Greek Tyrants

1
Greek Tyrants

• Matthew Kelly
• Hist315A Civilization Depravity

2
Characteristics of Good Tyrants

• Siceliotes, Gelon, Hieron, Peisitratus promote
  good order eunomia, cultivation of the land,
  and transformed citizens (Sourcebook 26.1)
• Story of Themistocles ? Justice (Good Tyrants,
  Diodorus 57.1-7)
• Agesilaus abandonment of imitation of
  predecessors (Tyrants, Plutarch 5)
• Alyattes looks after his people (Hdt.I.21-22
  Hdt.I.74)

3
Actions of Bad Tyrants - Hubris

• Hubris excessive violence or more specifically,
  the crossing of a boundary to the extreme due to
  arrogance
• Cambyses treatment of family (Hdt.III.32-33)
• Diegylis actions (Bad Tyrants, Diodorus 5)
• Cyrus as a child (Hdt.I.115)
• Cambyses answer to the Egyptians celebration of
  the appearance of the Greek Epaphus (Hdt.III.27)

4
Characteristics and Actions of Bad Tyrants -
Lust

• What motivates bad tyrants? (Tyrants,
  Xenocrates)
• Croesus craving to extend his territories
  (Hdt.I.73)
• Agathocles of Syracuse (Tyrants, Diodorus)
• Apollodorus of Cassandreia (Tyrant, Diodorus.2)

5
Treatment of Children

• Astyages treatment of Harpagus son (Hdt.I.119)
• Cambyses murders Prexaspes son (Hdt.III.35)
• Scythians trick Cyaxares to eat one of their
  pupils (Hdt.I.73)
• Diegylis, king of Thracians (Tyrants, Diodorus 5)
• Aristotimus and Philodemus daughter, Micca
  (Tyrants, On Bravery of Women, Plutarch)

6
Treatment of Strangers

• King Faunus, sacrifice of guests to his father,
  Mercury (Tyrants, Minor parallel Lives, Plutarch)
• Phalaris inflicts torture upon those strangers
  passing by (Tyrants, Minor parallel Lives,
  Plutarch)