Editing Dionysius I of Syracuse (section)

==Intellectual tastes==
Like [[Pisistratus]], tyrant of [[Athens]], Dionysius was fond of having literary men around him, such as the historian [[Philistus]], the poet [[Philoxenus of Cythera|Philoxenus]], and the philosopher [[Plato]], but treated them in a most arbitrary manner.<ref name="EB1911"/> [[Diodorus Siculus]] relates in his ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'' that Dionysius once had Philoxenus arrested and sent to the quarries for voicing a bad opinion about his poetry. The next day, he released Philoxenus because of his friends' requests, and brought the poet before him for another poetry reading. Dionysius read his own work and the audience applauded. When he asked Philoxenus how he liked it, the poet turned to the guards and said "take me back to the quarries."<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/15A*.html#6 The Library of History of Diodorus Siculus, Book XV, Chapter 6]. Loeb Classical Library (1935)</ref> [[Plutarch]] relates a version of this story in his [[Moralia|''On the Fortune of Alexander'']].<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Fortuna_Alexandri*/2.html#ref85 On the Fortune of Alexander, Second Oration, Chapter 1]. Loeb Classical Library (1935)</ref>

He also posed as an author and patron of literature; his poems, severely criticized by Philoxenus, were hissed at the Olympic games, but having gained a prize for a tragedy on the ''Ransom of Hector'' at the [[Lenaea]] at [[Athens]], he was so elated that he engaged in a debauch which, according to some sources, proved fatal.<ref name="EB1911"/> His name is also known for the legend of [[Damon and Pythias]], and he features indirectly (via his son) in the legend of the Sword of [[Damocles]]. The [[Ear of Dionysius]] in Syracuse is an artificial limestone cave named after Dionysius.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.algila.it/en/syracuse-and-surrounding/ortigia/l-orecchio-di-dionisio-the-ear-of-dionysius-in-syracuse-/126/|title=Turismo a Siracusa {{!}} Algila|website=Algilà|language=EN|access-date=2019-12-30}}</ref>