Military leader and tyrant of Syracuse (r. 406-367 b. c.e.)
Born: c. 430 b. c.e.; Sicily
Died: 367 b. c.e.; Sicily
Category: Military; Government and politics
Life Born into the aristocracy of the Sicilian Greek polis of Syracuse, Dionysius the Elder (di-uh-NISH-ee-uhs) brushed aside the opposition of his peers to become tyrant of the city in 406 b. c.e. Throughout his life, he fought a series of campaigns aimed at driving the Carthaginians from Sicily and constructing a Syracusan empire on the island. He also took an active interest in the affairs of the Greek mainland and eastern Aegean, forming ties with Sparta and Corinth, although he was often viewed with suspicion. In 388 or 384 b. c.e., he sent chariot teams and orators to the Olympic Games, but the teams lost, and Dionysius’s poetry was ridiculed. In 368 b. c.e., in gratitude for his hostility to the Boeotians, the Athenians granted him citizenship and a crown. His play The Ransom of Hector (367 b. c.e.; now lost) defeated its competitors at the Lenaea festival in Athens the following year, shortly before his death.
Influence Dionysius the Elder can be seen as the fourth century b. c.e. version of Archaic Greek tyrants such as Pisistratus and Polycrates of Samos, skilled not only in military tactics but also in diplomacy and the arts. Many ancient philosophers (that is, at Plato’s Academy) and other authors (Ephorus, Polyaenus) devoted space in their works to him. Although not responsible for large-scale conquests, he occupies a position among the great military leaders of world history.
Further Reading
Caven, Brian. Dionysius I: War-Lord of Sicily. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990.
Sanders, Lionel J. Dionysius I of Syracuse and Greek Tyranny. London: Groom Helm, 1987.
Smith, Christopher, and John Serrati, eds. Sicily from Aeneas to Augustus: New Approaches in Archaeology and History. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press, 2000.
Brian Rutishauser
See also: Carthaginian-Syracusan War; Dionysius the Younger; Syracuse.
World History
