dictatorship. With such a view of the problem of tyranny, it is the forerunner of various totalitarian forms of government, with which the 20th century will be rich.

History of origin of the term

Today it is considered that tyranny is one of the most terrible forms of state structure. However, this was not always the case. In ancient Greece, where the term appeared, and the very form of government, tyranny played a positive role, too.

The so-called senior tyranny was engendered by a clash of conflicting interests of the landowning nobility and the handicraftsmen. On the wave of opposition to power, passionate individuals came to claim power to defend popular interests. It is assumed that only people, clothed with the full power, could protect the nascent political system, which would later grow into democracy.

According to one version, the term appeared in Anatolian Greek cities and was first noticed by the poet Archilochus, who believed that tyranny was a form of government in which a cruel usurper was in power.

The differences between Greek and modern values

For a modern person, tyranny is, first of all, a government accompanied by unpunished cruelty. At the same time, the legitimacy of the ruler is not questioned, since the tyrant in the modern sense can be the legally elected president of a democratic state.

For the Greeks, the tyrant was, above all, an illegal ruler, a usurper, who seized power. And in that case it did not have a decisive significance, he used it for the good of the people or against their own citizens. He always remained a tyrant. It is this factor that makes it possible to equate the Greek form of government with the much later Roman Caesarism. (тюраннис) переводится как "произвол". The Greek term τυραννίς (tyurannis) itself is translated as "arbitrariness". Thus, tyranny - a form of government, in the opinion of the Greeks, is not entirely reasonable, not suitable for Greek urban communities.

A special spread of tyranny was received in the colonies of Great Greece, where natural resources and a favorable climate created conditions for the rapid enrichment of individuals engaged in maritime commerce and the management of the community treasury. Wealth made it possible to win over armed citizens and to usurp, therefore, the supreme power in the city.

Such a form of government was particularly flourishing in Sicily. Well-known story of the rich city of Akragas (now Agrigento), which pretty soon after the founding and ruled for sixteen years cruel Falaris. Greek literature is full of stories about his uncompromising cruelty: he regularly tortured and killed citizens who were dissatisfied with his power, roasted them in a huge copper pot. However, in this same tank, his life ended when he was overthrown by Telemachus, who led the conspiracy against the usurper.

After tyranny: the people take power

Admittedly, tyranny is a kind of step in the development of the state structure of ancient Greece, which, despite all its cruelty, was overcome by the Greeks very successfully. After several centuries of tyrannical rule and endless inter-war wars, the Greek demos took control of the polices, which had a positive effect on the development of culture and economy.