Dionysius the Younger

Dionysius the Younger (c. 397-343 bc), tyrant of Syracuse, Sicily (367-357 bc, 346-344 bc), son of Dionysius the Elder. He ruled at first under the supervision of his uncle, the philosopher Dion, who served as regent. During this period, at Dion's request, Plato visited Syracuse and attempted unsuccessfully to make a philosopher-king out of Dionysius. At the behest of an envious courtier, the Greek historian Philistus, Dionysius banished Dion in 366. In 357 Dion raised an army, defeated Dionysius in battle, and drove him into exile. Dionysius returned to Syracuse in 346, eight years after Dion had been assassinated. His second period of rule was arbitrary and unpopular, and the people of Syracuse welcomed the intervention of the Corinthian general Timoleon, who captured Dionysius about 344 and sent him into exile. Timoleon established an oligarchy in the city.