A '''tyrant''' is a term the [[Greeks]] used to describe a person who seized and held power in violation of the normal laws and traditions of the community. Tyrants appeared in many Greek [[city states]] in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. often taking advantage of the disaffection of the middle class against the old elite. | A '''tyrant''' is a term the [[Greeks]] used to describe a person who seized and held power in violation of the normal laws and traditions of the community. Tyrants appeared in many Greek [[city states]] in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. often taking advantage of the disaffection of the middle class against the old elite. |