tyrant

A tyrant (from Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos) 'absolute ruler') 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, and the word had a neutral connotation during the Archaic and early Classical periods. A government ran by a tyrant is usually called a tyranny. Ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle saw tyrannos as a negative form of government, and on account of the decisive influence of philosophy on politics, deemed tyranny the "fourth and worst disorder of a state." They defined a tyrant as a person who rules without law, using ...