Polycrates, son of Aeaces, was the tyrant of Samos from the 540s BC to 522 BC. He had a reputation as both a fierce warrior and an enlightened tyrant.
Polycrates with Pharaoh Amasis II (19th century illustration).
Coinage of Samos at the time of Polycrates. Circa 530-528 BC.
Coinage of Samos at the time of Polycrates. Forepart of winged boar with lion scalp facing in dotted square within incuse square. Circa 526-522 BC.
Samos, Temple of Hera, Statue of a warrior, 530 BC
A tyrant, in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to repressive means. The original Greek term meant an absolute sovereign who came to power without constitutional right, yet the word had a neutral connotation during the Archaic and early Classical periods. However, Greek philosopher Plato saw tyrannos as a negative word, and on account of the decisive influence of philosophy on politics, deemed tyranny the "fourth and worst disorder of a state."Tyrants lack "the very faculty that is the instrument of judgment"—reason. The tyrannical man is enslaved because the best part of him (reason) is enslaved, and likewise, the tyrannical state is enslaved, because it too lacks reason and order.
Killing No Murder, cover page, 18th century reprint of 17th century English pamphlet written to inspire and make righteous the act of assassinating Oliver Cromwell
A sculptural pairing of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, who became known as the tyrannicides after they killed Hipparchus and were the preeminent symbol of Athenian democracy
François Gérard, The French people demanding destitution of the Tyrant on 10 August 1792
