Tyranny, in the Greco-Roman world, an autocratic form of rule in which one individual exercised power without any legal restraint. In antiquity the word tyrant was not necessarily pejorative and signified the holder of absolute political power. In its modern usage the word tyranny is usually pejorative and connotes the illegitimate possession or use of such power.
In ancient Greece, a tyrant was simply a person who ruled a city-state by themselves, but who lacked the traditional or constitutional authority of a king or elected leader. This system of government emerged between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, as traditional monarchies and aristocracies were challenged.
It would be the "Fundamental Orders of Connecticut" that is <span>credited with being the original example of the american value of self government, although the Mayflower Compact also gets some recognition. </span>