Tyranny
A tyrant (Greek τύραννος, tyrannos) was originally one who used the power of the populace in an unconventional way to seize and control governmental power in a polis. 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, ousting the aristocratic governments. Plato and Aristotle define 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".
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Famous quotes containing the word tyranny:
“The worst form of tyranny the world has ever known ... the tyranny of the weak over the strong. It is the only tyranny that lasts.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“A modern democracy is a tyranny whose borders are undefined; one discovers how far one can go only by traveling in a straight line until one is stopped.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!
Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets!”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)