Smith, William: A smaller dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities (London, 1871)

TYRAXNUS.

404

UMBRACULUM.

some violent movement or stratagem, such
as the creation of a body-guard for him hy
the people, or the seizure of the citadel ; and
on the other hand, from the ancient king,
whose right depended, not on usurpation,
but on inheritance and traditionary acknow-
ledgment. The power of a king might be
more absolute than that of-a tyrant; as
1'hidon of Argos is said to have made the
royal prerogative greater than it was under
his predecessors ; yet he was still regarded as
a king; for the difference between the two
names depended on title and origin, and not
on the manner in which the power was ex-
ercised. The name of tyrant was originally
so far from denoting a person who abused
his power, or treated his subjects with
cruelty, that Pisistratus is praised for the
moderation of his government. Afterwards,
when tyrants themselves had become odious,
the name also grew to be a word of reproach,
just as rex did among the Romans. Among
the early tyrants of Greece those most
worthy of mention are : Clisthcnes of Sicyon,
grandfather of the Athenian Clisthcnes, in
whose family the government continued for
a century since its establishment by Ortha-
goras, about is. c. G72 ; Cypselus of Corinth,
who expelled the Iiaechiadae, b. c. 656, and
his son Periander, both remarkable for their
cruelty ; their dynasty lasted between seventy
and eighty years ; Procles of Epidaurus ;
Pantaleon of Pisa, who celebrated the thirty-
fourth Olympiad, depriving the Eleans of
the presidency ; Theagenes of Megara, father-
in-law to Cylon the Athenian; Pisistratus,
whose sons were the last of the early tyrants
on the Grecian continent. ' In Sicily, where
tyranny most flourished, the principal were
Phalaris of Agrigentum, who established his
power in e. c. 568 ; Thcron of Agrigentum ;
(ielon, already mentioned, who, in conjunc-
tion with Theron, defeated Hamilcar the
Carthaginian, on the same day on which the
battle of Salamis was fought; and Ilieron,
his brother : the last three celebrated by
Pindar. The following also are worthy of
notice : Polycrates of Samos; Lygdamis of
\axos ; Ilistiaeus and Aristagoras of Mile-
tus. Perhaps the last mentioned can hardly
be classed among the Greek tyrants, as they
were connected with the Persian monarchy.
The general characteristics of a tyranny were,
that it was bound by no laws, and had no
recognised limitation to its authority, how-
ever it might be restrained in practice by the
good disposition of the tyrant himself, or by
fear, or by the spirit of the age. It was
commonly most odious to the wealthy and
noble, whom the tyrani looked upon with
jealousy as a check upon his power, and

whom he often sought to get rid of by send-
ing them into exile or putting them to death.
The tyrant usually kept a body-guard of
foreign mercenaries, by aid of whom he con-
trolled the people at home ; but he seldom
ventured to make war, for fear of giving an
opportunity to his subjects to revolt. The
causes which led to the decline of tyranny
among the Greeks were partly the degene-
racy of the tyrants themselves, corrupted by
power, indolence, flattery, and bad educa-
tion ; for even where the father set a good
example, it was seldom followed by the son;
partly the cruelties and excesses of particular
men, which brought them all into disrepute ;
and partly the growing spirit of inquiry
among the Greek people, who began to spe-
culate upon political theories, and soon be-
came discontented with a form of govern-
ment, which had nothing in theory, and
little in practice, to recommend it. Few
dynasties lasted beyond the third generation.
Most of the tyrannies, which flourished be-
fore the Persian war, are said to have been
overthrown by the exertions of Sparta, jea-
lous, probably, of any innovation upon the
old Doric constitution, especially of any ten-
dency to ameliorate the condition of the Pe-
rioeci, and anxious to extend her own in-
fluence over the states of Greece by means of
the benefits which she conferred. Upon the
fall of tyranny, the various republican forms
of government were established, the Dorian
states generally favouring oligarchy, the
Ionian democracy. Of the tyrants of a later
period, the most celebrated are the two
Dionysii. The corruption of the Syracusans,
their intestine discords, and the fear of the
Carthaginian invaders, led to the appoint-
ment of Dionysius to the chief military com-
mand, with unlimited powers ; by means of
which he raised himself to the throne, b. c.
406, and reigned for 38 years, leaving his son
to succeed him. The younger Dionysius, far
inferior in every respect to his father, was
expelled by Dion, afterwards regained the
throne, and was again expelled by Timoleon,
who restored liberty to the various states of
Sicily.

UDO, a sock of goat's-hair or felt, worn by
countrymen with the low boots called
perones. [Pero.}
ULNA. [Pes.]
UMBILICUS. [Liber.]
UMBO. [Clipeus.]

UMBRACOlUM, UMBELLA (o-zciaSeiov,
cKta.Sioi', a-/ci.a8«na)), a parasol, was used by
Greek and Roman ladies as a protection