Callippus (; grc, Κάλλιππος Συρακούσιος) was a

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

who ruled briefly for thirteen monthsSmith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', p. 574 from 354 to 352 BC. He was a native

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, who traveled with Dion to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

to capture Syracuse, where Dion became the tyrant. Callippus then gained power by

assassinating Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

Dion, but ruled briefly before being ousted from power himself. Afterwards he commanded a band of

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes Pseudonym, also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a memb ...

, who later killed him with the same sword that he used to kill Dion.

Dion's lieutenant

Callippus was an Athenian who became a student of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

. As the future tyrant of Syracuse, Dion, who was also a student of Plato, recruited Callippus as a member of his army which successfully invaded Syracuse. The army marched into Syracuse with 800 mercenaries and took control of the city, disposing of the previous tyrant, Dion’s nephew Dionysius II.

Assassination and rise to power

In exile, Dionysius bribed Callippus to kill Dion,Plut. Dion. 28-58 and Callippus accepted the offer. He was in a prime position to assassinate Dion, since most of Dion’s closest friends had been killed by Dionysius the Younger, and Callippus was his closest friend remaining. Callippus used the money from Dionysius to

bribe Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corru ...

some of Dion’s troops to defect to him. He then won Dion’s trust by betraying some of the soldiers to Dion, who then enlisted Callippus’s as a secret agent to discover further plotters. In addition, whenever men told Dion that Callippus was maligning him, Dion simply thought that Callippus was acting as a spy. Shortly afterwards, Dion’s only son fell from a window and died. Callippus spread a rumor saying that Dion had invited Dionysius’s son, Apollocrates to come to Syracuse as Dion’s successor. Dion’s wife, Arete, and sister, Aristomache, discovered the Callippus’s plot against Dion, but Dion was still paralyzed with remorse from his son’s death, and refused to take action. Arete and Aristomache further inquired about the plot against Dion, and when Callippus discovered their inquisitiveness, he approached them and told them that he was loyal, and that he would prove his loyalty. They told him to take the Great Oath, involving a ceremony in Persephone’s temple, which he took. Following the ceremony, Callippus broke his vow and stabbed Dion to death, whereupon Callippus took control of Syracuse.

Rule

Following Dion’s assassination, Callippus sent a message to Athens bragging of his deeds, but despite his bluster, Callippus’s hold on Syracuse was tenuous. Friends of Dion attempted a revolt against him, but were unsuccessful. Callippus also had Arete and Aristomache thrown in prison, where Arete gave birth to Dion’s son. But due to his rising unpopularity, Callippus did not have Dion's son killed, despite the danger he posed.

Fall

Several different accounts are given of how Callippus fell from power in Syracuse. According to

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which ...

,Diod. Sic. xvi. 36 Hipparinus, a son of Dionysius the Elder, a previous tyrant of Syracuse, attacked Syracuse with a fleet and army, after which Callippus fled from the city. According to

Polyaenus Polyaenus or Polyenus ( ; see ae (æ) vs. e; grc-gre, Πoλύαινoς, Polyainos, "much-praised") was a 2nd-century CE Greek author, known best for his ''Stratagems in War'' ( grc-gre, Στρατηγήματα, Strategemata), which has been pr ...

,Polyaenus v. 4 Hipparinus was staying in Leontini when Callippus had sent out his army. Hipparinus attacked while most of the army was gone and secured control of the city. According to

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

, Callippus does lose control of the city while he is absent, on an expedition to conquer Catana. But in Plutarch’s version Hipparinus is not mentioned, and instead Syracuse revolted against Callippus.

Mercenary leadership and death

Callippus then attempted to conquer

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in t ...

instead, but his army was defeated. With his remaining troops he wandered around Sicily, but finding himself unable to support himself he traveled to Italy. There he conquered

Rhegium Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label=Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...

, which had previously been controlled by Dionysius the Younger. But because he mistreated his mercenaries, his comrades

Leptines II Leptines II ( grc-gre, Λεπτίνης Β΄; died after 342 BC), son of Leptines I, was the nephew of Dionysius the Elder. In 351 BC, Leptines aided Callippus in successfully expelling the garrison of Dionysius the Younger Dionysius the Younge ...

and Polyperchon stabbed him to death with a sword, reputed to be the same sword that killed Dion.

Citations

References

* * * * , width=25% align=center, Preceded by:
Dion , width=25% align=center, Tyrant of Syracuse
354–352 BC , width=25% align=center, Succeeded by:
Hipparinus and Aretaeus , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Callippus of Syracuse Defectors Sicilian tyrants Greek assassins Ancient Athenians Ancient Syracusans 4th-century BC Greek people 4th-century BC deaths Year of birth unknown