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- ancient Greek civilization
- assassination
- tyrant
tyrannicide
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What does the word 'tyrannicide' mean?
Tyrannicide refers to either the act of killing a tyrant or the person who commits the act. In ancient Greece and Rome, tyrannicides were often celebrated, and some states even had laws exempting them from prosecution.
Harmodius and Aristogiton, who attempted to murder the tyrant Hippias in Athens in 514 BCE, are considered the archetypal tyrannicides. Although they only managed to kill Hippias' brother, Hipparchus, they were greatly honored for their act of resistance against tyranny.
Philosophers, influenced by Plato's condemnation of tyranny, sometimes risked their lives to oppose tyrants. For example, Clearchus, the tyrant of Heracleia, was killed in 352 BCE by a group led by his court philosopher Chion, who appeared to have acted from genuine political conviction.
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Who is considered a tyrant in history?
The term tyrant has evolved. In ancient Greece, it described someone with absolute power, whether a usurper or elected leader. Some, like Phalaris, were known for cruelty, while others, such as Pittakos, were seen as wise rulers.
Aristotle defined a tyrant as a sole ruler who doesn't account for themselves and rules in their own interest, not the people's. Peisistratus, who seized power in Athens through a coup, exemplifies this.
Over time, the term acquired a negative connotation, referring to rulers motivated by power and personal gain, regardless of whether they were a monarch or part of a representative government.
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Why might someone attempt tyrannicide?
Tyrannicide is the act of killing a tyrant or someone who aims to be one. Motivations for committing tyrannicide vary. In ancient times, some states even had laws exempting tyrannicides from prosecution.
Harmodius and Aristogiton are known as tyrannicides who killed Hipparchus, the tyrant's brother, though their act was motivated by a personal insult rather than political conviction. Genuine political conviction, influenced by philosophers like Plato, has also inspired individuals to risk their lives against tyrants.
In Rome, Roman historians viewed kingship as easily turning into tyranny. Cicero believed that tyrants would inevitably be assassinated and that such an act was not morally wrong.
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What are some famous examples of tyrannicide in history?
Tyrannicide is the act of killing a tyrant or someone who aspires to be one. In ancient Greece and Rome, tyrannicides were often celebrated, and some states even had laws exempting them from prosecution.
Harmodius and Aristogiton are famous examples; in 514 BCE, they planned to murder the tyrant Hippias but only managed to kill his brother Hipparchus. Nevertheless, they received posthumous honors from the Athenian people.
Cicero argued that tyrants inevitably meet death by assassination and that killing a tyrant is not morally wrong. Julius Caesar's assassins in 44 BCE presented their act as overthrowing a tyrant and restoring the Roman Republic.
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What arguments do people make for and against tyrannicide?
Arguments for tyrannicide often invoke the right to resist oppressive rule, drawing from historical examples where it was seen as a restoration of liberty, such as the assassination of Julius Caesar. Cicero argued that killing a tyrant is morally justifiable, especially when constitutional rule devolves into tyranny.
Conversely, arguments against it highlight the potential for abuse, where the label of "tyrant" is used to justify political murders and instability. Opponents also question the motives of tyrannicides, suggesting that they are rarely purely altruistic and can be driven by personal ambition. The Roman experience showed that removing one ruler did not prevent the drift toward monarchic power.
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How has the idea of tyrannicide influenced politics or laws over time?
Tyrannicide, the act of killing a tyrant or the killer of a tyrant, has influenced politics and laws throughout history. In ancient Greece and Rome, tyrannicides were often celebrated, and some states even had laws exempting them from prosecution.
Harmodius and Aristogiton, who planned to murder the tyrant Hippias in Athens, became symbols of resistance to tyranny. Cicero argued that killing a tyrant was not morally wrong and that tyrants inevitably meet death by assassination. Conspirators against Julius Caesar presented their deed as overthrowing a tyrant and restoring the Roman Republic.
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tyrannicide, in ancient Greece and Rome, the killer or would-be killer of a tyrant. The term may also refer to the act of killing a tyrant. Tyrannicides were often celebrated in antiquity, and some Classical states even legislated to exempt from prosecution those who killed a tyrant or would-be tyrant.
The archetypal tyrannicides were Harmodius and Aristogiton of Athens, who in 514 bce planned to murder the tyrant Hippias, son of Peisistratus. They succeeded only in killing the tyrantâs brother Hipparchus before being killed themselves, but they nevertheless received great posthumous honours from the Athenian populace. Harmodius and Aristogitonâs deed did not end the Peisistratid tyrannyâHippias ruled for three more years, and their act was, furthermore, personally motivated, a response to an insult by Hippias (according to the historian Herodotus) rather than the product of political convictionâbut they became known in popular tradition as a symbol of resistance to tyranny.
The laws on the killing of tyrants passed in the Classical period make the idea appear uncomplicated: if anyone aims at tyranny or succeeds in becoming a tyrant, he can be killed with impunity. In practice, however, the motives of tyrannicides were rarely politically pure. In many cases the term tyrant was used to justify an unedifying cycle of political murders as would-be rulers declared their rivals to be tyrants and murdered them. Some tyrannicides, however, have been credited with disinterested motives; under the influence of Platoâs condemnation of tyranny, for example, some students of philosophy chose to risk their lives against tyrants. Thus, Clearchus, tyrant of Heracleia on the Black Sea, was killed in 352 bce by a group led by his court philosopher Chion. The tyranny did not fallâClearchus was succeeded by his brotherâbut the tyrannicides appear to have acted from genuine political conviction.
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The image of the paranoid tyrant who fears assassination at every moment derives principally from the works of the Roman statesman Cicero. In De officiis (On Duties), Cicero suggested that all tyrants inevitably meet death at an assassinâs hand and that killing a tyrant is not morally wrong. Cicero emphasized these ideas as a means of justifying the killing of tyrants in his own time, and the conspirators against Julius Caesar in 44 bce presented their deed as both the overthrow of a tyrant and the restoration of the Roman Republic. In the early Roman Empire, conspiracies against the emperor were common, but although the conspirators usually claimed to be removing a tyrant and restoring the Republic, in general they aimed simply at replacing the ruler. From this point on, arguments about the killing of tyrants came to centre on the ethical nature of rulershipâthe point at which constitutional rule became tyrannicalâand the legitimacy of opposition to it. Yet antiquity continued to provide a fertile source of inspiration for would-be tyrannicides of all kinds.