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9. Ancient Greek Tyranny Was Often the First Step Towards Democracy

An ancient Greek tyranny was often a necessary step on the road to democracy because it removed out of the way the barrier of a strongly entrenched aristocracy. Tyrants had a strong interest in weakening the nobles who had monopolized power for centuries. So they tended to adopt populist policies that appealed to commoners, whose support was necessary for the tyrant’s continued hold on power. Only after the aristocracy had been weakened, and its stranglehold on power broken, would there be an opening for democracy.

That is what happened in ancient Athens, whose poorest and the most populous region was the Hill District. Its impoverished residents had derived little practical benefit from Solon’s reforms except for a prohibition against their enslavement for debt. Other than that, all that Solon had given them was a meaningless vote. So the people of the Hill invited Peisistratos to make himself a tyrant of Athens. With their support, he marched on the city in a procession headed by a tall girl dressed up as the goddess Athena, who blessed Peisistratos and declared it her divine will that he be made a tyrant. The other Athenians saw through the mummery, however, and chased him and his followers out of town.