To what extent was Polykrates of Samos a typical Greek tyrant?

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ANCH110

INTRODUCTION TO ANCIENT GREECE

Emily Melissa Lowe

220136368

ASSESSMENT 3

SYNOPSIS WORD COUNT: 237

ESSAY WORD COUNT: 1628

SYNOPSIS

Q7: To what extent was Polykrates of Samos a typical Greek tyrant?

There is much agreement from both ancient and modern sources, to pinpoint

what a typical Greek tyrant was. The word ‘Tyrannos’ is not of Greek origin,

but has been used by poets to convey a particular description of a dictator- like

leader during the Archaic Greece era. The tyrants during this time were

characteristically men whom held power in their Polis and overthrew the

Aristocracy as a way of liberating the oppressed people of the city-state, and

whom quenched their desire for immense power and wealth, using violence

and bloodshed as a way to uphold conformity and plunder surrounding islands

for riches. Armed forces are used by all tyrants as the way of creating a

Tyranny, disarming the opponents and claiming the city as theirs, with the

support of the people and specifically the hoplite class. Some Tyrants never

ruled for very long, being overthrown by enemies, but during their tyranny

they were able to supply their Polei with immense growth and advancement.

The Samian Tyrant, Polykrates was able to solely rule over his city-state from

532BCE after disposing of his two brothers, and created a sea empire where he

dominated many islands, parts of mainland Greece and Asia Minor, using

powerful naval forces. We may conclude that Polykrates seemed to be a

typical Greek Tyrant, due to the similar actions that were undertaken by many

other Greek tyrants, and therefore creating fundamental characteristics of a

Tyranny.

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Q7: To what extent was Polykrates of Samos a typical Greek tyrant?

In order to analyse the extent to which the individual Polykrates of Samos was

a typical Greek tyrant, we must first establish what is typically deemed a

tyrant. Firstly, tyranny was not a ‘natural’ form of government for the Greeks.1

However, the Seventh and Sixth centuries were a period when numerous

tyrannies arose, and this is accordingly referred to as the ‘Age of Tyrants’.2

Ancient Greek government at this time took the form of an aristocracy, and

during this time it was the increasing power and wealth which lead to the

breakdown of this system, and the appearance of tyrants such as Polykrates in

Samos. According to both Ancient and Modern sources, there seems to be

many similarities in the tyrants whom grew to power in several Greek Polei,

and therefore we can determine whether Polykrates was a typical Greek tyrant

by examining these factors. The individuals already possessed power within

their city’s government, had the trust and support of the common people,

usurped power through violence and armed forces, and also contributed

positively to the development of their polis.3 The analysis of Polykrates can

only be done as an estimation based on the current sources available, as

ancient sources can be incorrect as well as bias, and so we must rely on only

an interpretation of these sources to establish an understanding of Ancient

Greek society, in particular Greek Tyranny.

The word ‘Tyrannos’ was first used by poet Archilochos to describe Gyges,

the ruler of Lydia, as ‘rich in gold’4 and implies that tyranny is linked with

wealth, as well as great power. Aristotle saw tyrants as ‘inspired by naked

ambition’5 and many started their career in positions of power which they

1 Dillon. M & Garland. L, ‘Tyrants and Tyranny’, The Ancient Greeks: History and Culture From

Archaic Times to the Death of Alexander, 2013 Routledge, London, pp. 265


Archaic Times to the Death of Alexander the Great, 3rd ed. 2010, Routledge, London, pp.256



4 Ibid, pp. 263

5 Aristotle, Politics, 1310b14-31

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abrogated and distorted.6 The Greek tyrant Polykrates appropriated for himself

‘power that had previously belonged to an aristocracy’7, of which he was

himself a member. It is possible that the Tyrant’s father Aiakes, may have

been a Tyrant of Samos himself8, suggesting the reason behind Polykrates’

possession of power before the Tyranny, and also why he and his brothers

desired to become Tyrants of Samos, inspired by the legacy left behind by

their father. However, this information had been put forth by a modern source,

and although uses many primary sources, still will only convey an

interpretation and not exact facts due to its secondary nature. It is evident

however, that the Samian tyrant shared this similarity of possessing power

precedent to the rise of the tyranny, with other tyrants during the era and

therefore we may be able to conclude that Polykrates was indeed a typical

Greek tyrant.

Tyrants were deemed as trusted by the working class because they spoke

against the distinguished, and they were ‘champions of the people’.9 Aristotle,

when addressing the nature of Polykrates rule, even states that ‘the Tyrant

comes from the People and the multitude to confront the men of note

(aristocrats) and prevent the People being unjustly treated by them’10

suggesting that Polykrates and his two brothers had the People’s welfare in

mind when they created the tyranny, as well as having the People’s trust and

support, which was clearly evident in many other tyrannies, making it a shared

characteristic and a way to evaluate whether Polykrates was a typical Greek

tyrant or not.



7 Sandsone. D, ‘Tyranny’, Ancient Greek Civilisation, 2nd ed. 2009, Blackwell publishing, pp.219



9 Ibid, pp.264

10 Cawkwell. G.W, ‘Early Greek Tyranny and the People’, The Classical Quarterly, Vol. 45, 1995,

Cambridge University Press, pp.73

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The tyrants were all aided in their usurpation of power by armed associates,11

and used great violence to expel opposition, such as murdering, exiling and

dis-arming their opponents, achieving great positions of power over their

cities.12 Polykrates was known for his usurpation during a festival, where the

whole city of Samos was attending to the temple of Hera. Polykrates and his

two brothers, as well as ‘some 15 hoplites’13, surrounded the unarmed men in

the temple, and seized joint rulership of the Polis14. However, Polykrates did

not want to rule alongside his two brothers. Herodotus paints a rather brutal

picture of Polykrates, illustrating that he killed one of his brothers and exiled

the other15 so that he could enjoy unchallenged supremacy. The Tyrant also

successfully established a Thalassocracy which ruled over many islands and

cities of the mainland of Asia Minor. According to Herodotus, all of the

Tyrant’s campaigns were victorious, and he even had a fleet of ‘a hundred

penteconters and a force of a thousand bowmen.’16 The authenticity of this

description of Polykrates’ forces may have been greatly exaggerated, as

Herodotus has been known for fabricating stories and over emphasising facts,

however it does convey a great image of the power Polykrates possessed

within his naval forces. As a result, Polykrates’ plundering raids were

‘widespread and indiscriminate’17 as well as violent. It is clear that the tyrant

maintained power through bloodshed and the exile of opponents18, and this

was evident in many tyrannies.



12 Ibid

13 Sandsone. D, ‘Tyranny’, Ancient Greek Civilisation, 2nd ed. 2009, Blackwell publishing, pp.221



15 Herodotus, The Histories, 3.39-40

16 Ibid



18 Dillon. M & Garland. L, ‘Tyrants and Tyranny’, The Ancient Greeks: History and

Culture From Archaic Times to the Death of Alexander, 2013 Routledge, London, pp.

278

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Thucydides relates the development of trade and a growing economy to the

emergence of tyranny,19 suggesting that tyrannies that occurred during this

period contributed positively to the Polis and controlled lands. Many tyrants

also formed alliances and received help and gifts from other distinguished

leaders, both tyrants and kings.20 Herodotus seems to have admired Polykrates

as ‘a successful ruler’ due to the tyrant’s positive contribution to Samos,

developing greater defences for the Polis, and constructing many public works.

Samos was provided with an impressive man-made harbour, construction of a

new temple to the Goddess Hera, and a tunnel about a kilometre in length was

constructed to supply the city with fresh water21. The Samian tyrant also

formed a ‘treaty of friendship’ with the Egyptian King Amasis,22 which

included gift exchange and would have greatly benefited the Polis of Samos

financially. The tyrant was ‘celebrated throughout Ionia and the rest of

Greece’23 for his successes, and it seems evident that the Tyranny of

Polykrates was successful in relation to Samos’ economic growth, as is the

case with many other Polei, enabling historians to interpret that Polykrates was

a typical Greek tyrant in regards to the similar behaviours and actions shared

by many other tyrants in Greece.

Many various modern sources agree that ‘many seventh century communities

beset by dysfunctional aristocracies, empowered charismatic individuals to

rule as tyrants.’24 Polykrates seems to have been a prime example of a typical

Greek tyrant, as his actions were mirrored by many others who have taken


Archaic Times to the Death of Alexander the Great, 3rd ed. 2010 Routledge, London, pp. 253



21 Sandsone. D, ‘Tyranny’, Ancient Greek Civilisation, 2nd ed. 2009, Blackwell publishing, pp.222-223

22 Thucydides, 1.13.1, 17.1, found in; Dillon. M & Garland. L, ‘Tyrants and Tyranny’, The Ancient

Greeks: History and Culture From Archaic Times to the Death of Alexander, 2013 Routledge, London,

pp. 278

23 Ibid.pp. 263

24 Wallace. R.W, ‘Charismatic Leaders’, A Companion to Archaic Greece, 2009, Wiley, pp. 411

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their place as tyrant in other Polei during the Seventh and Sixth Centuries

BCE. Many of these tyrants seized power by overcoming the elite class, with

armed forces and violence, and had the support of the economic class.

Tyrannies usually resulted in expulsion of many opponents, sometimes

including family, which was the case for Polykrates. By creating a sea empire,

Polykrates was able to rule over many Greek islands in the Cyclades,

increasing his wealth and over-all power, and lead to further development for

the Polis’ economy, culture and military. From the actions observed from

Polykrates and various other tyrants, historians may interpret him as a typical

Greek tyrant. However, with reliance on limited ancient sources, and unproven

accuracy we can only assume the circumstances, because we can never

accurately pinpoint what a Greek tyrant was, as we must heavily rely on

modern interpretations and ancient stories written by ambitious men, corrupted

by bias and personal opinions, to create our understanding of the past.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

ANCIENT SOURCES

Aristotle, Politics, 1310b14-31

Herodotus, The Histories, Book 3, the Penguin Group, 2003

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 1.13.1, 17.1

MODERN SCHOLARSHIP

Cawkwell. G.W, ‘Early Greek Tyranny and the People’, The Classical Quarterly,

Vol. 45, 1995, Cambridge University Press

Dillon. M & Garland. L, ‘Tyrants and Tyranny’, Ancient Greece: Social and

Historical Documents From Archaic Times to the Death of Alexander the

Great, 3rd ed. 2010, Routledge, London

Dillon. M & Garland. L, ‘Tyrants and Tyranny’, The Ancient Greeks: History and

Culture From Archaic Times to the Death of Alexander, 2013, Routledge,

London

Drews. R, ‘The First Tyrants in Greece’. Historia 21, 1972, Franz Steiner Verlag

Sandsone. D, ‘Tyranny’, Ancient Greek Civilisation, 2nd ed. 2009, Blackwell

Publishing

Wallace. R.W, ‘Charismatic Leaders’, A Companion to Archaic Greece, 2009, Wiley

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To what extent was Polykrates of Samos a typical Greek tyrant?

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