Episode Details

The Liberation of Syracuse and the Fall of Dion. Guest Author: Professor James Romm. Dion invaded Syracuse with a liberation force but faced internal chaos as populist passions erupted. He clashed with the radical democrat Heraclides, whom he eventually had assassinated. This political murder embarrassed Plato's Academy, as both Dion and his later assassin, Calippus, were students. Following the murder, Dion fell into a spiritual crisis and became ineffective. He was ultimately killed by a disaffected faction of his own army. His death left Syracuse in terminal decline, marked by food insecurity and the destruction of the once-powerful city-state. 5