Ancient Greece Tyrants
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In Greek mythology, being a tyrant was a good thing, and he is looked upon by several Greek people. A tyrant in Greek mythology means a person who holds constitutional powers and a great politician. This type of rule by the person, who has such qualities, is called tyranny.
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In Latin, the word tyrannous means illegitimate ruler. It also means a sovereign master. It is adapted to both good and bad leaders. There were several popular and famous ancient Greek tyrants who ruled Greece at different points of time. Cypselas was the first tyrant to rule the country. He was the ruler of Corinth, and was there in 7th century BC. He gave his positioning to his son Periander. When it came to passing on tyranny, there was a lot of trouble for the tyrants. They were never successful as some other king would take over. However, in this case Periander became the successor.
In Athens, the title of tyrant was given to Peisistratus. He ruled in 560 BC. Tyrant was a title given to the ruler, and it is earned one. People are not born tyrants in Greek mythology.
However, Athens was on the way of becoming a democratic city, and soon the word tyrant earned a bad reputation. People started opposing the one man rule and they were moving towards a social government. Hipparchus, who was also a tyrant, was murdered by Aristigeiton and Harmodios in Athens. This is when the cult of tryannicides started. After 508 BC, Cleisthenes formed a political system known as the Demokratia, which ultimately paved way for democracy.
There were totally thirty tyrants who ruled Greece. The Spartans are not considered as tyrants.
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