Abstract
A model for the formation of compact elliptical galaxies as satellites of massive galaxies is presented. It is assumed that compact ellipticals formed through a starburst and the subsequent violent collapse of the stellar system. Numerical N-body experiments show that one can understand the peculiar structure of compacts if they were produced as a result of the relaxation of initially cold stellar systems which were disturbed by the tidal field of a bright galaxy. The observed differences between compact ellipticals and low-mass giant ellipticals might therefore result from the fact that the compacts formed within the potential well of another galaxy whereas the giant ellipticals evolved as isolated systems
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