ABSTRACT

The legitimacy of the authority that is exercised is derived only from itself, and in the restricted circle of the community concerned the dictator is like an all-powerful god. The sacred emphasis has shifted, but the dream at the heart of the myth persists, and the dictator figure keeps on recurring. And, for all they know, these secular forms of expression may touch on the essential mythical reality behind the concept of the dictator. It therefore follows that literature is only the preferred medium for expressing, and perhaps investigating, the mythical concept of the dictator. The dissemination of the dictator figure through world literature has been on a vast scale. People's most recent causes for concern coincide with the apprehensions expressed in the most ancient myths; and, unless it implodes on itself, the figure of the dictator will inevitably continue to haunt their imagination.