Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder ( 432 – 367 BC) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

of Syracuse,

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western

colonies. He was regarded by the ancients as the worst kind of despot: cruel, suspicious, and vindictive. Endnotes: * Diod. Sic. xiii., xiv., xv. *J. Bass, ''Dionysius I. von Syrakus'' (Vienna, 1881), with full references to authorities in footnotes

Early life

Dionysius began his working life as a clerk in a public office. Because of his achievements in the war against Carthage that began in 409 BC, he was elected supreme military commander in 406 BC. In the following year he seized total power and became tyrant. He was married to Aristomache, and had a daughter by her,

Arete () is a concept in ancient Greek thought that refers to "excellence" of any kind—especially a person or thing's "full realization of potential or inherent function." The term may also refer to excellence in "Virtue, moral virtue." The conce ...

. He was married at the same time to Doris of Locris, who bore him his son, Dionysius II of Syracuse.

Rise to power

Dionysius seized power with the help of a personal group of mercenaries, likely recruited from among the Sileraioi. This force, initially 600 men and later raised to 1,000, was granted to him as a bodyguard after he faked an attack on his own life. Having consolidated his position, Dionysius imposed the mercenaries on all parts of the

polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

community, signaling that democracy had ended in Syracuse. His rule was "unconstitutional and illegitimate and could not fail to provoke rebellions among the partisans of democratic government". Dionysius' position at home was threatened as early as 403 by those philosophically opposed to tyranny.

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

, which had in the past deposed tyrants from

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, did not damn Dionysius and his

autocracy Autocracy is a form of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and Head of government, government, known as an autocrat. It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with demo ...

. In fact, according to the historian

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

, relations between the two were very positive:

When the Lacedaemonians partanshad settled the affairs of Greece to their own taste, they dispatched Aristus, one of their distinguished men, to Syracuse, ostensibly pretending that they would overthrow the government, but in truth with intent to increase the power of the tyranny; for they hoped that by helping to establish the rule of Dionysius they would obtain his ready service because of their benefactions to him.

Dionysius even received the privilege of conscripting mercenaries from lands under Spartan authority. The demise of such a prominent democratic ''polis'' and the subsequent actions of Dionysius represented a recurring norm in fourth-century Greek states, thanks to the prevalence of mercenaries. The mercenary and the tyrant went hand in hand; for example,

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

noted that "the security of despots rests entirely on the loyalty and power of mercenaries".

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

wrote that some form of "guard" (i.e., a personal army) is needed for absolute kingship,Aristotle ''Politics'' 1286b28-40 and for an elected tyrant an optimum number of professional soldiers should be employed. Too few would undermine the tyrant's power, while too many would threaten the polis itself. The philosopher also notes that the people of Syracuse were warned not to let Dionysius conscript too many "guards" during his regime.

Conquests

He fought a war with Carthage from 397 BC to 392 BC with mixed success; his attempts to drive the

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

entirely out of Sicily failed; at his death they were still masters of at least a third of it. He carried out an expedition against the Italiote League in 387 BC in southern Italy. In one campaign, in which he was joined by the Lucanians, he devastated the territories of

Thurii Thurii (; ; ), called also by some Latin writers Thūrium (compare , in Ptolemy), and later in Roman times also Cōpia and Cōpiae, was an ancient Greek city situated on the Gulf of Taranto, near or on the site of the great renowned city of Syb ...

and Croton in an attempt to defend

Locri Locri is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of the ancient Greek region of Locris. Today it is an important administrative and cultural center on the Ion ...

. After a protracted siege, he took Rhegium in 386 and sold the inhabitants as slaves. He also pillaged the temple of Caere (then allied with Rome) on the Etruscan coast. In the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

, to facilitate trade, Dionysius founded

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

Adria Adria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po River, Po. The remains of the Etruria, Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below ...

and Issa. After him, the Adriatic became a sea of Syracuse. In the

Corinthian War The Corinthian War (395–387 BC) was a conflict in ancient Greece which pitted Sparta against a coalition of city-states comprising Thebes, Greece, Thebes, Classical Athens, Athens, Ancient Corinth, Corinth and Argos, Peloponnese, Argos, backe ...

, he joined the side of the

ns and assisted them with

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

and ships (which contributed in blocking the Athenians' supplies from the Black Sea forcing them to peace). In 385 BC, Alcetas of Epirus was a refugee in Dionysius' court. Dionysius wanted a friendly monarch in

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

, so he sent 2,000 Greek

hoplites Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the soldi ...

and 500 suits of Greek armour to help the Illyrians under

Bardyllis Bardylis or Bardyllis (; ; –358 BC) was an Illyrian king, and the founder of the first attested Illyrian dynasty. During his reign, Bardylis aimed to make Illyria a regional power interfering with Macedon. He united many southern Illyrian t ...

in attacking the

Molossians The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On t ...

of Epirus. They ravaged the region and killed 15,000 Molossians, and Alcetas regained his throne. He joined the

Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...

ns in an attempt to plunder the temple of

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

. Sparta intervened under Agesilaus, however, and with aid from Thessaly, Macedonia, and the Molossians themselves, the Spartans expelled the Illyrians.

Death

According to some sources, after gaining a prize for one of his tragedies, “The Ransom of Hector” (see '' Intellectual tastes'' below), at a competition at the

Lenaia The Lenaia () was an annual Athenian festival with a dramatic competition. It was one of the lesser festivals of Athens and Ionia in ancient Greece. The Lenaia took place in Athens in Gamelion, roughly corresponding to January. The festival was in ...

festival at Athens, he was so elated that he drank himself to death. Others such as Cicero and Diodorus Siculus report that he died of natural causes shortly after learning of his play's victory in 367 BC. According to others, he was given an overdose of a sleeping potion by his physicians at the instigation of his son, Dionysius the Younger, who succeeded him as ruler of Syracuse. A similar theory, proposed by

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

, stated that Dionysius "was defeated and broken by constant warfare, and finally murdered by a conspiracy of his own kin". Modern historian Jeff Champion states that there is no evidence to prove the claim he was conspired against. His life was written by

Philistus Philistus (; 432 – 356 BC), son of Archomenidas, was a Greek historian from Sicily, Magna Graecia. Life Philistus was born in Syracuse around the time the Peloponnesian War began. He was a faithful supporter of the elder Dionysius, and c ...

, but the work is lost.

Intellectual tastes

Pisistratus Pisistratus (also spelled Peisistratus or Peisistratos; ; – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unification of Attica, the triangular p ...

, tyrant of

, Dionysius was fond of having literary men around him, such as the historian

, the poet Philoxenus, and the philosopher

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

, but treated them in a most arbitrary manner.

relates in his ''

Bibliotheca historica ''Bibliotheca historica'' (, ) is a work of Universal history (genre), universal history by Diodorus Siculus. It consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in theme, and describe the h ...

'' that Dionysius once had Philoxenus arrested and sent to the quarries for voicing a bad opinion about his poetry. The next day, he released Philoxenus because of his friends' requests, and brought the poet before him for another poetry reading. Dionysius read his own work and the audience applauded. When he asked Philoxenus how he liked it, the poet turned to the guards and said "take me back to the quarries."

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

relates a version of this story in his ''On the Fortune of Alexander''. He also posed as an author and patron of literature; his poems, severely criticized by Philoxenus, were hissed at the Olympic games, but having gained a prize for a tragedy on the ''Ransom of Hector'' at the Lenaea at

, he was so elated that he engaged in a debauch which, according to some sources, proved fatal. His name is also known for the legend of Damon and Pythias, and he features indirectly (via his son) in the legend of the Sword of Damocles. The Ear of Dionysius in Syracuse is an artificial limestone cave named after Dionysius.

Historical significance and legacy

Dionysius was one of the major figures in Greek and European history. He was a champion of the struggle between the Greeks and

for Sicily, and was the first to bring the war into the enemy's territory. He transformed Syracuse into the most powerful city in the Greek world, and made it the seat of an empire stretching from Sicily across to Italy. It is said that Dionysius foreshadowed the accomplishments of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

and beyond him of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

. He also foreshadowed these later rulers in being one of the first Greek rulers to be given divine honors during his lifetime, and he made innovations in military technique, such as siege engines, which became a standard feature of warfare under Alexander the Great and later generals. It has been theorized that Brennus was working in concert with Dionysius, who sought to control all of Sicily. Rome had strong allegiances with Messana, a small city state in north east Sicily, which Dionysius wanted to control. Rome's army being pinned down by Brennus' efforts would have assisted Dionysius's campaign.

Walls of Syracuse

In 402 BC Dionysius I began building the walls of Syracuse, which included an impressive citadel, the

Euryalus fortress The Euryalus Fortress located in the frazione of Belvedere, Sicily, Belvedere, was the key point in the fortifications of the ancient Greek city of Ancient Syracuse, Syracuse, Magna Graecia. It is located on the highest point of the hill of Epipola ...

, protecting the plateau to the northwest of Syracuse, the remains of which are still visible today. The walls were completed in 397 BC and had the following characteristics: * Length: 27 km * Width at base: 3.3 m to 5.35 m * Number of known towers on circuit: 14 (including Euryalos) * Largest tower: 8.5 m x 8.5 m * Deepest ditch (at Euryalos fortress): 9 m Building so big a fortress would have involved installing well over 300 tons of stone every day for 5 years.

In popular culture and literature

Dionysius I is one of the central characters in the legend of the Sword of Damocles. Dionysius I also appears to be mentioned in

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's '' Inferno'' (of the ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

'') (1308–21) as a tyrant who suffers in a river of boiling blood, although there is some dispute the Dionysius of reference may be his son, Dionysius II. He features prominently in

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American author of science fiction, Fantasy literature, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of ...

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

'' The Arrows of Hercules'' (1965) as a patron of inventors on the island of

Ortygia Ortygia ( ; ; ) is a small island which is the historical centre of the city of Syracuse, Sicily. The island, also known as the (Old City), contains many historical landmarks. The name originates from the Ancient Greek (), which means " quail ...

near Syracuse. A fictional version of Dionysius is a character in Mary Renault's historical novel '' The Mask of Apollo'' (1966). He is the main character in Valerio Massimo Manfredi's novel ''Tyrant'' (2003). "Dionysius the Tyrant" is mentioned in the 2006 Robert Harris novel ''

Imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...

'' as the founder of the Stone Quarries of Syracuse. The narrator,

Marcus Tullius Tiro Marcus Tullius Tiro (died 4 BC) was first a Roman slave, slave, then a freedman, of Cicero from whom he received his Nomen gentilicium, nomen and praenomen. He is frequently mentioned in Cicero's letters. After Cicero's death Tiro published h ...

, proclaims the Stone Quarries "the most fearsome prison in the world." He is featured in the 1962 film '' Damon and Pythias'' (''Il tiranno di Siracusa''). He also features in

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

's " Die Bürgschaft", as well as Osamu Dazai's reworked version " Run, Melos!".