\f1 \fs22 During the preceding Mycenean age, the king (basileus) exercised absolute and hereditary power. Between the eigh
th and seventh century BC, the authority of the nobles gradually increased until they were able to impose a new form of government, described as aristocratic, in which power was in the hands of a small minority of aristoi (the best) to the exclusion of t
he rest of the population. Very soon, however, the economic development of the poleis led to the emergence of a new social class, the <<demos>>, whose members were not of noble origin and did not own land, but had accumulated a certain amount of wealth t
hrough the new commercial activities. \par
The demos aspired to play a direct part in the public life of the \b \cf1 \ATXht16 polis\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , but came into conflict with the interests of the aristocracy. The tyrants exploited this conflict and,
through their support of the lower strata of the population, acquired absolute power. Their domination did not last long, however, since even the people whom they had favored soon grew tired of their arbitrary rule. This led, after various ups and downs,
to the formation of more democratic governments. In some cases these were new aristocratic regimes of a more moderate character, but in other it was the demos that assumed power directly.\par
