Alexander, tagus or despot of Pherae in Thessaly, ruled from 369 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and successor of the tyrant Jason of Pherae, who was assassinated in 370 BC. Despotism is a form of government by a single authority, either a single person (ie. ... Pherae was an ancient Greek city in Thessaly. ... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC - 360s BC - 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 374 BC 373 BC 372 BC 371 BC 370 BC - 369 BC - 368 BC 367 BC 366... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC - 350s BC - 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 363 BC 362 BC 361 BC 360 BC 359 BC 358 BC 357 BC 356 BC 355... Jason of Pherae was the ruler of Thessaly during the period just before Philip of Macedon came to power. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC - 370s BC - 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 375 BC 374 BC 373 BC 372 BC 371 BC - 370 BC - 369 BC 368 BC 367...

Alexander's tyranny caused the Aleuadae of Larissa to invoke the aid of Alexander II of Macedon, whose intervention was successful, but after the Macedonian withdrawal Alexander treated his subjects as cruelly as before. The Thessalians next applied to Thebes; Pelopidas, who was sent to their assistance, was treacherously seized and thrown into prison (368), and it was necessary to send Epaminondas with a large army to secure his release. Alexander's conduct caused renewed intervention; in 364 he was defeated at Cynoscephalae by the Thebans, although the victory was dearly bought by the loss of Pelopidas, who fell in the battle. This page is about the religious concept of Tyranny. ... Larissa (Greek: Λάρισα, Lárisa) is the capital city of the Thessaly periphery of Greece, and capital of the Larissa Prefecture. ... Alexander II was king of Macedon from 370 - 368 BC, following the death of his father Amyntas II. He was the eldest of the three sons of Amyntas and Eurydice. ... For the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, see Thebes, Egypt. ... Pelopidas (d. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC - 360s BC - 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 373 BC 372 BC 371 BC 370 BC 369 BC - 368 BC - 367 BC 366 BC 365... For information about the modern board game of the same name, see Epaminondas (game). ... At the Battle of Cynoscephalae (364 BC), the Theban forces of Pelopidas fought against the Thessalian troops of Alexander of Pherae in a drawn battle in which Pelopdias was killed. ...

Alexander was at last crushed by the Thebans, compelled to acknowledge the freedom of the Thessalian cities and to limit his rule to Pherae, and forced to join the Boeotian league. He was murdered by his wife's brother at her instigation. Ancient accounts, such as Plutarch's Life of Pelopidas, agree in describing Alexander as a cruel and suspicious tyrant: Boeotia or Beotia (//, (Greek Βοιωτια; see also list of traditional Greek place names) was the central area of ancient Greece. ... Plutarch Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46- 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was an Hellenistic historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ...

Alexander, the tyrant of Pherae (this last should be his only appellation; he should not be permitted to disgrace the name of Alexander), as he watched a tragic actor, felt himself much moved to pity through enjoyment of the acting. He jumped up, therefore, and left the theatre at a rapid pace, exclaiming that it would be a dreadful thing, if, when he was slaughtering so many citizens, he should be seen to weep over the sufferings of Hecuba and Polyxena. And he came near visiting punishment upon the actor because the man had softened his heart, as iron in the fire.

—Plutarch, Moralia: "On the Fortune of Alexander."

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.