The origin of tyranny can be credited to Greece, the same geographic land that is credited with the birth of democracy. Tyrants in archaic and classical times were viewed by the Greeks in a neutral shade and colored by the temperament of the ruler. In essence the word “Tyrant” was used by early Greek city-states as a title in the same manner we use the titles “President” and “Prime Minister” today. Plato and his pupil Aristotle were the first ones to present tyrants in a negative light. They deemed a tyrant to be "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.” Henceforth, “tyrant” was no longer a neutral term that denoted administrative executive power, but rather, reflected the deep character of the man in power. Tyranny, as we think of it today, was born 2400 years ago.
Tyrannies have grown more ruthless and damaging to the fabric of humanity in recent centuries and have degenerated in linear fashion. History has seen many ruthless tyrants over the ages, from Caligula, Nero and Genghis Khan, to Hitler, Stalin and Mao. Technological advances and the weapons arsenals available to modern oppressors put the vaunted Roman legions and Mongolian cavalry archers to utter shame. The propaganda tools and media control in the hands of Fidel Castro and Kim Jong Il would be the envy of Atilla The Hun and Ivan The Terrible. The hordes of “barbarian” clans that pillaged and raped Europe after the fall of Rome have been put to shame by Soviet tactics and aggression in the last century. It is safe to say that mentally unfit rulers with psychotic tendencies have risen and continue to rise throughout history. However, tyrants who seize power in these times are capable of wreaking unfathomable havoc upon their own population as well as the entire globe.
Read More
