Dionysiusthe Elder

Dionysius the Elder (430-367 B.C.), Tyrant of Syracuse, was of obscure parentage, but became a general and commander-in-chief of the army. Owing to his influence with the army, he made himself head of the state at the age of 25. He extended the rule of the city over the other cities of Sicily, fought with the Carthaginians, and conquered them. He made an expedition to Lower Italy, and starved out Rhegium (387). After another short war with Carthage, he had a period of peace, and composed poems and tragedies, with which he contended at the Olympic games. In 368 he tried to drive out the Carthaginians, and was shortly after poisoned by his successor. Dionysius had three great objects in his policy - to make Syracuse supreme in Sicily, to drive out the Carthaginians, and to subdue the Greek cities of Lower Italy. The fortifications erected by him are still one of the sights of Syracuse.