Page:History of Greece Vol X.djvu/466

 444 HISTORY OF GREECE. him, lie invited others from till quarters, by tempting oners; choosing by preference outlaws and profligates, and liberating slaves for the purpose. 1 Next, summoning from Gela Dexippus the Lacedsemonian, with the troops under his command, he sen/ this officer away to Peloponnesus, as a man not trustworthy foi his purpose and likely to stand forward on behalf of the freedom of Syracuse. He then consolidated all the mercenaries under one organization, officering them anew with men devoted to himself. This fresh military levy and organization was chiefly accom- plished during his stay at Leontini, without the opposition which would probably have arisen if it had been done at Syracuse ; to which latter place Dionysius marched back, in an attitude far more imposing than when he left it. He now entered the gates at the head not only of his chosen body-guard, but also of a regu- lar army of mercenaries, hired by and dependent upon himself. He marched them at once into the islet of Ortygia (the interior and strongest part of the city, commanding the harbor), estab- lished his camp in that acropolis of Syracuse, and stood forth as despot conspicuously in the eyes of all. Though the general sen timent among the people was one of strong repugnance, yet his powerful military force and strong position rendered all hope of open resistance desperate. And the popular assembly, convoked under the pressure of this force, and probably composed of none but his partisans, was found so subservient, as to condemn and execute, upon his requisition, Daphnaeus and Demarchus. These two men, both wealthy and powerful in Syracuse, had been his chief opponents, and were seemingly among the very generals whom he had incited the people to massacre on the spot without any form of trial, in one of the previous public assemblies. 2 One step alone remained to Decorate the ignoble origin of Dionysius, and to mark the triumph of the Hermokratean party by whom its elevation had been mainly brought about. He immediately mar- ried the daughter of Hormokrates ; giving his own sister in mar- riage to Polyxenus, the brother of that deceased chief. 3 Thus was consummated the fifth or closing act of the despot's progress, rendering Dionysius master of the lives and fortunes of 1 Diodor. xi^, 7. roi'f ty .evdepufiivovf JotMoi/f, etc.
 * Diodor. xiii, 96. 3 Diodor 1, c. ; Plutarch, Dicn. c. 3