Book contents
- Rulers and Ruled in Ancient Greece, Rome, and China
- Rulers and Ruled in Ancient Greece, Rome, and China
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Contributors
- Preface
- Chronology of the Ancient Mediterranean
- Chronology of Ancient China
- Maps of Ancient China, Greece, and Rome
- The Many Faces of “the People” in the Ancient World
- Part I Authority and Lifestyles of Distinction
- Part II The People as Agents and Addressees
- Part III Inversions of the People: Emperors and Tyrants
- Chapter 8 Augustus, the Roman Plebs and the Dictatorship
- Chapter 9 Liberation as Burlesque
- Chapter 10 Historical Necessity or Biographical Singularity?
- Chapter 11 Employing Knowledge
- Part IV Identities and “Others”
- Glossary
- Index
- References
Chapter 9 - Liberation as Burlesque
The Death of the Tyrant
from Part III - Inversions of the People: Emperors and Tyrants
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 January 2021
Book contents
- Rulers and Ruled in Ancient Greece, Rome, and China
- Rulers and Ruled in Ancient Greece, Rome, and China
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Contributors
- Preface
- Chronology of the Ancient Mediterranean
- Chronology of Ancient China
- Maps of Ancient China, Greece, and Rome
- The Many Faces of “the People” in the Ancient World
- Part I Authority and Lifestyles of Distinction
- Part II The People as Agents and Addressees
- Part III Inversions of the People: Emperors and Tyrants
- Chapter 8 Augustus, the Roman Plebs and the Dictatorship
- Chapter 9 Liberation as Burlesque
- Chapter 10 Historical Necessity or Biographical Singularity?
- Chapter 11 Employing Knowledge
- Part IV Identities and “Others”
- Glossary
- Index
- References
Summary
A defining marker of the tyrant is the humiliation of his subjects, or those1 within his purview. These humiliations, not any political miscalculation, are often the origin of his downfall. As Machiavelli remarks in The Prince, “[O]ne of the most powerful remedies that a prince has against conspiracies is not to be hated by the people generally.”2 In romanticized accounts, the fall of the tyrant is a cause for jubilation, bringing liberty, renewed opportunities for righteous government, and for the grievances of the populace to be finally, mercifully, heard and attended to. Those who bring about the tyrant’s downfall are the heroes of this liberation narrative, risking terrible punishment to palliate widespread discontent. But is this the narrative of the ancients, with selfless heroes bringing liberation and profound change to the sociopolitical system? From Roman and Chinese imperial records, it appears not.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Rulers and Ruled in Ancient Greece, Rome, and China , pp. 300 - 327Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
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