Dion (408-354 BC) was the Tyrant of Syracuse from 357 to 354 BC, succeeding Dionysius II and preceding Calippus. Dion was the brother-in-law and chief advisor of Dionysius I of Syracuse (through his sister's marriage to Dionysius), the husband of Dionysius' daughter (and his niece) Arete, and the brother-in-law of Dionysius I's son Dionysius II (through his marriage to Arete), and he was also a student of the philosopher Plato. Dion expected to be named Dionysius I's heir on his death in 367 BC, but the young libertine Dionysius II instead inherited the throne, and, while Dion attempted to help the young Dionysius govern, the younger Dionysius' young and inexperienced advisors poisoned the tyrant's mind against Dion, whom they exiled, in spite of his attempts to incorporate Platonic principles into Dionysius' governing style. Dion was exiled in Greece for several years, but he returned to Syracuse in 357 BC and seized control of the city-state, ostensibly to restore democracy to the city. However, Dion proved to be a conservative aristocrat who wished to establish a Platonic constitutional monarchy with a king and an aristocratic senate checked by democratic limitations, and his refusal to commit to democracy led to his intermittent periods of reigning and deposition from 357 to 354 BC. Ultimately, in 354 BC, Dion turned the people of Syracuse against him by assassinating the populist leader and his former ally Heracleides, and his former friend Calippus had Dion assassinated at his home, reigning for a year before being himself overthrown and exiled.
Biography[]
Early career[]
Dion was born in Syracuse, Sicily in 408 BC, the son of the Syracusan statesman and general Hipparinus. His sister was married to Tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse, but Dionysius' other wife, Doris of Locri, gave birth to Dionysius' heir, Dionysius the Younger. Dion went on to marry his niece Arete, and Dion became an important advisor to Dionysius I and was so influential at court that he managed Syracuse's embassies to Carthage and was allowed to withdraw money from the Syracusan treasury whenever he wished, although he had to report to Dionysius daily. Dion was also a student of philosophy, meeting Plato in 387 BC and excelling among Plato's disciples. Dion attempted to incorporate Platonic principles into the government of Syracuse, but Dionysius exiled Plato after Plato spoke out against tyrannical governments. While Dionysius I was on his deathbed, Dion attempted to persuade Dionysius to name him his successor, but Dionysius' doctors favored Dionysius the Younger, and Dionysius the Younger had his father poisoned before he could name an heir. Dionysius II proceeded to become the next Tyrant, and he lived the life of a libertine and paid too much attention to unscrupulous advisors who wished to discredit Dion.
Exile to Athens[]
As Syracuse declined due to mismanagement by Dionysius II's young and inexperienced advisors, many Syracusans looked to Dion to restore the city to its former glory. Dion propose to furnish 50 new triremes with his own money for the wars with Carthage, but Dionysius II's advisors warned the tyrant that Dion was merely seeking to increase his own power. Dion then attempted to teach the young Dionysius about Platonic philosophy and good governance, sparking the young Dionysius' interest and leading to Plato being re-invited to Syracuse. However, Dionysius II's advisors once again intervened, and the philosopher Philistus was recalled from exile and led the opposition against Dion. Dion was forced to work with the admiral Heracleides and the general Theodotes to overthrow Dionysius, agreeing to overthrow Dionysius if political reform did not happen. When Dionysius decided that he no longer wished to reign as a tyrant, Philistus and his supporters campaigned extensively against Dion and persuaded Dionysius that Dion was the greatest of deceivers, poisoning his mind against Dion. Dionysius had Dion exiled after discovering that Dion had conspired with the Carthaginians to become a friend of theirs should he come to power, and Dion went into exile in Athens. Dion stayed at the Athenian Academy and studied philosophy, and he was also endowed with Spartan citizenship after visiting the city.
Return to power[]
Dionysius eventually decided to seize all of Dion's properties in Syracuse, and, when Plato protested, Dionysius had the philosopher imprisoned. After Dionysius had Arete remarry to one of his close advisors, an enraged Dion provoked an uprising in Syracuse in 357 BC, gathering 800 mercenaries on Zakynthos and being joined by 5,000 Sicilians on his arrival on the island (despite being delayed by a storm). The people of Syracuse rose up and slew Dionysius' supporters, and Dion entered Syracuse and proclaimed that Dionysius was deposed. However, the island acropolis' large garrison remained loyal to Dionysius, and Dionysius returned with his army and wounded Dion during an attack on the city, although Dion's mercenaries defeated Dionysius' besieging army. Dion was then elected to lead Syracuse, while Dionysius and his supporters were confined to the citadel.
Ruler of Syracuse[]
The Syracusan citizenry soon realized that Dion was still a conservative patrician, and that Dion did not favor the democratic reforms sought by many of Syracuse's citizens. Because Dion seemed too eager to direct the Syracusans on how to use their freedoms, he began to lose the trust of the Syracusan people. Dion soon fell out with Heracleides, who formed his own political party and advocated for democratic reform. Heracleides defeated and slew Philistus, but he failed to prevent Dionysius II from escaping Syracuse, enraging Dion. Heracleides then proposed to the popular assembly that Syracusan land should be equally redistributed amongst the citizens, foreign officers should lose their salaries, and new commanders should be appointed, and the Syracusan citizenry rallied against Dion's oppressive government (which was upheld by unpopular foreign mercenaries) and deposed him before appointing 25 new generals. Dion decided to move to Leontini with his 3,000 mercenaries rather than turn them on Syracuse, but he was well-received there, and his mercenaries were made citizens.
The citizenry of Syracuse later called on Dion and his mercenary army for aid after the Neapolitan admiral Nypsius captured and pillaged much of Syracuse while coming to the aid of Dionysius' besieged son Apollocrates, and Dion recaptured Syracuse and forced Nypsius to flee. The Syracusan assembly worshipped Dion like a god, and, over the next few days, most of Dion's opponents fled. Dion pardoned Heracleides and gave him control of Syracuse's navy, while he commanded the city's army. Dion resisted demands to create a democracy and instead sought to create a Platonic state featuring an aristocracy with democratic limitations, a king, and a senate made up of aristocrats. Dion allowed the tyrant's citadel to remain in existence, even as the people wanted it demolished. Heracleides refused to join this new senate, and he railed against the importation of foreign politicians. Dion was ultimately convinced to have Heracleides assassinated at his home by his Athenian friend Calippus, and, while Dion led Heracleides' funeral, the people of Syracuse came to resent Dion.
Downfall[]
At the same time, Calippus used the reward paid to him by Dion to bribe some of Dion's troops to defect to him, and he betrayed some of the defected soldiers to Dion to win his trust. Dion entrusted Calippus with rooting out political opponents as a secret agent, and, whenever he received reports that Calippus was plotting to betray him, Dion insisted that Calippus was merely maintaining his cover as a spy. In 354 BC, Calippus decided to assassinate Dion at a celebration of the goddess Persephone, and Zacynthian assassins entered Dion's house as he celebrated, choked him, and stabbed him with a short Spartan sword. Calippus went on to seize power for himself before being overthrown a year later.