Liberation as Burlesque

doi:10.1017/9781108641166.017

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

Garret Pagenstecher Olberding

Edited by

Hans Beck and

Griet Vankeerberghen

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Hans Beck: Affiliation:
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany
Griet Vankeerberghen: Affiliation:
McGill University, Montréal

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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.

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Type: Chapter
Information: Rulers and Ruled in Ancient Greece, Rome, and China , pp. 300 - 327

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108641166.017 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2021

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