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A tyrant (from Greek
τυραννος) is one possessing absolute power.
In the original Greek meaning, a tyrant was anyone who overturned the established government of a city-state, usually through the use of popular support, to establish himself as dictator, or the heir of
such a person. The title was first given to Pisistratus of Athens in 560 BC.
The heyday of the tyrants was the early 6th century BC. During this
time, many governments in the Aegean world were overthrown. It was during this time
that Persia first made inroads into Greece, as many tyrants sought Persian help against
forces seeking to remove them.
Tyrants were generally installed by popular coups, and were often popular rulers, at
least in the early part of their reigns. For instance, Pisistratus was remembered for an episode (related by Aristotle but possibly fictional) in which he exempted a farmer from taxation because of
the particular barrenness of his plot. Pisistratus' sons Hippias and Hipparchus, on the other hand, were overthrown, and Hipparchus was assassinated.
Later ancient Greeks, as well as the Roman Republicans, were generally quite wary of anyone seeking to implement a popular coup.
The term now implies a cruel persecutor who treads on the welfare of his people, because some tyrants did indeed have these
characteristics. Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, Robert Mugabe and Kim Jong Il
are examples of recent tyrants and former tyrants. A tyrant is a cruel ruler who has lost the right to rule. The term has also
been used by extension of non-governmental figures, such as patriarchs and
bullies.
See: Blue Gene Tyranny.
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