Teseo: tirano y demagogo

Algunas reflexiones en torno al orden, al léxico político en el Encomio a Helena de Isócrates

Abstract

The concern on the character of leaders is ubiquitous to Hellenic literature. In these reflections, the tyrannos and the demagogós emerge, and they are usually linked to conflict and, therefore, to disorder. If the former is frequently seen in a negative light, the latter is a protean figure.

In this article, I will focus on Isocrates’ Helen, where Theseus is described as tyrannos and demagogós. Both lexical fields, unexpectedly, are used in a positive way. I intend to analyse the hero as an order figure and define which emotional script is linked to him, being “emotional script” a dramatic script associated to an emotion, which entails an evaluative perception at its beginning and various possible responses. My contention is that Isoc.10, demagogós –just like tyrannos– has a different connotation from that we are use to finding in other texts (p.e. Ar.Eq.217, Ra.416; Th.4.21.3, 8.65.2; Lys.25.9; Arist.Pol.1292a) and this is due to the coexistence of two meanings and the emotions that are related to them. Consequently, the semantic content of words is affected by the emotions attached to its successive uses.