Dionysius I (c. 432–367 BC)

Tyrant of Syracuse from 405 BC. He rose to power when he was appointed sole general in a war with Carthage.

Having secured his position in Syracuse by a series of military and political measures, he conducted two campaigns against the Carthaginian occupants of western Sicily (397–396 and 392) and limited their control of the island. He captured Rhegium in Italy 386, making Syracuse the dominant port in Magna Graecia (Greater Greece); but he suffered an overwhelming defeat by a Carthaginian army at Cronium about 375.

The tyranny of Dionysus I was regarded by ancient writers as an example of autocracy at its worst, but at the height of his power Dionysius made Syracuse a prosperous and formidable power in the Mediterranean. He enjoyed friendly relations with both Sparta and Athens, sent impressive delegations to the Olympic Games, and entertained such people as the philosopher Plato at his court. He wrote a play which, in the year of his death, won the prize at the Lenaean festival in Athens.