{"id":40101,"date":"2025-08-09T11:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=40101"},"modified":"2025-08-21T04:01:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T04:01:39","slug":"authoritarian-rulers-arent-new-heres-what-herodotus-an-early-greek-historian-wrote-about-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/authoritarian-rulers-arent-new-heres-what-herodotus-an-early-greek-historian-wrote-about-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Authoritarian rulers aren\u2019t new \u2013 here\u2019s what Herodotus, an early Greek historian, wrote about them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Debbie Felton<\/a>, UMass Amherst<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo Kings\u201d rallies<\/a>. \u201cGood Trouble\u201d protests<\/a>. \u201cRage against the Regime\u201d uprisings<\/a>. These events in the first seven months of President Donald Trump\u2019s second term, along with public opinion polls<\/a>, show that many Americans are concerned about Trump\u2019s expansive use of executive power<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Views on this issue often have a partisan slant<\/a>. Republicans express more concern about presidential power when Democrats control the White House, and vice versa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But many in both parties prefer that U.S. political leaders work through established channels<\/a>, rather than through unconventional actions that may pose challenges to the Constitution and the rule of law, such as mass firings<\/a> and large-scale deportations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Greek historian and ethnographer Herodotus lived from about 484 B.C.E. to about 425 B.C.E. Metropolitan Museum of Art\/Wikimedia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a professor of classics<\/a>, I know that concerns about authoritarianism go back thousands of years. One early discussion appears in the work of the fifth-century B.C.E. Greek writer Herodotus<\/a>, whose \u201cHistory<\/a>\u201d \u2013 sometimes called \u201cHistories\u201d \u2013 is considered the first great prose narrative in Western literature<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In it, Herodotus analyzed the Persian invasion of Greece \u2013 the defining event of his time. To understand how Greece, a much smaller power, achieved a major victory over Persia, Herodotus explored the nature of effective leadership, which he saw as a critical factor in the conflict\u2019s outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A shocking upset<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Persia was already a vast empire<\/a> when it invaded Greece, a tiny country made up of independent city-states. The Persians expected a quick and easy victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the Greco-Persian Wars lasted over a decade, from 490 to 479 B.C.E. They ended with Greece defeating the Persians \u2013 a shocking upset. Consequently, Persia abandoned its westward expansion, while various Greek city-states formed a tenuous alliance<\/a> that lasted nearly 50 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To explain this unexpected outcome, Herodotus described how Persian and Greek societies developed before this crucial conflict. In his view, the fact that many Greek city-states had representative governments enabled the Greek victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These systems allowed individuals to participate in discussing strategies<\/a> and resulted in the Greeks uniting to fight for freedom<\/a>. For example, when the Persian fleet was headed toward mainland Greece, the Athenian general Miltiades says, \u201cNever before have we been in such extreme danger. If we give in to the Persians, we will suffer greatly under the tyrant Hippias<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herodotus tended to put his political philosophies into the mouths of historical figures such as Miltiades. He condensed his thoughts about government into what historians call the \u201cConstitutional Debate,\u201d a fictional conversation among three real characters: Persian noblemen named Otanes, Megabazus and Darius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A fragment from Herodotus\u2019 \u2018Histories,\u2019 Book VIII, on papyrus, dated to the early second century C.E. Sackler Library, Oxford\/Wikimedia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Persia\u2019s ascent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For centuries prior to invading Greece, Persia had been a small region inhabited by various ancient Iranian peoples<\/a> and controlled by the neighboring kingdom of Media<\/a>. Then, in 550 B.C.E., King Cyrus II of Persia overthrew the Medes and expanded Persian territory<\/a> into what became the Achaemenid Empire<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to his effective leadership and tolerance for the customs of cultures he conquered, historians call him \u201cCyrus the Great<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His son and successor, Cambyses, was less successful. He added Egypt to the Persian empire, but according to Herodotus, Cambyses acted erratically and cruelly. He desecrated the pharaoh\u2019s tomb, mocked the Egyptians\u2019 gods, and killed their sacred Apis bull<\/a>. He also demanded that Persian judges change the laws so that he could marry his own sisters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Cambyses died childless, various factions vied for the Persian throne. Herodotus set his discussion about alternative political systems in this unstable period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case for democracy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Otanes, the first speaker in the Constitutional Debate, says \u201cthe time has passed for any one man among us to have absolute power.\u201d He recommends that the Persian people themselves handle state affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow can monarchy continue to be our norm, when a monarch can do whatever he wants, with no accountability whatsoever?\u201d Otanes asks. Even worse, a monarch \u201cdisrupts the laws,\u201d as Cambyses did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otanes favors rule by the many, which he calls \u201cisonomia,\u201d meaning \u201cequality under the law.\u201d In this system, he explains, politicians are elected and held responsible for their behavior and make decisions transparently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, unlike Otanes, Republican members of Congress appear reluctant to hold Trump responsible for anything<\/a> or ensure transparency within the administration<\/a>. Prominent Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, are challenging Trump administration actions that they view as lawless<\/a>, such as freezing of funds authorized by Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do oligarchs know better?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Otanes\u2019 fellow nobleman, Megabazus, agrees that the Persians should abolish monarchy, but he raises concerns about rule by the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe masses are useless \u2013 there\u2019s nothing more witless and violent than a crowd,\u201d Megabazus asserts. He believes \u201ccommoners\u201d don\u2019t understand the intricacies of policymaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, Megabazus suggests oligarchy, or \u201crule by a few.\u201d Choose the best men in Persia and let them rule everyone else, he urges, because they \u201cwill naturally come up with the best ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Megabazus doesn\u2019t explain who would qualify as \u201cthe best men\u201d or who would select them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. has occasionally resembled an oligarchy, with small, elite groups holding most political power. For example, Article 1, Section 3 of the original Constitution provided for election of senators by state legislators, not directly by the people. Senators were not elected by popular vote until the 17th Amendment passed in 1913<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, Trump has received millions of dollars in support from billionaire tech industry leaders such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos<\/a>, who hope to influence antitrust policy and deregulation<\/a>. The Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Musk before he stepped down in May 2025<\/a>, is now run by young men with virtually no government experience<\/a>. DOGE\u2019s cuts to programs such as humanitarian aid are wreaking havoc across the globe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about monarchy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The third speaker, Darius, sees democracy and oligarchy as equally flawed. He points out that even well-intentioned oligarchs fight among themselves because \u201ceach wants his own opinion to prevail.\u201d This leads to hatred and worse, much like the Trump-Musk relationship gone sour<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather, Darius asserts, \u201cusing good judgment, a monarch will be a flawless guardian of the people.\u201d He argues that since Persia was freed by one man, King Cyrus II, Persians should maintain their traditional monarchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Darius doesn\u2019t explain how to ensure a monarch\u2019s good judgment. But his argument wins out. It had to, since in reality Darius became Persia\u2019s next king. Kings, or shahs, ruled Persia \u2013 it became known as Iran in 1935 \u2013 until the Iranian Revolution of 1979<\/a> eliminated the monarchy and established the Islamic Republic of Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump is not technically a monarch, but some believe he acts like one<\/a>. He and his administration have ignored court orders<\/a>, preempted the powers of Congress<\/a> and sought to silence his critics<\/a> by attacking protected free speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Protesters carry a banner representing the preamble to the U.S. Constitution in downtown Los Angeles during an anti-Trump demonstration on June 14, 2025. Mario Tama\/Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lessons from Herodotus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Herodotus himself was largely pro-democracy<\/a>, but his Constitutional Debate doesn\u2019t endorse one form of government. Instead, it highlights principles of good leadership<\/a>. These include accountability, moderation and respect for \u201cnomos,\u201d a Greek term encompassing the concepts of custom and law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herodotus emphasizes: \u201cFormerly great cities have become small, while small cities have become great.\u201d Human fortune changes constantly, and Persia\u2019s failure to conquer Greece is just one example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History has seen the rise and fall of many world powers<\/a>. Is the United States next? Herodotus viewed the Persian monarchy, whose kings believed their own authority was paramount, as the weakness that led to their astounding defeat in 479 B.C.E.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Debbie Felton<\/a>, Professor of Classics, UMass Amherst<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Debbie Felton, UMass Amherst \u201cNo Kings\u201d rallies. \u201cGood Trouble\u201d protests. \u201cRage against the Regime\u201d uprisings. These events in the first seven months of President Donald Trump\u2019s second term, along with public opinion polls, show that many Americans are concerned about Trump\u2019s expansive use of executive power. Views on this issue often have a partisan slant. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":40102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,277,46,295,10,25,47,296,36,4,38],"tags":[3350,3764,2000,16736,473,479,138,16735,191,885,891,886,860,16174,16242,16737,1602],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40101"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40101"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40207,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40101\/revisions\/40207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}