Periander (/ˌpɛriˈændər/; Greek: Περίανδρος; died c. 585 BC) was the second tyrant of the Cypselid dynasty that ruled over ancient Corinth.

[1] Several accounts state that Periander was a cruel and harsh ruler, but others[2][citation needed] claim that he was a fair and just king who worked to ensure that the distribution of wealth in Corinth was more or less even.

[5] According to the book Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Periander, in a fit of rage, kicked his wife or threw her down a set of stairs so hard that she was killed.

[3] He established colonies at Potidaea in Chalcidice and at Apollonia in Illyria,[3] conquered Epidaurus, formed positive relationships with Miletus and Lydia, and annexed Corcyra, where his son lived much of his life.

Tolls from goods entering Corinth's port accounted for nearly all the government revenues, which Periander used to build temples and other public works, and to promote literature and arts.

Tyrants favored the poor over the rich, sometimes confiscating landlord's possessions and enacting laws that limited their privileges.

They also started the construction of temples, ports and fortifications, and improved the drainage of the city and supply of water.

"He ordered two young men to go out at night by a certain road which he pointed out to them; they were to kill the man they met and bury him.

[2] Diogenes Laertius recounts some adages by him: Tyrants who intend to be safe should make loyalty their bodyguard, not arms.

Diogenes Laërtius writes that "Sotion, and Heraclides, and Pamphila in the fifth book of her Commentaries say that there were two Perianders; the one a tyrant, and the other a wise man, and a native of Ambracia.