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11. ἔτι ... πρότερον—referring to c. 8. 3.

12. τὰ πολλάin most cases.

13. τῶν προσόδων μ. γιγνομένων—this goes closely with καθίσταντο, tyrannies were established where the revenues (of the government) increased. But δυνατωτέρας ... ποιουμένης is a general statement with regard to Greece, and qualifies the whole sentence down to ἀντείχοντο. Thuc. means that a tyranny was generally established in a city enjoying a large revenue, which one man, whether a member of the governing class or not, succeeded in getting into his hands as the result of political agitation.

14. πρότερον δέ—not necessarily immediately before, for in most cases oligarchy preceded tyranny, but in earlier days where one man ruled, his power was limited.

ἐπὶ ῥητοῖς γέρασιwith (under the condition of) fixed prerogatives, viz. as priest, judge and leader (Arist. Pol. 3.14, 12). The purpose of this parenthesis is to point out that the rule of a single man, though it was known before the age of the tyrants, had been of a wholly different character. The age of the tyrants synchronises with an advance in Greece; yet the deeds even of the tyrants were relatively insignificant. As to tyranny, Aristotle agrees with Thuc.: ἐπεὶ δὲ χεἰρους γενόμενοι ἐχρηματίζοντο ἀπὸ τῶν κοινῶν, ἐντεῦθέν ποθεν εὔλογον γενέσθαι τὰς ὀλιγαρχίας ... ἐκ δὲ τούτων πρῶτον εἰς τυραννίδας μετέβαλον.

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