Dionysius the Elder

(430-367 BCE) Also known as Dionysius I; the tyrant of the city of Syracuse on the island of Sicily from 405-367 BCE.

Dionysius was the son of a prosperous merchant named Hermokritos (Hermocritus), he gained a favorable reputation as an able administrator and stalwart soldier; he attained the rank of general and, circa 405 BCE, manipulated his way into a position of complete control of the government; he established a citadel on the island of Ortygia and ruled Syracuse from this fortified stronghold.

Because of its strategic location, the island of Sicily was a turbulent place during the time of Dionysus; although settled by the Greeks circa 734 BCE, the island was soon loosely divided between the Carthaginians on the western side of the island and the Greek colony cities on the east; Dionysus conducted war against the Carthaginians from circa 402-399 BCE in order to gain more territory but did not succeed in driving the Carthaginians from Sicily; he expanded his dominion slightly but the division of Sicily remained essentially the same with the Carthaginians on the west and the Greeks, i.e. Dionysus, on the east.

Dionysus then tried to extend his grasp into southern Italy and laid siege to the city of Rhegium in 390 BCE; this was followed a series of expansionist expeditions which had little cumulative effect but seemed to always involve conflict directly or indirectly with the Carthaginians; his allies on the Greek mainland varied but he was respected by both Athens and Sparta; his resourcefulness and ambition were undisguised and this made him, although ruthless, an honorable man.

He is most famous for his pointed demonstration to the flatterer, Damokles (Damocles); when Damokles was prattling about the tyrant’s good fortune, Dionysius placed Damokles under a sword that was suspended by a single hair to dramatically demonstrate the precarious nature of happiness; thus the phrase, The Sword of Damokles, implies that happiness is very tenuous and should be savored whenever it is experienced.

After his death, Dionysius was succeeded by his son who assumed the name Dionysius II.