Evil Lords uses the prism of bad rule or tyranny to enhance our undestranding of political discourse from the ancient world to the renaissance, offering insights into pre-modern conceptions of sovereignty, as well as into the relation between ethics and politics, the individual and society, and power and propaganda. The volume brings together case studies from 12 top scholars, each examining various aspects of Hebrew, Graeco-Roman, Byzantine, medieval, and Renaissance conceptions and representations of tyrannical government. The book's chapters also examine notions of bad rule within the ideological frameworks and societal patterns of the respective periods, thus painting a picture of historical and intellectual change. This chronological and geographical span creates a narrative of the Western tradition on tyranny from its ancient roots up to its radical revision at the brink of modernity. Tracing this current, the book also shows how tributary developments indigenous to Republican Rome, the Germanic North, and Byzantium fed, and altered, the course of tyranny.

About the Author
Nikos Panou is Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and Peter V. Tsantes Endowed Professor in Hellenic Studies, SUNY Stony Brook. Hester Schadee is Lecturer in European History at the University of Exeter.

Reviews
This collection of essays reflecting on considerations of tyranny from antiquity to the renaissance offers much to those who want a deeper understanding of authoritarian rule.... All of the contributions are informative and clearly written, producing a well-edited and solid volume that builds as it goes. * Classical Journal-Online *
Nikos Panou and Hester Schadee have produced an excellent volume that complements other recent works on monarchic and anti-monarchic discourse ... Given the broad chronological scope of the work, all chapters are accessible and relevant and form a cogent volume that advances current scholarship on antimonarchic discourse and should be essential reading for scholars of sole rule. * Samuel Ellis, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199394852
Author Nikos Panou
Format Hardback
Page Count 264
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 502g
Dimensions(mm) 242mm * 163mm * 24mm