Calippus Of Syracuse
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Callippus (; ; ) was a
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,
Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...
, who ruled briefly for thirteen monthsSmith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', p. 574 from 354 to 352 BC. He was a native
Athenian 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 ...
who traveled with Dion to
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. ...
to capture Syracuse, whence Dion became the tyrant. Callippus then gained power by assassinating Dion, but ruled briefly before being ousted from power himself. Afterwards he commanded a band of mercenaries, who later killed him with the same
sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
that he used to kill Dion.


Dion's lieutenant

Callippus was an Athenian who became a student of
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 ...
. As the future tyrant of Syracuse, Dion, who was also a student of Plato, recruited Callippus as a member of his army which successfully invaded Syracuse. The army marched into Syracuse with 800 mercenaries and took control of the city, disposing of the previous tyrant, Dion’s nephew Dionysius II.


Assassination and rise to power

In exile, Dionysius bribed Callippus to kill Dion,Plut. Dion. 28-58 and Callippus accepted the offer. He was in a prime position to assassinate Dion, since most of Dion’s closest friends had been killed by Dionysius the Younger, and Callippus was his closest friend remaining. Callippus used the money from Dionysius to
bribe Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...
some of Dion’s troops to defect to him. He then won Dion’s trust by betraying some of the soldiers to Dion, who then enlisted Callippus’s as a secret agent to discover further plotters. In addition, whenever men told Dion that Callippus was maligning him, Dion simply thought that Callippus was acting as a spy. Shortly afterwards, Dion’s only son fell from a window and died. Callippus spread a rumor saying that Dion had invited Dionysius’s son, Apollocrates to come to Syracuse as Dion’s successor. Dion’s wife, Arete, and sister, Aristomache, discovered the Callippus’s plot against Dion, but Dion was still paralyzed with remorse from his son’s death, and refused to take action. Arete and Aristomache further inquired about the plot against Dion, and when Callippus discovered their inquisitiveness, he approached them and told them that he was loyal, and that he would prove his loyalty. They told him to take the Great Oath, involving a ceremony in Persephone’s temple, which he took. Following the ceremony, Callippus broke his vow and stabbed Dion to death, whereupon Callippus took control of Syracuse.


Rule

Following Dion’s assassination, Callippus sent a message to Athens bragging of his deeds, but despite his bluster, Callippus’s hold on Syracuse was tenuous. Friends of Dion attempted a revolt against him, but were unsuccessful. Callippus also had Arete and Aristomache thrown in prison, where Arete gave birth to Dion’s son. But due to his rising unpopularity, Callippus did not have Dion's son killed, despite the danger he posed.


Fall

Several different accounts are given of how Callippus fell from power in Syracuse. According to
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 ...
,Diod. Sic. xvi. 36 Hipparinus, a son of Dionysius the Elder, a previous tyrant of Syracuse, attacked Syracuse with a fleet and army, after which Callippus fled from the city. According to Polyaenus,Polyaenus v. 4 Hipparinus was staying in Leontini when Callippus had sent out his army. Hipparinus attacked while most of the army was gone and secured control of the city. According to
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'', ...
, Callippus does lose control of the city while he is absent, on an expedition to conquer
Catana Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...
. But in Plutarch’s version Hipparinus is not mentioned, and instead Syracuse revolted against Callippus.


Mercenary leadership and death

Callippus then attempted to conquer
Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
instead, but his army was defeated. With his remaining troops he wandered around Sicily, but finding himself unable to support himself he traveled to Italy. There he conquered
Rhegium Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...
, which had previously been controlled by Dionysius the Younger. But because he mistreated his mercenaries, his comrades Leptines II and Polyperchon stabbed him to death with a sword, reputed to be the same sword that killed Dion.


Citations


References

* * * * , width=25% align=center, Preceded by:
Dion , width=25% align=center, Tyrant of Syracuse
354–352 BC , width=25% align=center, Succeeded by:
Hipparinus and Aretaeus , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Callippus of Syracuse Greek defectors Sicilian tyrants Greek assassins Ancient Athenians Ancient Syracusans 4th-century BC Syracusans 4th-century BC deaths Year of birth unknown