Aristotle › Greek Lexicon › δεσπότης

δεσπότης

despotes

master, lord

Appears 51 times across Aristotle's works.

Frequency by work

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Dictionary (LSJ)

δεσπότης, ου, ὁ; voc. δέσποτᾰ: Ion. acc. δεσπότεα Hdt. 1.91, al., Luc. Syr.D. 25:—Α. master, lord, prop. the master of the house, δόμων A. Eu. 60, etc.; ὄμμα γὰρ δόμων νομίζω δεσπότου παρουσίαν Id. Pers. 169: pl., of a family, Id. Ag. 32, Ch. 53, 82(lyr.); in respect of slaves, Pl. Prm. 133d; δοῦλοι καὶ δ. οὐκ ἄν ποτε γένοιντο φίλοι Id. Lg. 757a, etc.; δ. καὶ δοῦλος Arist. Pol. 1253b6, cf. 1278b35; ὦ δέσποτʼ ἄναξ Ar. Pax 90 (anap.); ὦναξ δέσποτα ib.389, Fr. 598; δέσποτʼ ἄναξ Men. 312.5. 2. despot, absolute ruler, Hdt. 3.89, Th. 6.77; τύραννος καὶ δ. Pl. Lg. 859a; of the Roman Emperors, Ph. 2.568, D.C. 55.12, Hdn. 1.6.4; γᾶς καὶ θαλάσσας δ. IG 12(2).216 (Mytilene). 3. of the gods, S. Fr. 535, E. Hipp. 88, Ar. V. 875, X. An. 3.2.13. 4. dominant planet, Vett. Val.5.16. II. generally, master, lord, owner, κώμου, ναῶν, Pi. O. 6.18, P. 4.207; μαντευμάτων A. Th. 27; τῶν Ἡρακλείων ὅπλων S. Ph. 262; ἑπτὰ δεσποτῶν, of the seven Chiefs against Thebes, E. Supp. 636; τοῦ ὄρτυγος Poll. 9.108.—Not in Hom. (for metrical reasons), though he uses δέσποινα in Od. (Prob. for δεμσποτ- ‘lord of the house’, cf. δόμος.)

Key passages & sense analysis (Bonitz)

Index Aristotelicus. Hermann Bonitz's sense-by-sense analysis of δεσπότης — with the passages he singles out as decisive for each meaning — will appear here. That curated, interpretive selection is the layer LSJ and a raw concordance don't provide. Digitisation in progress; this entry is not yet available.
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