The concept of tyrannos in book I of Herodotus' Histories

• Grant number: 16/04061-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2016
• End date: December 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Literature - Classical Languages
• Principal Investigator: Breno Battistin Sebastiani
• Grantee: Matheus Fernandes Moreira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The representation of Archaic tyrannies by Herodotus is a widely discussed topic in the bibliography concerning the Histories because of the complexity and fluidity of the concept of tyrannos developed by the author. This research project aims to analyze the construction of such concept in the first book of Herodotus' Histories through two characters: Croesus, king of Ancient Lydia, and Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens during the Archaic period. The accomplishment of this analysis concerns the relationship between these characters which shape the Herodotean tyrannical stereotype: both hold political power and ethical values of a similar nature, but we must pay attention to the nuances exposed by the author on the manner in which each character conquers power and, having acquired it, how exercise it. Based on a school translation of selected excerpts from the book I of the Histories, this research project intend to undertake a dialectical analysis between the selected characters. This analysis will be supported by the hermeneutics proposal of gaze. (AU)