Periander

Periander stands among the earliest and most notorious of Greek tyrants, a ruler whose counsel is sought by other strongmen and whose methods are as cold as they are effective. When he sends a herald to Thrasybulus asking how to hold power securely, the answer comes back not in words but in a walk through a field, where Thrasybulus silently cuts down every stalk that rises above the rest. The story captures the logic of tyranny in a single image and makes Periander a byword for the kind of ruler who trusts no one and spares no one.