Dionysius I
Dionysius I,born c.430 BC, son of Hermocritus, a well-to-do Syracusan; wounded (408) in Hermocrates' attempted coup; secretary to the generals (406), he distinguished himself in the Acragas (mod. Agrigento) campaign. By unscrupulous demagogy he secured the dismissal of the generals and his own election as general plenipotentiary (a title he may have used until 392), obtained a bodyguard, occupied and fortified the citadel (Ortygia), and assumed control of the state. With a large allied army, he failed to raise the siege of Gela (405), but crushed a revolt of the aristocracy (confiscating their properties), and concluded the Peace of Himilco, which stripped Syracuse of her possessions. Besieged in Ortygia by the rebellious Syracusans (404–3), he came to terms with them (less the exiled aristocracy), giving them, although disarmed, a measure of autonomy. After subjugating eastern Sicily (south of Messana (mod. Messina)) with a...
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