Dionysius
- I The elder Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, Nep. Dio, 1; id. Reg. 2; Cic. Tusc. 5, 20 sq.; id. N. D. 3, 33 sq. al.—
- II His son, likewise tyrant of Syracuse, Nep. Dio, 3 sq.; Just. 21, 1 sq.; Cic. Tusc. 3, 12; id. Fam. 9, 18; Val. Max. 6, 9, 6 extr.—
- III Heracleotes, a pupil of Zeno of Citium, at first a Stoic, afterwards a Cyrenaic, Cic. Fin. 5, 31; id. Tusc. 2, 25; 3, 9; id. Ac. 2 (Luc.), 22 fin.—
- IV A Stoic, contemporary with Cicero, Cic. Tusc. 2, 11.—
- V A musician of Thebes, Nep. Epam. 2, 1.—
- VI Name of a slave, Hor. S. 1, 6, 38.—
- VII Dionysius Cato, author of the Disticha de moribus ad filium, v. Teuffel, Röm. Lit. § 34, 2.
- 1. ~ I, vanaf 406 v. Chr. tiran v. Syracuse, gest. in 367;
- 2. ~ II, zijn zoon, werd eerst door Dion in 357 v. Chr., daarna definitief door Timoleon in 343 naar Corinthe verbannen.
(Διονύσιος), tyrant of Heracleia on the Euxine. He was a son of Clearchus, who had assumed the tyranny in his native place, and was succeeded by his son Timotheus. After the death of the latter, Dionysius succeeded in the tyranny, about the time of the battle of Chaeroneia, B. C. 338. After the destruction of the Persian empire by Alexander the Great, Dionysius attempted to extend his dominions in Asia. In the meantime, some of the citizens of Heracleia, who had been driven into exile by their tyrants, applied to Alexander to restore the republican government at Heracleia, but Dionysius, with the assistance of Alexander's sister, Cleopatra, contrived to prevent any steps being taken to that effect. But still he does not appear to have felt very safe in his position, as we may conjecture from the extreme delight with which he received the news of Alexander's death, in consequence of which he erected a statue of εὐφυμία, that is, joy or peace of mind. The exiled Heracleans now applied to Perdiccas, against whom Dionysius endeavoured to secure himself by joining his enemies. Dionysius therefore married Amastris, the former wife of Craterus, who secured to him considerable advantages. A friendship with Antigonus was formed by assisting him in his war against Asander, and Ptolemy, the nephew of Antigonus, married Dionysius's daughter by his first wife. Dionysius thus remained in the undisturbed possession of the tyranny for many years. In B. C. 306, when the surviving generals of Alexander assumed the title of kings, Dionysius followed their example, but he died soon after. He was an unusually fat man, which increased at length to such a degree that he could take no food, which was therefore introduced into his stomach by artificial means. At last, however, he was choked by his own fiat. He is said to have been the mildest and justest of all the tyrants that had ever lived. He was succeeded by his son Zathras, and, after the death of the latter, by his second son Clearchus II. The death of Dionysius must have taken place h B. C. 306 or 305, as, according to Diodorus, he died at the age of 55, and after a reign of 32 years, for which others say 33 years. (Diod. 16.88, 20.70; Athen. 12.549; Aelian, Ael. VH 9.13; Memnon, apud Phot. Cod. 224.) [L.S]
(Διονύσιος) the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, must have been born in B. C. 431 or 430, as we are told that he was twenty-five years old when he first obtained the sovereignty of Syracuse. (Cic. Tusc. 5.20.) We know nothing of his family, but that his father's name was Hermocrates, and that he was born in a private but not low station, so that he received an excellent education, and began life in the capacity of a clerk in a public office. (Cic. Tusc. 5.20, 22; Diod. 13.91, 96, 14.66; Isocr. Philip. § 73; Dem. c. Lept. § 141, p. 506; Polyaen. Strateg. 5.2.2.) He appears to have early taken part in the political dissensions which agitated Syracuse after the destruction of the great Athenian armament, and having joined in the attempt of Hermocrates, the leader of the aristocratical party, to effect by force his restoration from exile, was so severely wounded as to be left for dead upon the spot. (Diod. 13.75.) We next hear of him as serving with distinction in the great war against the Carthaginians, who had invaded Sicily under Hannibal, the son of Gisco, and successively reduced and destroyed Selinus, Himera, and Agrigentum. These disasters, and especially the failure of the Syracusan general, Daphnaeus, to relieve Agrigentum, had created a general spirit of discontent and alarm, both at Syracuse and among the allies, of which Dionysius skilfully availed himself. He came forward in the popular assembly as the accuser of the unsuccessful commanders, and, being supported by Philistus, the historian, and Hipparinus, men of wealth and influence, he succeeded in procuring a decree for deposing the existing generals, and appointing others in their stead, among whom was Dionysius himself. (Diod. 13.91, 92; Aristot. Ploit. 5.5, 6.) His efforts seem from this time to have been directed towards supplanting his new colleagues and obtaining the sole direction of affairs. He persuaded the Syracusans to recall the exiles, most of whom were probably partizans of Hermocrates, and would readily admit him as their leader, and secretly accused his colleagues in the command of holding intelligence with the enemy. Being soon after sent to Gela with the separate command of a body of auxiliaries, he there carried on similar intrigues, and when he thought that he had sufficiently secured to himself the favour both of the people of Gela and of his own troops, he returned abruptly to Syracuse, and brought before the assembled people distinct charges of corruption and treachery against his brother generals. These found ready belief, and it was determined to depose all the others and appoint Dionysius sole general, with full powers. (Diod. 13.92-94.) This was in the spring of the year B. C. 405, the first appointment of Dionysius as one of the generals having been in Dec. 406. Comp. Clinton, F. H. ii. p. 82; Diod. l.c.; Dionys. A. R. 7.1.) According to Plutarch, indeed, Hipparinus, who is represented by Aristotle (Aristot. Pol. 5.6) as lending his aid to procure the elevation of Dionysius, was at first appointed his colleague in the chief command (Plut. Dio 3); but, if this be not a mistake, his authority could have been little more than nominal, as he plays no part in the subsequent transactions.
The position of general autocrator by no means implied in itself the exercise of sovereign power, but the measures of Dionysius soon rendered it such; and we may date from this period the commencement of his reign, or tyranny, which continued without interruption for 38 years. His first step was to procure, on the ground of an attempt on his life, whether real or pretended, the appointment of a body-guard, which he speedily increased to the number of 1000 men: at the same time he induced the Syracusans to double the pay of all the troops, and took every means to ingratiate himself with the mercenaries, taking care to replace those officers who were unfavourable to him by creatures of his own. By his marriage with the daughter of Hermocrates he secured to himself the support of all the remaining partizans of that leader, and he now found himself strong enough to procure the condemnation and execution of Daphnaeus and Demarchus, the heads of the opposite party. (Diod. 13.95, 96.)
His first operations in the war against the Carthaginians were, however, unsuccessful. Having advanced with a large army to the relief of Gela, then besieged by Himilco, he was defeated, and deemed it prudent to retire, taking with him the inhabitants both of Gela itself and the neighbouring Camarina. This reverse gave a severe shock to his popularity, of which his enemies at Syracuse availed themselves to attempt to overthrow his power. For a moment they were masters of the city, but Dionysius disconcerted their plans by the suddenness of his return, and compelled them to quit the city, though not until his unfortunate wife had fallen a victim to their cruelty. (Diod. 13.108_113, 14.44; Plut. Dio 3.) He soon afterwards gladly accepted the overtures of the Carthaginian general Himilco, whose army had suffered greatly from a pestilence, and concluded peace with Carthage B. C. 405. (Diod. 13.114.)
He was now able to devote his whole attention to strengthening and consolidating his power at home. He converted the island of Ortygia into a strong fortress, in which he took up his own residence, and allowed no one but his own immediate dependents to dwell; and while he courted the favour of the populace by assigning them lands and houses, he augmented their numbers by admitting many aliens and newly-freed slaves to the rights of citizenship. These measures naturally gave umbrage to the higher class of citizens who formed the heavy-armed infantry, and they took advantage of an expedition on which he led them against the Sicelians to break out into open revolt. They were instantly joined by the exiles who had established themselves at Aetna, and Dionysius was compelled to take refuge in the island which he had so recently fortified. From this danger, however, he managed to extricate himself by the aid of a body of Campanian mercenaries, seconded by the dissensions which broke out among his enemies. Some of these submitted to him on favourable terms; the rest retired to Aetna. (Diod. 14.7_9.) From this time his authority at Syracuse appears to have been undisputed. He soon after took advantage of the harvest time to disarm those citizens whom he had still cause to fear, and reduced the fortress of Aetna, which had been the stronghold of the exiles disaffected to his government. (Ib. cc. 10, 14.)
His arms were next directed against the Chalcidian cities of Sicily. Naxos, Catana, and Leontini, successively fell into his power, either by force or treachery. The inhabitants were either sold as slaves or compelled to migrate to Syracuse. Naxos was utterly destroyed, and Catana occupied by a colony of Campanian mercenaries, B. C. 403. (Diod. 14.14, 15.) For several years after this he appears to have been occupied in strengthening his tower and in preparations for renewing the war with Carthage. Among these may be reckoned the great works which he at this time erected,-- the docks adapted for the reception of several hundred ships, and the wall of 30 stadia in length, enclosing the whole extent of the Epipolae, the magnihcence of which is attested by its existing remains at the present day. (Diod. 14.18, 42; Smith's Sicily, p. 167.)
It was not till B. C. 397 that Dionysius considered himself sufficiently strong, or his preparations enough advanced, to declare war against Carthage. He had in the mean time assembled a large army of auxiliary and mercenary troops, and a fleet of two hundred ships, remarkable for the number of quadriremes and quinqueremes which were seen in it for the first time. The Carthaginians had been greatly weakened by the ravages of a pestilence in Africa, and were unprepared for war. Dionysius was immediately joined not only by the Greeks of Gela, Agrigentum, Himera, and Scinus, which had become tributary to Carthage by the late treaty of 405, but by the Sicelians of the interior, and even the Sicanians, in general the firm allies of Carthage. He thus advanced without opposition from one end of Sicily to the other, and laid siege to Motya, one of the chief strongholds of the Carthaginians, which fell into his power after a long and desperate resistance, prolonged till near the close of the summer. Segesta, however, successfully resisted his efforts, and the next year (B. C. 396) the arrival of a great Carthaginian armament under Himilco changed the face of affairs. Motya was quickly recovered; the Sicanians and Sicelians abandoned the Syracusan alliance for that of the enemy, and Himilco advanced unopposed as far as Messana, which he carried by assault, and utterly destroyed. The Syracasan fleet under Leptines, the brother of Dionysius, was totally defeated; and the latter, not daring to risk a battle, withdrew with his land forces, and shut himself up within the walls of Syracuse. Abandoned by the other Sicilian Greeks, and besieged by the Carthaginians both by sea and land, his situation appeared to be desperate. It is even said that he was on the point of giving up all for lost, and making his escape, but was deterred by one of his friends observing, "that sovereign power was an honourable windingsheet." (Isocrat. Archidam. § 49; Ael. VH 4.8; but compare Diod. 14.8.) A pestilence shortly after broke out in the Carthaginian camp, which a second time proved the salvation of Syracuse. Dionysius ably availed himself of the state of weakness to which the enemy was thus reduced, and by a sudden attack both by sea and land, defeated the Carthaginian army, and burnt great part of their fleet. Still he was glad to consent to a secret capitulation, by which the Carthaginians themselves were allowed to depart unmolested, abandoning both their allies and foreign mercenaries, who, thus left without a leader, were quickly dispersed. (Diod. 14.41-76.)
No peace was concluded with Carthage upon this occasion; but the effects of their late disastrous expedition, and the revolt of their subjects in Africa, prevented the Carthaginians from renewing hostilities against Syracuse until the summer of 393, when Mago, who had succeeded Himilco in the command, having renewed the alliance with the Sicelians, advanced towards Messana, but was defeated by Dionysius near Abacaenum. The next year (B. C. 392) he marched against the Syracusan territory with a much greater force; but Dionysius having secured the alliance of Agyris, tyrant of Agyrium, was enabled to cut off the supplies of the enemy, and thus reduced them to such distress, that Mago was compelled to treat for peace. The Syracusans also were weary of the war, and a treaty was concluded, by which the Carthaginians abandoned their Sicelian allies, and Dionysius became master of Tauromenium: in other respects, both parties remained nearly as before. (Diod. 14.90, 95, 96.)
This treaty left Dionysius at leisure to continue the ambitious projects in which he had previously engaged against the Greek cities in Italy. Already, before the Carthaginian war, he had secured the alliance of the Locrians by marrying Doris, the daughter of one of their principal citizens. Rhegium, on the contrary, had been uniformly hostile to him, and was the chief place of refuge of the Syracusan exiles. (Diod. 14.40.) Hence Dionysius established at Messana, after its destruetion by Himilco, a colony of citizens from Locri and its kindred city of Medama, to be a stronghold against Rhegium. (14.78.) His designs in this quarter attracted so much attention, that the principal Greek cities in Italy, which were at the same time hard pressed by the Lneanians of the interior, concluded a league for their common defence at once against the barbarians and Dionysius. The latter retaliated by entering into alliance with the Lucanians, and sending a fleet to their assistance under his brother Leptines, B. C. 390. (14.91, 100-102.) The next year he gained a decisive victory over the combined forces of the Italian Greeks at the river Helorus; and this success was followed by the reduction of Caulonia, Hipponium, and finally, after a siege protracted for nearly eleven months, of Rhegium itself, B. C. 387. (14.103-108, 111.) The inhabitants of the conquered cities were for the most part removed to Syracuse, and their territory given up to the Locrians.
Dionysius was now at the summit of his greatness, and during the twenty years that elapsed from this period to his death, possessed an amount of power and influence far exceeding those enjoyed by any other Greek before the time of Alexander. In Sicily he held undisputed rule over the eastern half of the island, while the principal cities of the interior and those along the north coast, as far as Cephaloedium, were either subject to him, or held by his close and dependent allies. (14.78, 96.) In Italy it is difficult to estimate the precise extent of his influence: direct dominion he had apparently none. But his allies, the Locrians, were masters of the whole southern extremity of the peninsula, and his powerful fleets gave him the command both of the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas. In the former he repressed the piracies of the Etruscans, and, under pretence of retaliation, led a fleet of 60 triremes against them, with which he took the town of Pyrgi, the port of Caere, and plundered its wealthy temple of Matuta. (Diod 15.14; Strab. v. p.226; Pseud._Aristot. Econ. 2.2.) (On this occasion he is also said to have assailed Corsica (Strab. l. c.), but probably did not form any permanent establishment there. The sovereignty of the Adriatic seems to have been a favourite object of his ambition. He endeavoured to secure it by establishing a colony on the island of Lissa, or, according to other accounts, at Lissus in Epeirus (comp. Scymn. Chius, 1. 412; Diod. 15.13, 14), where he kept up a considerable naval force, and another at Adria in Picenum. (Etym. Magn. s.v. Ἀδρίας.) Ancona too was probably founded by him at the same time. (Plin. Nat. 3.13; Strab. v. p.241; Arnold's Rome, vol. i. p. 437.) With the same view he sent a squadron to assist the Lacedaemonians in preventing the Athenians from establishing themselves at Corcyra, B. C. 373. (Xen. Hell. 6.2. §§ 4, 33.) The extent of his commercial relations may be inferred from his importing horses for his chariots from the Venetian tribes at the head of the Adriatic. (Strab. v. p.212.) As early as B. C. 402 he is mentioned as sending large supplies of corn to relieve a scarcity at Rome. (Liv. 4.52; Niebuhr, Rom. Hist. ii. p. 564.) At the same time he took every opportunity of extending his relations with foreign powers, and strengthening himself by alliances. Thus we find him assisting the Illyrians against their neighlours the Molossians (Diod. 14.13), and concluding a treaty with the Gauls, who had lately made their appearance in Italy, and who continued from this time to furnish a considerable part of his mercenary troops. (Justin, 20.5; Xen. Hell. 7.1. §§ 20,31.) In Greece itself he cultivated the friendship of the Lacedaemonians, to whose support he had been greatly indebted in the earlier days of his rule (Diod. 14.10, 70); and among the last acts of his reign was the sending an auxiliary force in two successive years to support them against the increasing power of the Thebans. (Xen. Hell. 7.1. §§ 20, 28; Diod. 15.70.) He also conciliated, but by what means we know not, the favour of the Athenians, so that they bestowed upon him the freedom of their city. (Epist. Philipp. apud Dem. p. 176, ed. Bekk.)
The peace with Carthage did not remain uninterrupted during the whole of this period, but the wars were not of any great importance, and are not known to us in detail. In B. C. 383 the intrigues of Dionysius with the subject allies of Carthage led to a renewal of hostilities. Two great battles, the sites of both of which are uncertain, decided the fortune of the war. In the first Dionysius was completely victorious, and Mago, the Carthaginian general, fell; but in the second the Syracusans were defeated with great slaughter. Peace was concluded soon after, by which the river Halycus was fixed as the boundary of the two powers. (Diod. 15.15_17.) Dionysius seems to have been again the aggressor in a fresh war which broke out in B. C. 368, and in which he a second time advanced with his army to the extreme western point of Sicily, and laid siege to Lilybaeum. Hostilities were however suspended on the approach of winter, and before they could be resumed Dionysius died at Syracuse, B. C. 367. His last illness is said to have been brought on by excessive feasting; but according to some accounts, his death was hastened by his medical attendants, in order to secure the succession for his son. (Diod. 15.74; Plut. Dion, 6; Corn. Nep. Dion, 2.) After the death of his first wife, Dionysius had married almost exactly at the same time-- some said even on the same day--Doris. a Locrian of distinguished birth, and Aristomache, a Syracusan, the daughter of his old patron and supporter Hipparinus. (Diod. 14.44; Plut. Dio 3.) By the former he had three children, of which the eldest was his successor, Dionysius. Aristomache bore him two sons, IIipparinus and Nysæus, and two daughters, Sophrosyne and Arete. (Plut. Dio 6 ; Corn. Nep. Dion, 1; Athen. x. pp. 435-6.)
The character of Dionysius has been drawn in the blackest colours by many ancient writers; he appears indeed to have become a sort of type of a tyrant, in its worst sense, and it is probable that many of the anecdotes of him related by Cicero, Aelian, Polyaenus, and other later writers, are grossly exaggerated; but the very circumstance that he was so regarded in opposition to Gelon and others of the older tyrants (see Plut. Dio 5) is in itself a proof that the opprobrium was not altogether undeserved. He was undoubtedly a man of great energy and activity of mind, as well as great personal courage; but he was altogether unscrupulous in the means which he employed to attain his ends, and had no thought beyond his own personal aggrandizement. Thus while he boasted that he left to his son an empire held together with bonds of iron (Plut. Dio 7), he exhausted his subjects by excessive taxation, and was obliged to have recourse to every kind of expedient to amass money. (Aristot. Pol. 5.11; Pseud.-Aristot. Econ. 2.2. The statements of the latter must be received with caution, but they are conclusive as to the general fact.) Diodorus tells us that, when his power became firmly established, he abated much of his former severity (14.45), and he gave a signal instance of clemency in his treatment of the Italian Greeks who had fallen into his power at the battle of the Helorus. (Diod. 14.105.) But it is probable that the long possession of absolute power had an injurious effect upon his character, and much apparent inconsisteency may be accounted for in this manner. In his latter years he became extremely suspicious, and apprehensive of treachery even from his nearest friends, and is said to have adopted the most excessive precautions to guard against it. Manly of these stories have however an air of great exaggeration. (Cic. Tusc. 5.20; Plut. Dion. 9.)
Though his government was oppressive in a financial point of view, Dionyius seems to have contributed much to the greatness of Syracuse itself, both by increasing the population with the inhabitants removed from many conquered cities, and by adorning it with splendid temples and other public edifices, so as to render it unquestionably the greatest of all Greek cities. (Diod. 15.13; Isocrat. Panegyr. § 145.) At the same time he displayed his magnificence by sending splendid deputations to the Olympic games, and rich presents both to Olympia and Delphi. (Diod. 14.109, 16.57.) Nor was he without literary ambition. In the midst of his political and military cares he devoted himself assiduously to poetry, and not only caused his poems to be publicly recited at the Olympic games, but repeatedly contended for the prize of tragedy at Athens. Here he several times obtained the second and third prizes; and, finally, just before his death, bore away the first prize at the Lenaea, with a play called "The Ransom of Hector." These honours seem to prove that his poetry could not have been altogether so contemptible as it is represented by later writers; but only the titles of some of his dramas and a few detached lines are preserved to us. He is especially blamed for the use of far-fetched and unusual expressions. (Diod. 14.109; 15.74; Tzetz. Chil. 5.178-185; Cic. Tusc. v. 22; Lucian, ad v. Indoctum. § 15; Helladius, apud Photitum. p. 532b. ed. Bekk.) Some fragments of his tragedies will be found in Stobaeus (Florileg. 38, 2; 38, 6; 49, 9; 98, 30; 105, 2; 125, 8; Eclogae, 1.4, 19) and in Athenaeus. (ix. p. 401f.)
In accordance with the same spirit we find him seeking the society of men distinguished in literature and philosophy, entertaining the poet Philoxenus at his table, patronizing the Pythagorean philosophers, who were at this time numerous in Italy and Sicily, and inviting Plato to Syracuse. He however soon after sent the latter away from Sicily in disgrace; and though the story of his having caused him to be sold as a slave, as well as that of his having sent Philoxenus to the stone quarries for ridiculing his bad verses, are probably gross exaggerations, they may well have been so far founded in fact, that his intercourse with these persons was interrupted by some sudden burst of capricious violence. (Diod. 15.6, 7; Plut. Dio 5; Lucian, ad v. Indoct. § 15; Tzetz. Chil. 5.152, &c.; but compare Athen. 1.6f.) He is also said to have avenged himself upon Plato in a more legitimate manner by writing a play against him. (Tzetz. Chil. 5.182-185.)
The history of Dionysius was written by his friend and contemporary Philistus, as well as by Ephorus and Timaeus; but none of these authors are now extant. Diodorus is our chief, indeed almost our sole, authority for the events of his reign. An excellent review of his government and character is given in Arnold's History of Rome. (Vol. 1.100.21.) Mitford's elaborate account of his reign is rather an apology than a history, and is very inaccurate as well as partial. [E.H.B]
(Διονύσιος) the Younger, tyrant of Svracuse, son of the preceding, succeeded his father in the possession of supreme power at Syracuse, B. C. 367. Something like the form of a popular election, or at least the confirmation of his power by the people, appears to have been thought necessary; but it could have been merely nominal, as the amount of his mercenary force and the forti-fications of the citadel secured him the virtual sovereignty. (Diod. 15.74.) Dionysius was at this time under thirty years of age: he had been brought up at his father's court in idleness and luxury, and studiously precluded from taking any part in public affairs. (Plut. Dio 9.) The consequences of this education were quickly manifested as soon as he ascended the throne: the ascendancy which Dion, and through his means Plato, obtained for a time over his mind was undermined by flatterers and the companions of his pleasures, who persuaded him to give himself up to the most unbounded dissipation. Of the public events of his reign, which lasted between eleven and twelve years (Diod. 15.73; Clinton, F. H. ii. p. 268), we have very little information : he seems to have succeeded to his father's influence in the south of Italy as well as to his dominion in Sicily, and to have followed up his views in regard to the Adriatic, for which end he founded two cities in Apulia. We also find him sending a third auxiliary force to the assistance of the Lacedaemonians, (Xen. Hell. 7.4.12.) But his character was peaceful and indolent; he hastened to conclude by a treaty the war with the Carthaginians, in which he found himself engaged on his accession; and the only other war that he undertook was one against the Lucanians, probably in defence of his Italian allies, which he also quickly brought to a close. (Diod. 16.5.) Philistus, the historian, who, after having been one of his father's chief supporters, had been subsequently banished by him, enjoyed the highest place in the confidence of the younger Dionysius, and appears to have been charged with the conduct of all his military enterprises. Notwithstanding his advanced age, he is represented as rather encouraging than repressing the excesses of Dionysius, and joining with the party who sought to overthrow the power of Dion, and ultimately succeeded in driving him into exile. The banishment of Dion contributed to render Dionysius unpopular among the Syracusans, who began also to despise him for his indolent and dissolute life, as well as for his habitual drunkenness. Yet his court seems to have been at this time a great place of resort for philosophers and men of letters : besides Plato, whom he induced by the most urgent entreaties to pay him a second visit, Aristippus of Cyrene, Eudoxus of Cnidus, Speusippus, and others, are stated to have spent some time with him at Syracuse; and he cultivated a friendly intercourse with Archytas and the Pythagoreans of Magna Graecia. (Plut. Dio 18_20; D. L. 3.21, 23; Aelian, Ael. VH 4.18, 7.17; Pseud.-Plat. Epist. 6.) Much doubt indeed attaches to all the stories related by Plutarch and other late writers concerning the intercourse of Plato with Dionysius, but they can hardly have been altogether destitute of foundation.
Dionysius was absent from Syracuse at the time that Dion landed in Sicily : the news of that event and of the sudden defection of the Svracusans reached him at Caulonia, and he instantly returned to Syracuse, where the citadel still held out for him. But his attempts at negotiation having proved abortive, the sallies of his troops having been repulsed, and the fleet which Philistus had brought to his succour having been defeated, he despaired of success, and sailed away to Italy with his most valuable property, leaving the citadel of Syracuse in charge of his son, Apollocrates, B. C. 356. (Diod. 16.11_13, 16, 17; Plut. Dio 26-37.)
Dionysius now repaired to Locri, the native city of his mother, Doris, where he was received in the most friendly manner by the inhabitants--a confidence of which he availed himself to occupy the citadel with an armed force, and thus to establish himself as tyrant of the city. This position he continued to hold for several years, during which period he is said to have treated the inhabitants with the utmost cruelty, at the same time that he indulged in the most extravagant licentiousness. (Justin, 21.2, 3; Clearch. apud Athen. xii. p. 541; Strab. vi. p.259; Aristot. Pol. 5.7.) Meanwhile the revolutions which had taken place at Syracuse seem to have prepared the way for his return. The history of these is very imperfectly known to us : but, after the death of Dion, one tyrant followed another with great rapidity. Callippus, the murderer of Dion, was in his turn driven from the city by Ilipparinus (son of the elder Dionysius by Aristomache, and therefore nephew of Dion), who reigned but two years: another of Dion's nephews, Nysaeus, subsequently obtained the supreme power, and was in possession of it when Dionysius presented himself before Syracuse with a fleet, and became master of the city by treachery. According to Plutarch, this took place in the tenth year after his expulsion, B. C. 346. (Diod. 16.31, 36; Justin, 21.3; Athen. 11.508; Plut. Tim. 1.) The Locrians meanwhile took advantage of his absence to revolt against him : they drove out the garrison which he had left, and wreaked their vengeance in the most cruel manner on his wife and daughters. (Strab. vi. p.260; Clearch. apud Athen. xii. p. 541.) Dionysius was not however able to reestablish himself firmly in his former power. Most of the other cities of Sicily had shaken off the yoke of Syracuse, and were governed severally by petty tyrants: one of these, Hicetas, who had established himself at Leontini, afforded a rallying point to the disaffected Syracusans, with whom he joined in making war on Dionysius, and succeeded in gaining possession of the greater part of the city, and blockading the tyrant anew in the fortress on the island. It was in this state of things that Timoleon arrived in Sicily. His arms were not indeed directed in the first instance against Dionysius, but against Hicetas and his Carthaginian allies; but his rapid successes and the general respect entertained for his character induced Dionysius, who was still blockaded in the citadel, and appears to have abandoned all hope of ultimate success, to treat with him rather than the opposite party. He accordingly surrendered the fortress of Ortygia into the hands of Timoleon, on condition of being allowed to depart in safety to Corinth, B. C. 343. (Diod. 16.65_70; Plut. Timole. 8-13.) Here he spent the remainder of his life in a private condition, and is said to have frequented low company, and sunk gradually into a very degraded and abject state. According to some writers, he was reduced to support himself by keeping a school; others say, that he became one of the attendants on the rites of Cybele, a set of mendicant priests of the lowest class. His weak and voluptuous character render these stories by no means improbable, although it seems certain that he was in the first instance allowed to take with him a considerable portion of his wealth, and must have occupied an honourable position, as we find him admitted to familiar intercourse with Philip of Macedon. Some anecdotes are preserved of him that indicate a ready wit and considerable shrewdness of observation. Further Information
Plut. Tim. 14, 15 ; Justin, 21.5; Clearch. up. Athen. xii. p. 541 ; Aelian, Ael. VH 6.12; Cic. Tusc. 3.12. Coins
There are no authentic coins of either of the two Dionysii: probably the republican forms were still so far retained, notwithstanding their virtual despotism, that all coins struck under their rule bore the name of the city only. According to Müller (Arcäol. d. Kunst. p. 128), the splendid silver coins, of the weight of ten drachms, commonly known as Syracusan medallions, belong for the most part to the period of their two reigns. Certain Punic coins, one of which is represented in the annexed cut, are commonly ascribed to the younger Dionysius, but only on the authority of Goltzius (a noted falsifier of coins and their inscriptions), who has published a similar coin with the name Διονυσιου. [E. H. B.]
praefectus annonae under Commodus. Leaving procured by his intrigues the destruction of the favourite Cleander [Cleander,] he himself soon after fell a victim to the cruelty of the tyrant. (D. C. 72.13, 14.) [W.R]
( Διονύσιος), literary. The number of persons of this name in the history of Greek literature is very great. Meursius was the first that collected a list of them and added some account of each (Gronov. Thesaur. Ant. Graec. x. p. 577, &c.); his list has been still further increased by Ionsius (Hist. Philos. Script. 3.6, p. 42, &c.), and by Fabricius (Bibl. Gr. iv. p. 405), so that at present upwards of one hundred persons of the name of Dionysius are known. The list given by Suidas is full of the utmost confusion. The following list contains all, with the exception of those mentioned in an isolated passage merely.
1. Aelius Dionysius, a Greek rhetorician of Halicarnassus, who lived in the time of the emperor Hadrian. He was a very skilful musician, and wrote several works on music and its history. (Suid. s. v. Διονύσιος. It is commonly supposed that he was a descendant of the elder Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the author of the Roman Archaeology. Respecting his life nothing further is known. Works Lost works attributed to Dionysius by the ancients
The following works, which are now lost, are attributed to him by the ancients : 1. A Dictionary of Attic words (Ἀττικὰ ὀνόματα)
In five books, dedicated to one Scymnus. Photius (Bibl. Cod. 152) speaks in high terms of its usefulness, and states, that Aelius Dionysius himself made two editions of it, the second of which was a great improvement upon the first. Both editions appear to have existed in the time of Photius. It seems to have been owing to this work that Aelius Dionysius was called sometimes by the surname of Atticista. 2. A history of Music (μουσικὴ ἱστορία)
In 36 books, with accounts of citharoedi, auletae, and poets of all kinds. (Suid. l.c.) 3. Ῥυφμικὰ ὑπομνήματα
In 24 books. (Suid. l.c.) 4. Μουσικῆς παιδεία ἢ διατριβαί
In 22 books. (Suid. l.c.) 5. A work in five books on what Plato had said about music in his πολιτεία
περὶ ἀκλίτων ῥημάτων και ἐγκλινομένων λέξεωνMeursius was of opinion that our Dionysius was the author of the work περὶ ἀκλίτων ῥημάτων και ἐγκλινομένων λέξεων. Edition
This was published by Aldus Manutius (Venice, 1496) in the volume entitled " Horti Adonidis;" but there is no evidence for this supposition. (Comp. Schol. Venet. ad Iliad. 15.705; Villoison, Prolegom. ad Hom. Il. p. xxix.) Further Information
Suid. l.c.; Eudoc. p. 131.
2. Bishop of Alexandria, was probably a native of the same city. He was born of pagan parents, who were persons of rank and influence. He studied the doctrines of the various philosophical sects, and this led him at last to embrace Christianity. Origen, who was one of his teachers, had probably great influence upon this step of his pupil. After having been a presbyter for some time, he succeeded, about A. D. 232, Heraclas as the head of the theological school at Alexandria, and after the death of Heraclas. who had been raised to the bishopric of Alexandria, Dionysius succeeded him in the see, A. D. 247. During the persecution of the Christians by Decius, Dionysius was seized by the soldiers and carried to Taposiris, a small town between Alexandria and Canopus, probably with a view of putting him to death there. But he escaped from captivity in a manner which lie himself describes very minutely (apud Euseb. Hist. Eccl. 6.40). He had, however, to suffer still more severely in A. D. 257, during the persecution which the emperor Valerian instituted againist the Christians. Dionysius made an open confession of his faith before the emperor's praefect Aemilianus, and was exiled in consequence to Cephro, a desert district of Libya, whither he was compelled to proceed forthwith, although he was severely ill at the time. After an exile of three years, an edict of Gallienus in favour of the Christians enabled him to return to Alexandria, where henceforth he was extremely zealous in combating heretical opinions. In his attacks against Sabellius he was carried so far by his zeal, that he uttered tlings which were themselves incompatible with the orthodox faith; but when he was taken to accountby Dionysius, bishop of Rome, who convoked a synod for the purpose, he readily owned that he had acted rashly and inconsiderately. In A. D. 265 he was invited to a synod at Antioch, to dispute with Paulus of Samosata, but being prevented from going thither by old age and infirmity, he wrote a letter to the synod on the subject of the controversy to be discussed, and soon after, in the same year, he died, after having occupied the see of Alexandria for a period of seventeen years. The church of Rome regards Dionysius as a saint, and celebrates his memory on the 18th of October. We learn from Epiphanes (Haeres. 69), that at Alexandria a church was dedicated to him. Dionysius wrote a considerable number of theological works, consisting partly of treatises and partly of epistles addressed to the heads of churches and to communities, but all that is left us of them consists of fragments preserved in Eusebius and others. A complete list of his works is given by Cave, from which we mention only the most important. 1. On Promises, in two books, was directed against Nepos, and two considerable fragments of it are still extant. (Euseb. Hist. Eccl. 3.28, 7.24.) 2. A work addressed to Dionysius, bishop of Rome, in four books or epistles, against Sabellius. Dionysius here excused the hasty assertions of which he himself had been guilty in attacking Sabellius. A great number of fragments and extracts of it are preserved in the writings of Athanasiuis and Basilius. 3. A work addressed to Timotheus, " On Nature," of which extracts are preserved in Eusebius. (Praep. Exang. 14.23, 27.) Of his Epistles also numerous fragments are extant in the works of Eusebius. All that is extant of Dionysius, is collected in Gallandi's Bibl. Patr. iii. p. 481, &c., and in the separate collection by Simon de Magistris, Rome, 1796, fol. (Cave, Hist. Lit. i. p. 95, &c.)
3. Of Alexandria, a son of Glaucus, a Greek grammarian, who flourished from the time of Nero to that of Trajan. He was secretary and librarian to the emperors in whose reign he lived, and was also employed in embassies. He was the teacher of the grammarian Parthenius, and a pupil of the philosopher Chaeremon, whom he also succeeded at Alexandria. (Athen. 11.501; Suid. s. v. Διονύσιος; Eudoc. p. 133.)
4. Of Antioch, a sophist, who seems to have been a Christian, and to be the same person as the one to whom the nineteenth letter of Aeneas of Gaza is addressed. Works Letters
He himself is the reputed author of 46 letters, which are still extant.
Meursius is inclined to attribute these Epistles to Dionysius of Miletus, without, however, assigning ally reason for it. Editions Latin Editions
A Latin version of them was first printed by G. Cognatus, in his " Epistolae Laconicae," Basel, 1554, 12mo., and afterwards in J. Buchler's "Thesaurus Epist. Lacon.," 1606, 12mo. Greek Editions
The Greek original was first edited by H. Stephens, in his Collection of Greek Epistles, Paris, 1577, 8vo.
5. Surnamed Areiopageita, an Athenian, who is called by Suidas a most eminent man, who rose to the height of Greek erudition. He is said to have first studied at Athens, and afterwards at Heliopolis in Egypt. When he observed in Egypt the eclipse of the sun, which occurred during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, he is said to have exclaimed, " either God himself is suffering, or he sympathises with some one who is suffering." On his return to Athens he was made one of the council of the Areiopagus, whence he derives his surname. About A. D. 50, when St. Paul preached at Athens, Dionysius became a Christian (The Acts, 17.34), and it is said that he was not only the first bishop of Athens, but that he was installed in that office by St. Paul himself. (Euseb. Hist. Eccl. 3.4, 4.23; Suidas.) He is further said to have died the death of a martyr under most cruel tortures. Whether Dionysius Areiopageita ever wrote anything, is highly uncertain; but there exists under his name a number of works of a mystico-Christian nature, which contain ample evidence that they are the productions of some Neo-Platonist, and can scarcely have been written before the fifth or sixth century of our era. Without entering upon any detail about those works, which would be out of place here, we need only remark, that they exercised a very great influence upon the formation and development of Christianity in the middle ages. At the time of the Carlovingian emperors, those works were introduced into western Europe in a Latin translation made by Scotus Erigena, and gave the first impulse to that mystic and scholastic theology which afterwards maintained itself for centuries. (Fabric. Bibl. Gr. vii. p. 7, &c.; Bähr, Gesch. der Röm. Lit. im Karoling. Zeitalter, § 187.)
6. A son of Areius, the teacher and friend of Augustus, who also profited by his intercourse with the sons of Areius, Dionysius, and Nicanor. (Sueton. Aug. 89; comp. Areius.)
7. Surnamed Ascalaphus, seems to have written an exegesis of the Theodoris, a melic poem on Eros. (Etym. M. s. v. Διονύσιος; Athen. 11.475.)
8. Of Argos, seems to have been an historian, as he is quoted by Clemens of Alexandria (Strom. i. p. 139) respecting the time at which Troy was taken. (Comp. Schol. ad Pind. Nem. 2.1.)
9. Of Athens, is quoted by the Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius (2.279) as the author of a work entitled κυμ́σεις, that is, on conception or birth, which is also mentioned in the Etymologicum Magnum (s. v. Προικόννησος),where, however, the reading κτήσεσιν should be corrected into κυήσεσιν, and not into κτίσεσιν, as Sylburg proposes.
10. A freedman of Atticus, whose full name therefore was T. Pomponius Dionysius. Both Cicero and Atticus were very much attached to him. (Cic. Att. 4.8, 11, 13, 15.)
11. A native of Bithynia, a dialectic or Megaric philosopher, who was the teacher of Theodorus the atheist. (Strab. xii. p.566; D. L. 2.98.)
12. Of Byzantium, appears to have lived before the time of the emperor Severus, that is, before A. D. 197. Works
Dionysius is mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium (s. v. Χρυσόπολις and Suidas as the author of an ἀνάπλους Βοσπόρου. Suidas further calls him an epic poet, and states that he also wrote on the species of poetry called Δρῆνοι. Periegesis
Some writers have believed that our Dionysius of Byzantium is the same as the one whose Periegesis is still extant, but this opinion is without foundation, and based only on the opinion of Suidas. ἀνάπλους Βοσπόρου
The ἀνάπλους Βοσπόρου seems to have existed complete down to the 16th century, for P. Gyllius in his work on the Thracian Bosporus gave a considerable portion of it in a Latin translation. G. J. Vossius obtained a copy of a fragment of it, which his son Isaac had taken at Florence, and that fragment, which is now the only part of the Anaplus known to us. Editions
The fragment obtained by Vossius is printed in Du Cange's Constantinopolis Christiana, in Hudson's Geogr. Minor. vol. iii., and in Fabricius, Bibl. Gr. iv. p. 664, note 1. Further Information
Comp. Bernhardy in his edition of Dionys. Perieg. p. 492.)
13. Dionysius Cassius [Cassius, p. 626.]
14. Dionysius Cato [Cato, p. 634.]
15. Of Chalcis, a Greek historian, who lived before the Christian era. Works κτίσεις, in five books
He wrote a work on the foundation of towns (κτίσεις) in five books, which is frequently referred to by the ancients. A considerable number of fragments of the work have thus been preserved, but its author is otherwise unknown. Further Information
Marcian. Heracl. Peripl. p. 5; Suid. s. v. Χαλκιδίκη; Harpocrat. s. v. Ἡφαιστία and Ἡραῖον τεῖχος; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 1.558, 1024, 4.264, ad Aristoph. Nub. 397; Dionys. A. R. 1.72; Strab. xii. p.566; Plut. de Malign. Herod. 2; Seymnus, 115; Clem. Al. Strom. i. p. 144; Zenob. Proverb. 5.64; Apostol. 18.25; Photius, s. vv. Πραξιδίκη, Τελμισεῖς; Eudoc. p. 438.
16. Surnamed Chalcus (ὁ Χαλκοῦς), an ancient Attic poet and orator, who derived his surname from his having advised the Athenians to coin brass money for the purpose of facilitating traffic. (Athen. 15.669.) Of his oratory we know nothing; but his poems, chiefly elegies, are often referred to and quoted. (Plut. Nic. 5; Aristot. Rh. 3.2; Athen. xv. pp. 668, 702, x. p. 443, xiii. p. 602.) The fragments extant refer chiefly to symposiac subjects. Aristotle censures him for his bad metaphors, and in the fragments extant we still perceive a great fondness of raising the importance of common things by means of far-fetched images and allegories. The time at which he lived is accurately determined by the statement of Plutarch, that Nicias had in. his house a highly accomplished man of the name of Hieron, who gave himself out to be a son of Dionysius Chalcus, the leader of the Attic colony to Thurii in Italy, which was founded in B. C. 444. (Comp. Phot. s. v. Θουριομάντεις, where we have probably to read χαλῷ instead of χαλκιδεῖ.) It is true, that other writers mention different persons as the leaders of that colony to Thurii, but Dionysius may certainly have been one of them. (Osann, Beiträge z. Griech. u. Röm. Lit. i. p. 79, &c.; Welcker, in the Rhein. Mus. for 1836, p. 440, &c.; Bergk, Poet. Lyr. Graec. p. 432, &c., where the fragments of Dionysius are collected.)
17. Of Charax, in Susiana on the Arabian gulf, lived in the time of Augustus, who sent him to the east that he might record all the exploits of his grandson on his Parthian and Arabian expedition. (Plin. H. N 6.31.)
18. A slave of Cicero, and a person of considerable literary attainments, for which reason Cicero employed him to instruct his son Marcus, and was greatly attached to him. Cicero praises him in several passages for his attachment, learning, and honesty, and appears to have rewarded his virtues by emancipating him. At a later period, however, he complains of his want of gratitude, and at last he felt obliged to dismiss him, though he very much regretted the loss of so able a teacher. Subsequently, however, the parties became reconciled. (Cic. Att. 4.15, 17, 18, 5.3, 9.3, 12, 15, 6.1, 2, 7.3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 18, 26, 8.4, 5, 10, 10.2, 13.2, 33, ad Fam. 12.24, 30.) A son of this Dionysius is mentioned by Seneca. (Controv. 1.4.)
19. A slave of Cicero, who employed him as reader and librarian; but Dionysius robbed his master of several books, and then escaped to Illyricum. (Cic. Att. 9.3, ad Fam. 5.9, 10, 11, 13, 13.77.)
20. Of Clophon. Works Forged wors under the name of Menippus, the Cynic
He forged conjointly with Zopyrus some works which they published under the name of Menippus, the Cynic. Further Information
D. L. 6.100; Schol. ad Aristoph. Av. 1299.
21. Of Corinth, an epic poet. Works Merical Works
He wrote some metrical works, such as: Advice for Life (ὑποθήκαι) On Causes (αἴτια; Suid. s. v. Διονύσιος; Plut. Amat. 17) Meteorologica. Prose Works
In prose he wrote a commentary on Hesiod. Suidas also mentions a periegesis of the earth, but this is in all probability the production of a different person, Dionysius Periegetes. (Eudoc. p. 132.) Somne also believe that he was the author of a metrical work, Αιθικά, which was likewise the work of a different person. Further Information
Bernhardy, in his edit. of Dionys. Perieg. p. 492, &c.
22. Bishop of Corinth in the latter half of the second century after Christ, distinguished himself among the prelates of his time by his piety, his eloquence, and the holiness of his life. He not only watched with the greatest care over his own diocese, but shewed a deep interest in the welfare of other communities and provinces, to which he addressed admonitory epistles. He died the death of a martyr, about A. D. 178. None of his numerous epistles is now extant, but a list of them is preserved in Eusebius (Euseb. Hist. Eccl. 4.23) and Hieronymus (de Script. 27), and a few fragments of them are extant in Eusebius (2.25, 4.23). In one of them Dionysius complains that during his lifetime some of his epistles had been interpolated by heretics for the purpose of supporting their own views. (Cave, Hist. Lit. i. p. 44.)
23. An Epicurean philosopher, who succeeded Polystratus as the head of the Epicurean school at Athens. He himself was succeeded by Basilides, and must therefore have lived about B. C. 200. (D. L. 10.25.) Brucker confounds him with the Stoic surnamed ὁ μεταθέμενος, who afterwards abandoned the Stoics and went over to the Cyrenaics. (D. L. 7.4.)
24. A Greek Grammarian, who instructed Plato when a boy in the elements of grammar. (D. L. 3.5; Appuleius, de Dogmat. Plat. 1.2; Olympiod. Vit. Plat. p. 6, ed. Fischer.) He is probably the same person as the Dionysius who is mentioned in the beginning of Plato's dialogue Ἐρασταί.
25. Of Halicarnassus, the most celebrated among the ancient writers of the name of Dionysius. He was the son of one Alexander of Halicarnassus, and was born, according to the calculation of Dodwell, between B. C. 78 and 54. Strabo (xiv. p.656) calls him his own contemporary. His death took place soon after B. C. 7, the year in which he completed and published his great work on the history of Rome. Respecting his parents and education we know nothing, nor any thing about his position in his native place before he emigrated to Rome; though some have inferred from his work on rhetoric, that he enjoyed a great reputation at Halicarnassus. All that we know for certain is, the information which he himself gives us in the introduction to his history of Rome (1.7), and a few more particulars which we may glean from his other works. According to his own account, he went to Italy immediately after the termination of the civil wars, about the middle of Ol. 187, that is, B. C. 29. Henceforth he remained at Rome, and the twentytwo years which followed his arrival at Rome were mainly spent by him in making himself acquainted with the Latin language and literature, and in collecting materials for his great work on Roman history, called Archaeologia. We may assume that, like other rhetoricians of the time, he had commenced his career as a teacher of rhetoric at Halicarnassus; and his works bear strong evidence of his having been similarly occupied at Rome. (De Comp. Verb. 20, Rhetor. 10.) There he lived on terms of friendship with many distinguished men, such as Q. Aelius Tubero, and the rhetorician Caecilius; and it is not improbable that he may have received the Roman franchise, but his Roman name is not mentioned anywhere. Respecting the little we know about Dionysius, see F. Matthäi, de Dionysio Halic., Wittenberg, 1779, 4to.; Dodwell, de A elate Dionys. in Reiske's edition of Dionysius, vol. i. p. xlvi. &c.; and more especially C. J. Weismann, de Dionysii Halic. Vita et Script., Rinteln, 1837, 4to., and Busse, de Dionys. Vita et Ingenio, Berlin, 1841, 4to. Works
All the works of Dionysius, some of which are completely lost, must be divided into two classes: the first contains his rhetorical and critical treatises, all of which probably belong to an earlier period of his life--perhaps to the first years of his residence at Rome--than his historical works, which constitute the second class. a. Rhetorical and Critical Works.
All the productions of this class shew that Dionysius was not only a rhetorician of the first order, but also a most excellent critic in the highest and best sense of the term. They abound in the most exquisite remarks and criticisms on the works of the classical writers of Greece, although, at the same time, they are not without their faults, among which we may notice his hypercritical severity. But we have to remember that they were the productions of an early age, in which the want of a sound philosophy and of a comprehensive knowledge, and a partiality for or against certain writers led him to express opinions which at a maturer age he undoubtedly regretted. Still, however this may be, he always evinces a well-founded contempt for the shallow sophistries of ordinary rhetoricians, and strives instead to make rhetoric something practically useful, and by his criticisms to contribute towards elevating and ennobling the minds of his readers. The following works of this class are still extant: 1. Τέχνη ῥητορική
Τέχνη ῥητορική addressed to one Echecrates. The present condition of this work is by no means calculated to give us a correct idea of his merits and of his views on the subject of rhetoric. It consists of twelve, or according to another division, of eleven chapters, which have no internal connexion whatever, and have the appearance of being put together merely by accident. The treatise is therefore generally looked upon as a collection of rhetorical essays by different authors, some of which are genuine productions of Dionysius, who is expressly stated by Quintilian (3.1.16) to have written a manual of rhetoric. Schott, the last learned editor of this work, divides it into four sections. Chap. 1 to 7, with the exclusion of the 6th, which is certainly spurious, may be entitled περὶ πανηγυρικῶν, and contains some incoherent comments upon epideictic oratory, which are anything but in accordance with the known views of Dionysius as developed in other treatises; in addition to which, Nicostratus, a rhetorician of the age of Aelius Aristeides, is mentioned in chap. 2. Chapters 8 and 9, περὶ ἐσχηματισμένων, treat on the same subject, and chap. 8 may be the production of Dionysius; whereas the 9th certainly belongs to a late rhetorician. Chapter 10, περὶ τῶν ἐν μελέταις πλημμελουμένων, is a very valuable treatise, and probably the work of Dionysius. The 11th chapter is only a further development of the 10th, just as the 9th chapter is of the 8th. Editions
The τέχνη ῥητορική is edited separately with very valuable prolegomena and notes by H. A. Schott, Leipzig, 1804, 8vo. 2. Περὶ συνθέσεως ὀνομάτων
Περὶ συνθέσεως ὀνομάτων, addressed to Rufus Melitius, the son of a friend of Dionysius, was probably written in the first year or years of his residence at Rome, and at all events previous to any of the other works still extant. It is, however, notwithstanding this, one of high excellence. In it the author treats of oratorical power, and on the combination of words according to the different species and styles of oratory. Editions
There are two very good separate editions of this treatise, one by G. H. Schaefer (Leipzig, 1809, 8vo), and the other by F. Göller (Jena, 1815, 8vo), in which the text is considerably improved from MSS. 3. Περὶ μιμήσεως
Περὶ μιμήσεως, addressed to a Greek of the name of Demetrius. Its proper title appears to have been ὑπομνηματισμοὶ περὶ τμ͂ς μιμήσεως. (Dionys. Jud. de Thuc. 1, Epist. ad Pomp. 3.) The work as a whole is lost, and what we possess under the title of τῶν ἀρχαίων κρίοις is probably nothing but a sort of epitome containing characteristics of poets, from Homer down to Euripides, of some historians, such as Herodotus, Thucydides, Philistus, Xenophon, and Theopompus, and lastly, of some philosophers and orators. Editions
This epitome is printed separately in Frotscher's edition of the tenth book of Quintilian (Leipzig, 1826, p. 271, &c.), who mainly follows the opinions of Dionysius. 4. Περὶ τῶν ἀρχαίων ῥητόρων ὑπομνηματισμοί
Περὶ τῶν ἀρχαίων ῥητόρων ὑπομνηματισμοί, addressed to Ammaeus, contains criticisms on the most eminent Greek orators and historians, and the author points out their excellences as well as their defects, with a view to promote a wise imitation of the classic models, and thus to preserve a pure taste in those branches of literature. The work originally consisted of six sections, of which we now possess only the first three, on Lysias, Isocrates, and Isaeus. The other sections treated of Demosthenes, Hyperides, and Aeschines; but we have only the first part of the fourth section, which treats of the oratorical power of Demosthenes, and his superiority over other orators. This part is known under the title περι λεκτικῆς Δημοσθένους δεινότητος, which has become current ever since the time of Sylburg, though it is not found in any MS. The beginning of the treatise is mutilated, and the concluding part of it is entirely wanting. Whether Dionysius actually wrote on Hyperides and Aeschines, is not known; for in these, as in other instances, he may have intended and promised to write what he could not afterwards fulfil either from want of leisure or inclination. Translation
There is a very excellent German translation of the part relating to Demosthenes, with a valuable dissertation on Dionysius as an aesthetic critic, by A. G. Becker. (Wolfenbiittel and Leipzig, 1829, 8vo.) 5. Ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς Ἀμμαῖον πρώτη
A treatise addressed to Ammaeus, entitled Ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς Ἀμμαῖον πρώτη, which title, however, does not occur in MSS., and instead of πρώτη it ought to be called ἐπιστολὴ δευτέρα. This treatise or epistle, in which the author shews that most of the orations of Demosthenes had been delivered before Aristotle wrote his Rhetoric, and that consequently Demosthenes had derived no instruction from Aristotle, is of great importance for the history and criticism of the works of Demosthenes. 6. Ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς Γναῖον Πομτήϊον
Ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς Γναῖον Πομτήϊον, was written by Dionysius with a view to justify the unfavourable opinion which he had expressed upon Plato, and which Pompeius had censured. The latter part of this treatise is much mutilated, and did not perhaps originally belong to it. FI
See Vitus Loers, de Dionys. judicio de Platonis oratione et genere dicendi, Treves, 1840, 4to. 7. Περὶ τοῦ Θουκυδιδου χαρακτῆρος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν τοῦ συγγραφέως ἰδιωμάτων
Περὶ τοῦ Θουκυδιδου χαρακτῆρος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν τοῦ συγγραφέως ἰδιωμάτων, was written by Dionysius at the request of his friend Q. Aelius Tubero, for the purpose of explaining more minutely what he had written on Thucydides. As Dionysius in this work looks at the great historian from his rhetorical point of view, his judgment is often unjust and incorrect. 8. Περὶ τῶν τοῦ Θουκυδίδου ἰδιωμάτων
Περὶ τῶν τοῦ Θουκυδίδου ἰδιωμάτων, is addressed to Ammaeus. Editions
The last three treatises are printed in a very good edition by C. G. Kruger under the title Dionysii Historiographica, i. e. Epistolae ad Cn. Pomp., Q. Ael. Tuber. et Ammaeum, Halle, 1823, 8vo. 9. Δείναρχος
Δείναρχος The last of the writings of this class still extant is Δείναρχος, a very valuable treatise on the life and orations of Deinarchus. Other works ascribed to Dionysius
Besides these works Dionysius himself mentions some others, a few of which are lost, while others were perhaps never written; though at the time he mentioned them, Dionysius undoubtedly intended to compose them. Among the former we may mention χαρακτῆρες τῶν ἁρμονιῶν (Dionys. de Compos. Verb. 11), of which a few fragments are still extant, and Πραγματεία ὑπὲρ τῆς πολιτικῆς φιλοσοφίας πρὸς τοὺς κατατρέχοντας αὐτῆς ἀδίκως. (Dionys. Jud. de Thuc. 2.) A few other works, such as "on the orations unjustly attributed to Lysias" (Lys. 14), "on the tropical expressions in Plato and Demosthenes " (Dem. 32), and περὶ τῆς ἐκλογῆς τῶν ὀνομάτων (de Comp. Verb. 1), were probably never written, as no ancient writer besides Dionysius himself makes any mention of them. The work περὶ ἑρμηνείας, which is extant under the name of Demetrius Phalereus, is attributed by some to Dionysius of Halicarnassus; but there is no evidence for this hypothesis, any more than there is for ascribing to him the Βίος Ὁμήρου which is printed in Gale's Opuscula Mythologica. b. Historical Works.
In this class of compositions, to which Dionysius appears to have devoted his later years, he was less successful than in his critical and rhetorical essays, inasmuch as we everywhere find the rhetorician gaining the ascendancy over the historian. The following historical works of his are known: 1. Χρόνοι or χρονικά
Χρόνοι or χρονικά (Clem. Al. Strom. i. p. 320; Suid. s. v. Διονύσιος; Dionys. A. R. 1.74.) This work, which is lost, probably contained chronological investigations, though not concerning Roman history. Photius (Bibl. Cod. 84) mentions an abridgment (σύνοψις) in five books, and Stephanus of Byzantium (s. vv. Ἀρίκεια and Κορίαλλα) quotes the same under the name of ἐπιτομή. This abridgment, in all probability of the χρόνοι, was undoubtedly the work of a late grammarian, and not, as some have thought, of Dionysius himself. 2. Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἀρχαιολογία
The great historical work of Dionysius, of which we still possess a considerable portion, is the Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἀρχαιολογία, which Photius (Bibl. Cod. 83) styles ἱστορικοὶ λόγοι. It consisted of twenty books, and contained the history of Rome from the earliest or mythical times down to the year B. C. 264, in which the history of Polybius begins with the Punic wars. The first nine books alone are complete; of the tenth and eleventh we have only the greater part; and of the remaining nine we possess nothing but fragments and extracts, which were contained in the collections made at the command of the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and were first published by A. Mai from a MS. in the library of Milan (1816, 4to.), and reprinted at Frankfurt, 1817, 8vo. Mai at first believed that these extracts were the abridgment of which Photius (Bibl. Cod. 84) speaks; but this opinion met with such strong opposition from Ciampi (Biblioth. Ital. viii. p. 225, &c.), Visconti (Journal des Savans, for June, 1817), and Struve (Ueber die von Mai aufgefund Stücke des Dionys. von Halic. Königsberg, 1820, 8vo.), that Mai, when he reprinted the extracts in his Script. Vet. Nova Collectio (ii. p. 475, &c., ed. Rome, 1827), felt obliged in his preface (p. xvii.) to recant his former opinion, and to agree with his critics in admitting that the extracts were remnants of the extracts of Constantine Porphyrogenitus from the Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἀρχαιολογία. Respecting their value, see Niebuhr, Hist. of Rome, ii. p. 419, note 916, iii. p. 524, note 934, Lectures on Rom. Hist. i. p. 47. Dionysius treated the early history of Rome with a minuteness which raises a suspicion as to his judgment on historical and mythical matters, and the eleven books extant do not carry the history beyond the year B. C. 441, so that the eleventh book breaks off very soon after the decemviral legislation. This peculiar minuteness in the early history, however, was in a great measure the consequence of the object he had proposed to himself, and which, as he himself states. was to remove the erroneous notions which the Greeks entertained with regard to Rome's greatness and to shew that Rome had not become great by accident or mere good fortune, but by the virtue and wisdom of the Romans themselves. With this object in view, he discusses most carefully everything relating to the constitution, the religion, the history, laws, and private life of the Romans; and his work is for this reason one of the greatest importance to the student of Roman history, at least so far as the substance of his discussions is concerned. But the manner in which he dealt with his materials cannot always be approved of: he is unable to draw a clear distinction between a mere mythus and history; and where he perceives inconsistencies in the former, he attempts, by a rationalistic mode of proceeding, to reduce it to what appears to him sober history. It is however a groundless assertion, which some critics have made, that Dionysius invented facts, and thus introduced direct forgeries into history. He had, moreover, no clear notions about the early constitution of Rome, and was led astray by the nature of the institutions which he saw in his own day; and he thus transferred to the early times the notions which he had derived from the actual state of things--a process by which he became involved in inextricable difficulties and contradictions. The numerous speeches which he introduces in his work are indeed written with great artistic skill, but they nevertheless shew too manifestly that Dionysius was a rhetorician, not an historian, and still less a statesman. He used all the authors who had written before him on the early history of Rome, but he did not always exercise a proper discretion in choosing his guides, and we often find him following authorities of an inferior class in preference to better and sounder ones. Notwithstanding all this, however, Dionysius contains an inexhaustible treasure of materials for those who know how to make use of them.
The style of Dionysius is very good, and, with a few exceptions, his language may be called perfectly pure. See Ph. F. Schulin, de Dionys. Historico, praecipuo Historiae Juris Fonte, Heidelberg, 1821, 4to.; An Inquiry into the Credit due to Dionys. of Hal. as a Critic and Historian, in the Class. Journ. vol. xxxiv.; Krüger, Praefat. ad Historiogr. p. xii.; Niebuhr, Lectures on the Hist. of Rome, i. pp. 46-53, ed. Schmitz. Editions
The first work of Dionysius which appeared in print was his Archaeologia, in a Latin translation by Lapus Biragus (Treviso, 1480), from a very good Roman MS. New editions of this translation, with corrections by Glareanus, appeared at Basel, 1532 and 1549; whereupon R. Stephens first edited the Greek original, Paris, 1546, fol., together with some of the rhetorical works.
The first complete edition of the Archaeologia and the rhetorical works together, is that of Fr. Sylburg, Frankfurt, 1586, 2 vols. fol. (reprinted at Leipzig, 1691, 2 vols. fol.) Another reprint, with the introduction of a few alterations, was edited by Hudson, (Oxford, 1704, 2 vols. fol.) which however is a very inferior performance. A new and much improved edition, though with many bad and arbitrary emendations, was made by J. J. Reiske, (Leipzig, 1774, &c.) in 6 vols. 8vo., the last of which was edited by Morus.
All the rhetorical works, with the exception of the τέχνη ῥητορικὴ and the περὶ συνθέσεως ὀνομάτων, were edited by E. Gros, (Paris, 1826, &c.) in 3 vols. 8vo. Further Information
Fabric. Bibl. Graec. iv. p. 382, &c.; Westermann, Gesch. d. Griech. Beredts. § 88.
26. Of Heliopolis in Egypt, is mentioned by Artemidorus (Oneir. 2.71) as the author of a work on dreams.
27. Of Heracleia, a son of Theophantus. In early life he was a disciple of Heracleides, Alexinus, and Menedemus, and afterwards also of Zeno the Stoic, who appears to have induced him to adopt the philosophy of the porch. At a later time he was afflicted with a disease of the eyes, or with a nervous complaint, and the unbearable pains which it caused him led him to abandon the Stoic philosophy, and to join the Eleatics, whose doctrine, that ἡδονή and the absence of pain was the highest good, had more charms for him than the austere ethics of the Stoa. This renunciation of his former philosophical creed drew upon him the nickname of ὁ μεταθέμενος, i. e. the renegade. During the time that he was a Stoic, he is praised for his modesty, abstinence, and moderation, but afterwards we find him described as a person greatly given to sensual pleasures. He died in his eightieth year of voluntary starvation. Works
Diogenes Laertius mentions a series of works of Dionysius, all of which, however, are lost, and Cicero censures him for having mixed up verses with his prose, and for his want of elegance and refinement. Further Information
D. L. 7.166, 167, 5.92; Athen. 7.281, x. p. 437 ; Lucian, Bis Accus. 20; Censorin. 15; Cic. Ac. 2.22, de Fin. 5.31, Tuscul. ii. 11, 35, 3.9.
28. A disciple of Heracleitus, is mentioned by Diogenes Laertius (9.15) as the author of a commentary on the works of his master.
29. An Historian, who seems to have lived in the later period of the Roman empire, and is quoted by Jornandes. (De Reb. Get. 19.)
30. Surnamed Iambus, that is, the iambic poet. is mentioned by Suidas (s. v. Ἀριστοφάνης) among the teachers of Aristophanes of Byzantium, from which we may infer the time at which he lived. Clemens Alexandrinus (Strom. v. p. 674) quotes an hexameter verse of his, and according to Athenaeus (vii. p. 284), he also wrote a work on dialects. Plutarch (de Mus. 15) quotes him as an authority on harmony, from which it has been inferred that he is the author of a work on the history of music, of which Stephanus of Byzantium (s. v. Γ̔δρεία) quotes the 23rd book.
31. Of Magnesia, a distinguished rhetorician, who taught his art in Asia between the years B. C. 79 and 77, at the time when Cicero, then in his 29th year, visited the east. Cicero on his excursions in Asia was accompanied by Dionysius, Aeschylus of Cnidus, and Xenocles of Adramyttium, who were then the most eminent rhetoricians in Asia. (Cic. Brut. 91; Plut. Cic. 4.)
32. Of Miletus, one of the earliest Greek historians, and according to Suidas (s. v. Ἑκαταῖος), a contemporary of Hecataeus, that is, he lived about B. C. 520; he must, however, to judge from the titles of his works, have survived B. C. 485, the year in which Dareius died. Works history of Dareius Hystaspis
Dionysius of Miletus wrote a history of Dareius Hystaspis in five books. Suidas further attributes to him a work entitled τὰ μετὰ Δαρεῖον in five books, and also a work Περσικά, in the Ionic dialect.
Whether they were actually three distinct works, or whether the two last were the same, and only a continuation of the first, cannot be ascertained on account of the inextricable confusion which prevails in the articles Διονύσιος of Suidas. Confusion with Dionysius of Mytilene
As a consequence of the confusion among the articles Διονύσιος of Suidas our Dionysius has often been confounded with Dionysius of Mytilene. Works erroneously ascribed by Suidas
Suidas ascribes to the Milesian, " Troica," in three books, "Mythica," an "Historical Cycle," in seven books, and a " Periegesis of the whole world," all of which, however, probably belong to different authors. Further Information
Nitzsch, Hist. Homeri, i. p. 88; Bernhardy, in his edition of Dionys. Perieg. p. 498, &c., and ad Suidam, i. p. 1395; Lobeck, Aglaoph. ii. p. 990,&c.; Welcker, Der Epische Cyclus, p. 75, &c.
33. Of Miletus, a sophist of the time of the emperor Hadrian. He was a pupil of Isaeus the Assyrian, and distinguished for the elegance of his orations. He was greatly honoured by the cities of Asia, and more especially by the emperor Hadrian, who made him praefect of a considerable province, raised him to the rank of a Roman eques, and assigned to him a place in the museum of Alexandria. Notwithstanding these distinctions, Dionysius remained a modest and unassuming person. At one time of his life he taught rhetoric at Lesbos, but he died at Ephesus at an advanced age, and was buried in the marketplace of Ephesus, where a monument was erected to him. Philostratus has preserved a few specimens of his oratory. (Vit. Soph. 1.20.2, 100.22; D. C. 69.3; Eudoc. p. 130; Suidas.)
34. Of Mytilene, was surnamed Scytobrachion, and seems to have lived shortly before the time of Cicero, if we may believe the report that he instructed M. Antonius Gnipho at Alexandria (Suet. de Illustr. Gram. 7), for Suetonius expresses a doubt as to its correctness for chronological reasons. Artemon (apud Athen. xii. p. 415) states, that Dionysius Scytobrachion was the author of the historical work which was commonly attributed to the ancient historian Xanthus of Lydia, who lived about B. C. 480. From this it has been inferred, that our Dionysius must have lived at a much earlier time. But if we conceive that Dionysius may have made a revision of the work of Xanthus, it does not follow that he must needs have lived very near the age of Xanthus. Works
Suidas attributes to him a metrical work, the expedition of Dionysus and Athena (ἡ Διονύσου καὶ Ἁθηνᾶς στρατία), and a prose work on the Argonauts in six books, addressed to Parmenon. He was probably also the author of the historic Cycle, which Suidas attributes to Dionysius of Miletus. The Argonautica is often referred to by the Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, who likewise several times confounds the Mytilenean with the Milesian (1.1298, 2.207, 1144, 3.200, 242, 4.119, 223, 228, 1153), and this work was also consulted by Diodorus Siculus. (3.52, 66.) Further Information
See Bernhardy, ad Dionys. Perieg. p. 490; Welcker, Der Ep. Cyclus, p. 87.
35. A writer on ὀψαρτυτικά, who is mentioned by Athenaeus (vii. p. 326, xi. p. 516).
36. Of Pergamus, surnamed Atticus, a rhetorician, who is characterized by Strabo (xiii. p.625) as a clever sophist, an historian, and logographer, that is, a writer of orations. He was a pupil of Apollodorus, the rhetorician, who is mentioned among the teachers of Augustus. (Comp. Senec. Controv. 1.1.) Weiske (ad Longin. p. 218) considers him to be the author of the work περὶ ὕψους commonly attributed to Longinus; but there is very little, if anything, to support this view. (Westermann, Gesch. d. Griech. Beredts. § 98, note 9.)
37. Of PHASELIS, is mentioned in the scholia on Pindar, and was probably a grammarian who wrote on Pindar. The anonymous author of the life of Nicander speaks of two works of his, viz. "on the Poetry of Antimachus," and " on Poets." (Schol. ad Pind. Nem. xi. p. 787, ed. Heyne; ad Pyth. 2.1.)
38. Surnamed Periegetes, from his being the author of a περιήγησις τῆς γῆς, in hexameter verse, which is still extant. Respecting the age and country of this Dionysius the most different opinions have been entertained, though all critics are agreed in placing him after the Christian era, or in the time of the Roman emperors, as must indeed be necessarily inferred from passages of the Periegesis itself, such as 5.355, where the author speaks of his ἄνακτες, that is, his sovereigns, which can only apply to the emperors. But the question as to which emperor or emperors Dionysius there alludes, has been answered in the most different ways: some writers have placed Dionysius in the reign of Augustus, others in that of Nero, and others again under M. Aurelius and L. Verus, or under Septimius Severus and his sons. Eustathius, his commentator, was himself in doubt about the age of his author. But these uncertainties have been removed by Bernhardy, the last editor of Dionysius, who has made it highly probable, partly from the names of countries and nations mentioned in the Periegesis, partly from the mention of the Huns in 5.730, and partly from the general character of the poem, that its author must have lived either in the latter part of the third, or in the beginning of the fourth, century of our era. With regard to his native country, Suidas infers from the enthusiastic manner in which Dionysius speaks of the river Rhebas (793, &c.), that he was born at Byzantium, or somewhere in its neighbourhood; but Eustathius (ad v. 7) and the Scholiast (ad v. 8) expressly call him an African, and these authorities certainly seem to deserve more credit than the mere inference of Suidas. Works Periegesis
The Periegesis of Dionysius contains a description of the whole earth, so far as it was known in his time, in hexameter verse, and the author appears chiefly to follow the views of Eratosthenes. It is written in a terse and neat style, and enjoyed a high degree of popularity in ancient times, as we may infer from the fact, that two translations or paraphrases of it were made by Romans, one by Rufus Festus Avienus [Avienus], and the other by the grammarian Priscian. [Priscianus.] Eustathius wrote a very valuable commentary upon it, which is still extant, and we further possess a Greek paraphrase and scholia. Editions
The first edition of the Periegesis appeared at Ferrara, 1512, 4to, with a Latin translation. A. Manutius printed it at Venice, 1513, 8vo., together with Pindar, Callimachus, and Lycophron. H. Stephens incorporated it in his " Poetae Principes Heroici Carminis," Paris, 1566, fol. One of the most useful among the subsequent editions is that of Edw. Thwaites, Oxford, 1697, 8vo., with the commentary of Eustathius, the Greek scholia and paraphrase. It is also printed in the fourth volume of Hudson's Geogr. Minor. 1712, 8vo., from which it was reprinted separately, Oxford, 1710 and 1717, 8vo. But all the previous editions are superseded by that of G. Bernhardy (Leipzig, 1828, 8vo.), which forms vol. i. of a contemplated collection of the minor Greek geographers; it is accompanied by a very excellent and learned dissertation and the ancient commentators. Other Works
Besides the Periegesis, Eustathius states that other works also were attributed to our Dionysius, viz. λιθικά, ὀρνιθικά, and Βασσαρικά. Concerning the first, compare the Scholiast on 5.714; Maxim. ad Dionys. Areopag. de Myst. Theol. 2; and Bernhardy (l.c.), p. 502. Respecting the ὀρνιθικά, which some attribute to Dionysius of Philadelphia, see Bernhardy, p. 503. The Βασσαρικά, which means the same as Διονυσιακά (Suid. s. v. Σωτήριχος) is very often quoted by Stephanus of Byzantium. Further Information
See Bernhardy, pp. 507, &c. and 515.
39. Bishop of Rome, is called a λόγιός τε καὶ Δαυμάσιος ἀνήρ by his contemporary, Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria. (Ap. Euseb. H. E. 7.7.) He is believed to have been a Greek by birth, and after having been a presbyter, he was made bishop of Rome in A. D. 259, and retained this high dignity for ten years, till A. D. 269. During his administration of the Roman diocese, some bishops brought before him charges against Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, for being guilty of heretical opinions in his controversies with Sabellius. The bishop of Rome therefore convoked a synod, and with its consent he declared, in a letter to the accused, that he was guilty of heresies, and gave him a gentle reprimand. A fragment of this letter is preserved in Athanasius (de Decret. Synod. Nicaen. p. 421), and it was this letter which induced Dionysius of Alexandria to write his work against Sabellius, which was addressed to the bishop of Rome. (Cave, Hist. Lit. i. p. 97.)
40. Surnamed Scytobrachion. See No. 34.
41. Of Sidon, a Greek grammarian, who is sometimes simply called Sidonius. (Schol. Venet. ad Hom. Il. 1.424, 14.40.) He seems to have lived shortly after the time of Aristarchus, and to have founded a school of his own. (Schol. ad Il. 1.8.) He is frequently referred to in the Venetian Scholia, and also by Eustathius on Homer, as one of the critical commentators of the poet. (Comp. Varro, de L. L. 10.10, ed. Muller; Villoison, Proleg. ad Hom. Il. p. xxix.)
42. Of Sinope. See below.
43. A Stoic philosopher, against whom Chrysippus wrote a work, but who is otherwise unknown. (D. L. 6.43; Eudoc. p. 138.)
44. Surnamed Thrax, or the Thracian, a celebrated Greek grammarian, who unquestionably derived his surname from the fact of his father Teres being a Thracian (Suidas); and it is absurd to believe, with the author of the Etymologicum Magnum (p. 277. 53), that he received it from his rough voice or any other circumstance. He himself was, according to some, a native of Alexandria (Suidas), and, according to others, of Byzantium; but he is also called a Rhodian, because at one time he resided at Rhodes, and gave instructions there (Strab. xiv. p.655; Athen. 11.489), and it was at Rhodes that Tyrannion was among the pupils of Dionysius. Dionysius also staid for some time at Rome, where he was engaged in teaching, about B. C. 80. Further particulars about his life are not known. Works
Dionysius Thrax was the author of numerous grammatical works, manuals, and commentaries. τέχνη γραμματική
We possess under his name a τέχνη γραμματική, a small work, which however became the basis of all subsequent grammars, and was a standard book in grammar schools for many centuries. Under such circumstances we cannot wonder that, in the course of time, such a work was much interpolated, sometimes abridged, and sometimes extended or otherwise modified. The form therefore, in which it has come down to us, is not the original one, and hence its great difference in the different MSS. Editions
It was first printed in Fabricius, Bibl. Gr. iv. p. 20 of the old edition. Villoison (Anecd. 2.99) then added some excerpta and scholia from a Venetian MS., together with which the grammar was afterwards printed in Fabricius, Bibl. Gr. vi. p. 311 of Harles's edition, and somewhat better in Bekker's Anecdota, ii. p. 627, &c. Translations
It is remarkable that an Armenian translation of this grammar, which has recently come to light, and was probably made in the fourth or fifth century of our era, is more complete than the Greek original, having five additional chapters. Edition
This translation, which was published by Cirbied in the Mémoires et Dissertations sur les Antiquités nationales et étrangères, 1824, 8vo., vol. vi., has increased the doubts about the genuineness of our Greek text; but it would be going too far to consider it, with Göttling, (Praef. ad Theodos. Gram. p. v. &c.; comp. Lersch, die Sprachphilos. der Alten, ii. p. 64, &c.) as a mere compilation made by some Byzantine grammarian at a very late period. Assessment
The groundwork of what we have is unquestionably the production of Dionysius Thrax. The interpolations mentioned above appear to have been introduced at a very early time, and it was probably owing to them that some of the ancient commentators of the grammar found in it things which could not have been written by a disciple of Aristarchus, and that therefore they doubted its genuineness. Work on Homer
Dionysius did much also for the explanation and criticism of Homer, as may be inferred from the quotations in the Venetian Scholia (ad Hom. Il. 2.262, 9.460, 12.20, 13.103, 15.86, 741, 18.207, 24.110), and Eustathius. (Ad Hom. pp. 854, 869, 1040, 1299.) He does not, however, appear to have written a regular commentary, but to have inserted his remarks on Homer in several other works, such as that against Crates, and the περὶ ποσοτήτων. (Schol. Ven. ad Hom. Il. 2.3.) Other Works
In some MSS. there exists a treatise περὶ τόνου τερισπωμένων, which has been wrongly attributed to our grammarian: it is, further, more than doubtful whether he wrote a commentary on Euripides, as has been inferred from a quotation of the Scholiast on that poet.
The Etymol. M. contains several examples of his etymological, prosodical, and exegetical attempts. (pp. 308. 18, 747. 20, 365. 20.) Dionysius is also mentioned as the author of μελέται and of a work on Rhodes. Assessment
His chief merit consists in the impulse he gave to the study of systematic grammar, and in what he did for a correct understanding of Homer. Further Information
Steph. Byz. s. v. Ταρσός; comp. Gräfenhan, Gesch. der Klass. Philol. i. p. 402, &c.
45. A son or disciple of Tryphon, a Greek grammarian, who lived about B. C. 50. (Steph. Byz. s.v. Ὄα, Μυρρινοῦς, &c.) He was the author of a work περὶ ὀνομάτων, which consisted of at least eleven books, and is often referred to by Stephanus of Byzantium and Harpocration. (Comp. Athen. 6.255, xi. p. 503, xiv. p. 641.) [L.S]
(Διονύσιος), of Sinope, an Athenian comic poet of the middle comedy. (Athen. xi. pp. 467, d., 497, c., xiv. p. 615e.; Schol. Horn. Il. 11.515.) He appears, from indications in the fragments of his plays, to have been younger than Archestratus, tc have flourished about the same time as Nicostratus, the son of Aristophanes, and to have lived till the establishment of the Macedonian supremacy in Greece. We have the titles and some fragments of his Ἀκοντιζόμενος (Ath. xiv. p. 664d.), which appears to have been translated by Naevius, Θεσμοφόρος (a long passage in Athen. 9.404,e.), Ὁμώνυμοι (Athen. 8.381c., xiv. p. 615e.), Λιμός (Schol. Hom. Il. xi, 515; Eustath. p. 859. 49), Σώζουσα or Σώτειρα (Athen. xi. pp. 467, d., 497, d.; Stob. Serm. 125.8.) Meursius and Fabricius are wrong in assigning the Ταξιάρχαι to Dionysius. It belongs to Eupolis. (Meineke, Frag. Com. Graec. i. pp. 419, 420, iii. pp. 547-555.] [P.S]
artists.
1. Of Argos, a statuary, who was employed together with Glaucus in making the works which Smicythus dedicated at Olympia. This fixes the artist's time; for Smicythus succeeded Anaxilas as tyrant of Rhegium in B. C. 476. The works executed by Dionysius were statues of Contest (Ἀγών) carrying ἁλτῆρες (Dict. of Ant. s. v.), of Dionysius, of Orpheus, and of Zeus without a beard. (Paus. 5.26. §§ 3-6.) He also made a horse and charioteer in bronze, which were among the works dedicated at Olympia by Phormis of Maenalus, the contemporary of Gelon and Hiero. (Paus. 5.27.1.)
2. A sculptor, who made the statue of Hera which Octavian afterwards placed in the portico of Octavia. (Plin. Nat. 36.5, s. 4.10.) Junius takes this artist to be the same as the former, but Sillig argues, that in the time of the elder Dionysius the art of sculpturing marble was not brought to sufficient perfection to allow us to ascribe one of its masterpieces to him.
3. Of Colophon, a painter, contemporary with Polygnotus of Thasos, whose works he imitated in their accuracy, expression (πάθος), manner (ἦθος), in the treatment of the form, in the delicacy of the drapery, and in every other respect except in grandeur. (Ael. VH 4.3.) Plutarch (Plut. Tim. 36) speaks of his works as having strength and tone, but as forced and laboured. Aristotle (Aristot. Poet. 2) says that Polygnotus painted the likenesses of men better than the originals, Pauson made them worse, and Dionysius just like them (ὁμοίους). It seems from this that the pictures of Dionysius were deficient in the ideal. It was no doubt for this reason that Dionysius was called Anthropographus, like Demetrius. It is true that Pliny, from whom we learn the fact, gives a different reason, namely, that Dionysius was so called because he painted only men, and not landscapes (35.10. s. 37); but this is only one case out of many in which Pliny's ignorance of art has caused him to give a false interpretation of a true fact. Sillig applies this passage to the later Dionysius (No. 4), but without any good reason.
4. A painter, who flourished at Rome at the same time as Sopolis and Lala of Cyzicus, about B. C. 84. Pliny says of him and Sopolis, that they were the most renowned painters of that age, except Lala, and that their works filled the picture galieries (35.11, s. 40.43). [P.S]
(Διονύσιος), the name of several physicians and surgeons, whom it is sometimes difficult to distinguish with certainty.
1. A native of Aegae (but of which place of this name does not appear), who must have lived in or before the ninth century after Christ, as he is quoted by Photius (Biblioth. §§ 185, 211, pp. 129, 168, ed. Bekker), but how much earlier he lived is uncertain. It is not known whether he was himself a physician, but he wrote a work entitled Δικτυακά, in which he discussed various medical questions. It consisted of one hundred chapters, the heads of which have been preserved by Photius, and shew that he wrote both in favour of each proposition, and also against it. The title of his book has been supposed to allude to his teaching his readers to argue on both sides of a question, and thus to catch their hearers, as it were, in a net.
2. A native of Cyrtus (Κυρτός) in Egypt, who was mentioned by Herennius Philo in his lost History of Medicine. Stephanus Byzantinus(s. v. Κύρτος calls him διάσημος ἰατρός. His date is uncertain, but if (as Meursius conjectures) he is the same person who is quoted by Caelius Aurelianus (De Morb. Chron. 2.13, p. 416), he may be supposed to have lived in the third century B. C. (Meursius, Dionysius, &c. in Opera, vol. v.)
3. A native of Miletus, in Caria, must have lived in or before the second century after Christ, as he is quoted by Galen, who has preserved some of his medical formulae. (De Compos. Medical. sec. Locos, 4.7, vol. xii. p. 741; De Antid. 2.11, vol. xiv. p. 171.) He may perhaps be the same person who is mentioned by Galen without any distinguishing epithet. (De Compos. Medicam. sec. Locos. 4.8, vol. xii. p. 760.)
4. Son of Oxymachus, appears to have written some anatomical work, which is mentioned by Rufus Ephesius. (De Appell. Part. Corp. Hum. p. 42.) He was either a contemporary or predecessor of Eudemus, and therefore lived probably in the fourth or third century B. C.
5. Of Samos, whose medical formulae are quoted by Galen (De Compos. Medicam. sec. Gen. 4.13, vol. xiii. p. 745), is supposed by Meursius (l.c.) to be the same person as the son of Musonius; but, as Kiihn observes (Additam. ad Elenck. Medicor. Vet. a Fabricio in " Biblioth. Graeca," exhib. fascic. xiv. p. 7), from no other reason, than because both are said to have been natives of Samos (nor is even this quite certain), whereas from the writings of the son of Musonius there is no ground for believing him to have been a physician, or even a collector of medical prescriptions.
6. Sallustius Dionysius, is quoted by Pliny (Plin. Nat. 32.26), and therefore must have lived in or before the first century after Christ.
7. Cassius Dionysius [Cassius, p. 626.]
8. Dionysius, a surgeon, quoted by Scriboniu Largus (Compos. Medicam. 100.212, ed. Rhod.). who lived probably at or before the beginning of the Christian era.
9. A physician, who was a contemporary of Galen in the second century after Christ, and is mentioned as attending the son of Caecilianus, to whom Galen wrote a letter full of medical advice, which is still extant. (Galen, Pro Puero Epilept. Consil., in Opera, vol. xi. p. 357.)
10. A fellow-pupil of Heracleides of Tarentum, who must have lived probably in the third century B. C., and one of whose medical formulae is quoted by Galen. (De Compos. Medicam. sec. Locos, 5.3, vol. xii. p. 835.)
11. A physician who belonged to the medical sect of the Methodici, and who lived probably in the first century B. C. (Galen, de Meth. Med. 1.7, vol. x. p. 53; Introd. 100.4, vol. xiv. p. 684.)
12. The physician mentioned by Galen (Comment. in Hippocr. "Aphor." 4.69, vol. xvii. pt. ii. p. 751) as a commentator on the Aphorisms of Hippocrates, must have lived in or before the second century after Christ, but cannot certainly be identified with any other physician of that name.
13. A physician whose medical formulae are mentioned by Celsus (De Med. 6.6. 4; 18. 9, pp. 119, 136), must have lived in or before the first century after Christ, and may perhaps be the same person as No. 3, or 8.
14. A physician at Rome in the fifth century after Christ, who was also in deacon's orders, and a man of great piety. When Rome was taken by Alaric, A. D. 410, Dionysius was carried away prisoner, but was treated with great kindness, on account of his virtues and his medical skill. An epitaph on him in Latin elegiac verse is to be found in Baronius, Annal. Eccles. ad ann. 410.41. [W.A.G]
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…regno non aequo animo carebas. est autem inpudens luctus maerore se conficientis, quod imperare non liceat liberis. Dionysius quidem tyrannus Syracusis expulsus Corinthi pueros docebat usque eo imperio carere non poterat. Tarquinio vero quid impudentius, qui…
M. Tullius Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes
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…sunt corpora an utrosque nescio. me magis de Dionysio delectat ; ipse est enim veterator magnus et perfamiliaris Philisto Dionysius. sed, quod ea scribis, adgrederisne ad historiam me auctore potes et, quoniam tabellarios subministras, hodierni…
Cicero, Epistulae ad Quintum fratrem
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…lectulo ad philosophos me revocas, qui in aciem non saepe prodeunt. e quibus homo sane levis, Heracleotes Dionysius, cum a Zenone fortis esse didicisset, a dolore dedoctus est. nam cum ex renibus laboraret, ipso…
M. Tullius Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes
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…Marius, talis viri interitu sex suos obruere consulatus et contaminare extremum tempus aetatis. Duodequadraginta annos tyrannus Syracusanorum fuit Dionysius, cum quinque et viginti natus annos dominatum occupavisset. qua pulchritudine urbem, quibus autem opibus praeditam servitute oppressam…
M. Tullius Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes
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…digna videatur. omnia, quae in tuis rebus agam, et non laboriosa mihi et honesta videbuntur. de Dionysio, si me amas, confice. quamcumque ei fidem dederis, praestabo ; si vero improbus fuerit, ut…
Cicero, Epistulae ad Familiares
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…gratum qui vetere praenomine, novo nomine T. erit Caecilius, ut est ex me et ex te iunctus Dionysius M. Pomponius. valde me hercule mihi gratum est Eutychidem tuam erga me benevolentiam cognosse ; et…
Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum
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…aut loquax visa est. maxime autem rogo rebus tuis totoque itinere ex sententia confecto nos quam primum revisas. Dionysium iube salvere. cura ut valeas. Scr. Romae vi K. Sext. a. . CICERO ATTICO…
Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum
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…futurum sit nescio. Scr. in Formiano iv K. Mart. a. . CICERO ATTICO SAL. Dionysius cum ad me praeter opinionem meam venisset, locutus sum cum eo liberalissime ; tempora exposui, rogavi ut diceret…
Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum
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…SAL. nos in Tusculanum venisse a. d. xvii Kal. Dec. video te scire. ibi Dionysius nobis praesto fuit. Romae a. d. xiiii Kal. volumus esse. quid dico volumus immo vero…
Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum
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…B Demosthenes. Deucalion Diagoras. . Dicaearchus κορινθιακοί αεσβιακοί Dinomachus Dio Diodorus Peripateticus Diodotus Stoicus Diogenes Babylonius Diogenes Sinopensis Dionysius, Syracusanorum tyrannus maior Dionysius, Syracusanorum tyrannus minor Dionysius Heracleotes St. fr. I ib. Dionysius Stoicus…
M. Tullius Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes
(Διονύσιος). (1) The Elder, a celebrated tyrant of Syracuse, raised to that high rank from the station of a simple citizen, was born in that city, B.C. 430. He was son-in-law to Hermocrates, who, having been banished by an adverse party, attempted to return by force of arms and was killed in the action. Dionysius was dangerously wounded, but he recovered and was afterwards recalled. In time he caused himself to be nominated one of the generals, and, under pretence of raising a force sufficient to resist the Carthaginians, obtained a decree for recalling all the exiles, to whom he gave arms. Being sent to the relief of Gela, then besieged by the Carthaginians, he effected nothing against the enemy, pretending that he was not seconded by the other commanders; and his friends suggested that, in order to save the State, the supreme power ought to be confided to one man, reminding the people of the times of Gelon, who had defeated the Carthaginians. The General Assembly therefore proclaimed Dionysius supreme chief of the Republic about B.C. 405, when he was twenty-five years of age. He increased the pay of the soldiers, enlisted new ones, and, under pretence of a conspiracy against his person, formed a guard of mercenaries. He then proceeded to the relief of Gela, but failed in the attack on the Carthaginian camp; he, however, penetrated into the town, the inhabitants of which he advised to leave it quietly in the night under the escort of his troops. On his retreat he persuaded those of Camarina to do the same. This raised suspicion among his troops, and a party of horsemen, riding on before the rest, raised, on their arrival at Syracuse, an insurrection against Dionysius, plundered his house, and treated his wife so cruelly that she died in consequence. Dionysius, with a chosen body, followed close after, set fire to the gate of Acradina, forced his way into the city, put to death the leaders of the revolt, and remained undisputed possessor of the supreme power. The Carthaginians, being afflicted by a pestilence, made proposals of peace, which were accepted by Dionysius, and he then applied himself to fortifying Syracuse, and especially the island of Ortygia, which he made his stronghold, and which he peopled entirely with his trusty partisans and mercenaries, by the aid of whom he put down several revolts. After reducing the towns of Leontini, Catana, and Naxus, he engaged in a new war with Carthage, in which he met with the most brilliant success, making himself master of numerous towns in Sicily, and becoming eventually feared both in Italy and Sicily. In order to raise money, he allied himself with the Illyrians, and proposed to them the joint plunder of the temple of Delphi; the enterprise, however, failed. He then plundered several temples, such as that of Persephoné at Locri; and as he sailed back with the plunder, with a fair wind, he, being a humourist in his way, observed to his friends, “You see how the immortal gods favour sacrilege.” Having carried off a golden mantle from a statue of Zeus, consecrated by Gelon out of the spoils of the Carthaginians, he replaced it by a woollen garment, saying that this was better suited to the vicissitudes of the seasons. He also took away a golden beard from Aesculapius, observing that it was not becoming for the son of a beardless father (Apollo) to make a display of his own beard. He likewise appropriated to himself the silver tables and golden vases and crowns in the temples, saying that he would make use of the bounty of the gods (Cic. N. D. iii. 34). He made a descent with a fleet on the coast of Etruria, and plundered the temple at Caeré or Agylla of 1000 talents. With these resources he was preparing himself for a new expedition to Italy, when a fresh Carthaginian armament landed in Sicily, B.C. 383, and defeated Dionysius, whose brother Leptines fell in the battle. A peace followed, of which Carthage dictated the conditions.
This peace lasted fourteen years, during which Dionysius remained the undisturbed ruler of Syracuse and one half of Sicily, with part of southern Italy. He sent colonies to the coasts of the Adriatic, and his fleets navigated both seas. Twice he sent assistance to his old ally, Sparta: once against the Athenians, B.C. 374, and again in 369 after the battle of Leuctra, when the Spartans were hard pressed by Epaminondas. Meantime the court of Dionysius was frequented by many distinguished men, philosophers and poets. Plato is said to have been among the former, being invited by Dion (q.v.), the brother-in-law of Dionysius; but the philosopher's declamations against tyranny led to his being sent away from Syracuse. The poets fared little better, as Dionysius himself aspired to poetical fame, for which, however, he was not so well qualified as for political success. Those who did not praise his verses were in danger of being led to prison. Dionysius twice sent some of his poems to be recited at the Olympic Games, but they were hissed by the assembly. He was more successful at Athens. A tragedy of his obtained the prize, and the news of his success almost turned his brain. He had just concluded a fresh truce with the Carthaginians, after having made an unsuccessful attack on Lilybaeum, at the expiration of the fourteen years' peace; and he now gave himself up to rejoicings and feastings for his poetical triumph. In a debauch with his friends he ate and drank so intemperately that he fell senseless, and soon after died, B.C. 367, in the sixty-third year of his age, having been tyrant of Syracuse for thirtyeight years. Dionysius, his elder son by Doris, succeeded him in the sovereignty.
Dionysius was a clever statesman and generally successful in his undertakings. He did much to strengthen and extend the power of Syracuse, and it was probably owing to him that all Sicily did not fall into the hands of the Carthaginians. He was unscrupulous, rapacious, and vindictive; but several of the stories related of his cruelty and suspicious temper appear improbable, or at least exaggerated. An account of the famous prison, or “Ear of Dionysius,” will be found under the title Lautumiae.
(2) The second of the name, styled The Younger, was son of Dionysius I. by Doris. His father, whom he succeeded, had left the State in a prosperous condition, but young Dionysius had neither his abilities nor his prudence and experience. He followed at first the advice of Dion, who, although a republican in principle, had remained faithful to his father, and who now endeavoured to direct the inexperienced son for the good of his country. For this purpose Dion invited his friend Plato to Syracuse, about B.C. 364. Dionysius received the philosopher with great respect, and, in deference to his advice, reformed for a while his loose habits and the manners of his court. But a faction, headed by Philistus, who had always been a supporter of the tyranny of the elder Dionysius, succeeded in prejudicing the son against both Dion and Plato. Dion was exiled, under pretence that he had written privately to the Senate of Carthage for the purpose of concluding a peace. Plato urgently demanded of Dionysius the recall of Dion, and not being able to obtain it, he left Syracuse, after which Dionysius gave himself up to debauchery without restraint. Dion, meanwhile, was travelling through Greece, where his character gained him numerous friends. Dionysius, moved by jealousy, confiscated his property and obliged his wife to marry another. Upon this, Dion collected a small force at Zacynthus, with which he sailed for Sicily and entered Syracuse without resistance. Dionysius retired to the citadel in Ortygia, and after some resistance, in which Philistus, his best supporter, was taken prisoner and put to death, he quitted Syracuse by sea and retired to Locri, the country of his mother, where he had connections and friends. Dion having been treacherously murdered, several tyrants succeeded each other in Syracuse, until Dionysius himself came and retook it about B.C. 346. Instead, however, of profiting by his ten years' exile, he had grown worse. Having, during the interval of his absence from Syracuse, usurped the supreme power in Locri, he had committed many atrocities, had put to death several citizens and abused their wives and daughters. Upon his return to Syracuse, his cruelty and profligacy drove away a great number of people, who emigrated to various parts of Italy and Greece, while others joined Hicetas, tyrant of Leontini and a former friend of Dion. The latter sent messengers to Corinth to request assistance against Dionysius. The Corinthians appointed Timoleon leader of the expedition. This commander landed in Sicily, B.C. 344, entered Syracuse, and soon after obliged Dionysius to surrender. Dionysius was sent to Corinth, where he spent the remainder of his life in the company of actors and low women. Some say that at one time he kept a school. Several repartees are related of him, in answer to those who taunted him upon his altered fortunes, which are not destitute of wit or wisdom ( Dion; Diod. Sic.xvi. 5 foll.).
(3) Dionysius Thrax, a celebrated Greek grammarian, a native of Byzantium, or perhaps of Alexandria (Suidas). Coming to Rome about B.C. 80, he engaged in teaching rhetoric and grammar. Of numerous manuals, commentaries, etc., that he published, one entitled Τέχνη Γραμματική has come down to us, and is of very great importance, as it became the basis for all subsequent grammars, and for many centuries was a standard text-book, either in the original or in Latin translations. From it, through the Latin equivalents, came the technical terms of modern grammar, such as “case” (casus, πτῶσις), “plural” (pluralis, πληθυντικός), “singular” (singularis, ἑνικός), “nominative” (nominativus, ὀνομαστική), etc. In the fourth century the book was translated into Armenian, and this version, which contains five more chapters than the Greek MSS., has given a definitive text of the whole. It is to be found in Bekker's Anecdota Graeca (Berlin, 1821), but especially in the recent edition by Uhlig (Leipzig, 1884). A French translation is given in Cirbied, Mémoires et Dissertations sur les Antiquités Nationales et Étrangères (Paris, 1824). On Dionysius see Gräfenhan, Geschichte d. Class. Phil. i. p. 402 foll. (Bonn, 1850); Lersch, Sprachphilosophie der Alten, i. p. 64 foll. (Leipzig, 1841); Steinthal, Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft, 2d ed. (Berlin, 1891); Sayce, Science of Language, Introduction; Hübschmann, Casuslehre, pp. 15 foll.; Suidas, s. v. Διονύσιος; and the article Grammatica.
(4) Halicarnassensis or Halicarnasseus, an historian and critic, born at Halicarnassus in the first century B.C. We know nothing of his history beyond what he has told us himself. He states that he came to Italy at the termination of the civil war between Augustus and Antony (B.C. 29), and that he spent the following two-and-twenty years at Rome in learning the Latin language and in collecting materials for his history. He died at Rome, B.C. 7. The principal work of Dionysius is his work on Roman antiquities (Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἀρχαιολογία), which commenced with the early history of the people of Italy and terminated with the beginning of the First Punic War, B.C. 265. It originally consisted of twenty books, of which the first ten remain entire. The eleventh breaks off in the year B.C. 312, but several fragments of the latter half of the history are preserved in the collection of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and to these a valuable addition was made in 1816, by Mai, from an old MS. Besides, the first three books of Appian were founded entirely upon Dionysius, and Plutarch's biography of Camillus must also be considered as a compilation mostly taken from the Antiquitates Romanae, so that perhaps, upon the whole, we have not lost much of his work. The intention of the author in writing his history was to give the Greeks a more accurate and favourable idea than they had hitherto entertained of the Roman people and its civilization, for it had always fretted the Easterns to have been conquered by a race of mere “barbarians.” The work is founded upon a very careful and thorough study of authorities, and is one of our chief sources of information upon ancient Roman history in its internal and external development. Good editions of the Antiquitates are those of Reiske, 6 vols. (Leipzig, 1774-76), Schwartz (Leipzig, 1877), and Jacoby 2 vols. (1885-88). The first edition in the original Greek was that of R. Stephanus (Paris, 1546).
Dionysius also wrote a treatise on rhetoric (Τέχνη Ρητορική); criticisms (Τῶν Ἀρχαίων Κρίσις) on the style of Thucydides, Lysias, Isocrates, Isaeus , Dinarchus, Plato, and Demosthenes; a treatise on the arrangement of words (Περὶ Συνθέσεως Ὀνομάτων); and some other short essays. The first complete edition of the entire works of Dionysius was that of Sylburg (Frankfort, 1586; reprinted at Leipzig, 1691). More recent editors of the rhetorical works are Gros (Paris, 1826) and Westermann.
(5) The author of a Greek poem in 1186 hexameters, entitled Τῆς Γῆς Οἰκουμένης Περιήγησις, “A Description of the Habitable World.” It is not clearly ascertained where he was born. The probability is, however, that he was a native of Charax in Susiana. It is uncertain, also, when he flourished; he belonged, however, according to the general opinion, to the latter part of the third or the beginning of the fourth century A.D. He derived from his poem the surname of Periegetes. This production of his has little merit as a work of imagination and but feeble interest for the geographer. The commentary, however, of Eustathius upon it possesses some value from the miscellaneous information which is scattered throughout. There are two Latin translations of the poem—one by Rufus Festus Avienus (q.v.) and the other by Priscianus (q.v.). The last and best edition of the Periegesis is that of Bernhardy (Leipzig, 1828), in the first volume of his Geographi Graeci Minores.
(6) A Christian writer, called Areopagīta, from his having been a member of the court of Areopagus at Athens. He was converted to Christianity by St. Paul's preaching (Acts, xvii. 34). He is reported to have been the first bishop of Athens, being appointed to that office by the apostle Paul, and to have suffered martyrdom under Domitian. His fundamental thought is the absolute transcendence of God. During the Middle Ages a great number of writings were circulated under his name, and were collected together and printed at Cologne in 1536, and subsequently at Antwerp in 1634 and at Paris in 1646. They have now, for a long time, been deemed spurious, although scholars differ in respect to the times and authors of the fabrication. The most probable reasoning, however, fixes them at the end of the fourth century. The standard text is that of Corderius, reprinted by the Abbé Migne. Trans. by Parker (1894). See Harnack's Dogmengeschichte, vol. ii., and the studies by Niemeyer (1869) and Schneider (1884).
(7) Surnamed Exiguus, or “the Little,” on account of the smallness of his stature, a Scythian monk of the sixth century, who became an abbot at Rome. Cassiodorus, who was his intimate friend, speaks highly of his learning and character. At the request of Stephen, bishop of Salona, he drew up a body of canons entitled Collectio sive Codex Canonum Ecclesiasticorum, etc., translated from the Greek, containing the first fifty apostolical canons, as they are called, with those of the councils of Nice, Constantinople, Chalcedon, Sardis, and including 138 canons of certain African councils. He afterwards drew up a collection of the decretals. To him some ascribe the mode of computing the time of Easter, and of dating from the birth of Christ.
(8) Of Colophon, an artist, contemporary with Polygnotus, whom he imitated. Aristotle describes him as a realist in the treatment of his subjects.
(9) Dionysius Cato. See Cato, p. 302.
- his attempt to train the Ionian fleet: Hdt. 6.11, Hdt. 6.12, Hdt. 6.17
- Paus. 5.26.3, 4, 7, Paus. 5.27.2
- Apollodorus, on Herakles as leader of the Argonauts: Apollod. 1.9.19
- Paus. 1.2.3, Paus. 1.13.9
- sends sacrifice to Olympia: Paus. 6.2.6