We often talk loosely of the "tyranny of the majority" as a threat to the workings of democracy.
And like the tyrant, the demos could be Dangerous to counsel since the ora.
Like the tyrant, the Athenian demos was an unaccountable political actor with the power to hold its subordinates to account.
Instead, it highlighted an important structural feature of Athenian democracy.
But, in Ancient Greece, the analogy of demos and tyrant was no mere metaphor, nor a simple reflection of elite prejudice.
We often talk loosely of the "tyranny of the majority" as a threat to the workings of democracy