As previously stated the Greek population tended to increase beyond the resource limits that the Polis could sustain, therefore the excess population needed to be dealt with in some manner. This could be done with war, which was almost a constant manifestation in the region during these years, or by sending citizens out to form colonies. More and more though the disparity of wealth and resources led Greek citizenry to grow resentful of the aristocracy. This accompanied by the stasis would give rise to a new breed of rulers, the Tyrant. These Tyrants gained power illegitimacy often by killing or exiling their rivals making numerous enemies among the citizenry and aristocrats. Yet colonies seemed an excellent means of controlling the populace, thus consolidating power. Greek scholar Herodotus explains the mindset of the Tyrants in maintaining power: ”And ever and again as he saw one of the ears of grain growing above the rest he would strike it down, and what he struck down he threw away, until by this means he had destroyed all the fairest and strongest of the grain….” (Herodotus 5.92). The tyrant would dispose of the troublesome elements of the population wither by killing or more relevantly by sending them off to colonies. This is not all the tyrants did to alleviate the problem of the stasis, they also created an aristocracy based on wealth rather than land. This
As previously stated the Greek population tended to increase beyond the resource limits that the Polis could sustain, therefore the excess population needed to be dealt with in some manner. This could be done with war, which was almost a constant manifestation in the region during these years, or by sending citizens out to form colonies. More and more though the disparity of wealth and resources led Greek citizenry to grow resentful of the aristocracy. This accompanied by the stasis would give rise to a new breed of rulers, the Tyrant. These Tyrants gained power illegitimacy often by killing or exiling their rivals making numerous enemies among the citizenry and aristocrats. Yet colonies seemed an excellent means of controlling the populace, thus consolidating power. Greek scholar Herodotus explains the mindset of the Tyrants in maintaining power: ”And ever and again as he saw one of the ears of grain growing above the rest he would strike it down, and what he struck down he threw away, until by this means he had destroyed all the fairest and strongest of the grain….” (Herodotus 5.92). The tyrant would dispose of the troublesome elements of the population wither by killing or more relevantly by sending them off to colonies. This is not all the tyrants did to alleviate the problem of the stasis, they also created an aristocracy based on wealth rather than land. This