Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/1051

Rh which others say 33 years. (Diod. xvi. 80, xx. 70; Athen. xii. p. 549; Aeliiin, V. 11. ix. 13; Memnon, ap. Phot. Cod. 224.) [L. S.] DIONY'SIUS {£i.iovx)ffios) the Elder, tyrant of SVRACUSB, must have been born in B. c. 431 or 430, as we sire told that he was twenty-five years old when he first obtained the sovereignty of Sy- racuse. (Cic Tunc. V. 20.) We know nothing of his family, but that his father's name was llermo- crates, and that he was born in a private but not low station, so that he received an excellent edu- cation, and began life in the capacity of a clerk in a public office. (Cic. Tusc. v. 20, 22 ; Diod. xiii. yi, 96, xiv. 66 ; Isocr. PhUip. § 73 ; Dem. c. Lept. § 141, p. 506 ; Polyaen. Strateg. y. 2. § 2.) He appears to have early taken part in the political dissensions which agitated Syracuse after the de- struction of the great Athenian armament, and hav- ing joined in the attempt of Hermocrates, the leader of the aristocnitical party, to effect by force his restoration from exile, was so severely wounded as to be left for dead upon the spot. (Diod. xiii. 75.) We next hear of him as serving with dis- tinction in the great war against the Carthaginians, who had invaded Sicily under Hannibal, the son of Cisco, and successively reduced and destroyed Selinus, Hiraera, and Agrigentum. These disas- ters, and especially the failure of the Syracusan general, Daphnaeus, to relieve Agrigentum, had created a general spirit of discontent and alarm, both at Syracuse and among the allies, of which Dionysius skilfully availed himself. He came for- ward' in the popular assembly as the accuser of the unsuccessful commanders, and, being supported by Philistus, the historian, and Hipparinus, men of wealth and influence, he succeeded in procuring a decree for deposing the existing generals, and ap- pointing others in their stead, among whom was J)iony8ius himself. (Diod. xiii. 91, 92; Aristot. PolU. V, 5, 6.) His efforts seem from this time to have been directed towards supplanting his new colleagues and obtaining the sole direction of af- fairs. He persuaded the Syracusans to recall the exiles, most of whom were probably partizans of Hermocrates, and would readily admit him as their leader, and secretly accused his colleagues in the command of holding intelligence with the enemy. Being soon after sent to Gela with the separate command of a body of auxiliaries, he there carried on similar intrigues, and when he thought that he had sufficiently secured to himself the favour both of the people of Gela and of his own troops, he returned abruptly to Syracuse, and brought before the assembled people distinct charges of corruption and treachery against his brother generals. These found ready belief, and it was determined to depose all the others and appoint Dionysius sole general, with full powers. (Diod. xiii. 92—94.) This was in the spring of the year B. c. 405, the first appointment of Dionysius as one of the genei-aJs having been in Dec. 40. Comp. Clinton, F. H. ii. p. 82; Diod. /.c; Dionys. vii. 1.) According to Plutarch, indeed, Hipparinus, who is represented by Aristotle {Polit. v. 6) as lending his aid to pro- cure the elevation of Dionysius, was at first ap- pointed his colleague in the chief command (Plut JHotiy 3) ; but, if this be not a mistake, his autho- rity could have been little more than nominal, as he plays no part in the subsequent tninsactions. The position of general autocrator by no means implied in itself the exercise of sovereign power, but the measures of Dionysius soon rendered it such ; and we may date from this period the commencement of his reign, or tyranny, which continued without interruption for 38 years. His first step was to pro- cure, on the ground of an attempt on his life, whether real or pretended, the appointment of a body-guard, which he speedily increased to the number of 1000 men: at the same time he induced the Syracusans to double the pay of all the troops, and took every means to ingratiate himself with the mercen{^rie», taking care to repLice those officers who were un- favourable to him by creatures of his own. By his marriage with the daughter of Hermocrates he secured to himself the support of all the remaining partizans of that leader, and he now found himself strong enough to procure the condemnation and execution of Daphnaeus and Demarchus, the heads of the opposite party. (Diod. xiii. 95, 96.) His first operations in the war against the Car- thaginians were, however, unsuccessful. Having advanced with a large army to the relief of Gela, then besieged by Himilco, he was defeated, and deemed it prudent to retire, taking with him the inhabitants both of Gela itself and the neighbour- ing Caniarina. This reverse gave a severe shock to his popularity, of which his enemies at Syracuse availed themselves to attempt to overthrow his power. For a moment they were masters of the city, but Dionysius disconcerted their plans by the suddenness of his return, and compelled them to quit the city, though not until his unfortunate wife had fallen a victim to their cruelty. (Diod. xiii. 108—113, xiv. 44 ; Plut, Dion, 3.) He soon after- wards gladly accepted the overtures of the Cartha- ginian general Himilco, whose army had suffered greatly from a pestilence, and concluded peace with Carthage b. c. 405. (Diod. xiii. 114.) He was now able to devote his whole attention to strengthening and consolidating his power at home. He converted the island of Ortygia into a strong fortress, in which he took up his own resi- dence, and allowed no one but his own immediate dependents to dwell; and while he courted the favour of the populace by assigning them lands and houses, he augmented their numbers by admitting many aliens and newly-freed slaves to the rights of citizenship. These measures naturally gave um- brage to the higher class of citizens who formed the heavy-armed infantry, and they took advantage of an expedition on which he led them against the Sicelians to break out into open revolt. They were instantly joined by the exiles who had established themselves at Aetna, and Dionysius was compelled to take refuge in the isknd which he had so re- cently fortified. From this danger, however, he managed to extricate himself by the aid of a body of Campanian mercenaries, seconded by the dissen- sions which broke out among his enemies. Some of these submitted to him on favourable terras ; the rest retired to Aetna. (Diod. xiv. 7 — 9.) From this time his authority at Syracuse appears to have been undisputed. He soon after took adv;uitage of the harvest time to disarm those citizens whom he had still cause to fear, and reduced the fortress of Aetna, which had been the stronghold of the exiles disaffected to his government. (lb. cc. 10, His arms were next directed against the Chalci- dian cities of Sicily. Naxos, Catana, and Leon- tini, successively fell into his power, either by force or treachery. The inhabitants were eithez