Damocles << DAM uh kleez >> was a member of the court of Dionysius II, who ruled Syracuse, Sicily, from 367 to 344 B.C. Damocles was an excessive flatterer. The Roman orator Cicero said that Damocles once talked too much about the happiness and good fortune of Dionysius. To teach Damocles a lesson, Dionysius invited him to a big feast. When he was seated, Damocles found a sword, suspended by a single hair, dangling over his head. This sword represented the constant danger that went with the wealth and material happiness of Dionysius. The sword of Damocles has become a byword for the threat of danger.
