DION, of Syracuse (408-353 b.c.), was the son of Hipparinus, and brother-in-law of Dionysius the Elder. In his youth he was an ardent admirer and diligent pupil of Plato, whom Dionysius had invited to Syracuse; and he used every effort to promote the carrying out of his master’s maxims in the administration of the kingdom. His near relationship to the despot gave him great influence at court, and also enabled him to amass considerable wealth. Accordingly, on the accession of the younger Dionysius, the stern morality of the philosopher stood in marked contrast to the dissolute character of the prince. An antagonism thus silently sprung up between the two; and the proposal of Dion to invite Plato again to Syracuse was made the occasion of an open rupture. To counteract the influence of that distinguished philosopher, the enemies of Dion obtained the recall of the historian Philistus, vho had already signalized himself as a faithful supporter of despotic power. This artful courtier quickly regained his ascendency over the mind of Dionysius, and was at length successful in procuring the banishment of Dion. The exiled philosopher retired to Athens, where he was at first permitted to enjoy his revenues in peace; but the intercessions of Plato served to exasperate the tyrant, and at length provoked him to confiscate the property of Dion, and give his wife to another. This last outrage roused Dion to seek the liberation of his country by force of arms. Assembling a small force at Zacynthus, he sailed to Sicily, and, in the absence of Dionysius, was received with demonstrations of joy. He succeeded in defeating the forces of the tyrant, but was himself soon after supplanted by the intrigues of Heraclides. Again he was banished; but the incompetency of the new leader soon led ...

DION CASSIUS COCCEIANUS, the celebrated historian of Rome, was born at Nicaea in Bithynia, 155 a.d. His father’s name was Cassius Apronianus, and by his mother’s side be was the grandson of Dion Chrysostom, who also obtained the surname of Cocceianus. When a young man he accompanied his father to Cilicia, of which he had the administration; and on his father’s death he went to Rome, where in the last year of the reign of Marcus Aurelius, or immediately after the death of that emperor, he was received, into the senate. During the reign of Commodus, Dion continued to practise as an advocate at the Roman bar, and held the offices of aedile and quaestor. He was raised to the praetorship by Pertinax, but did not assume office till the reign of Septimius Severus, with whom he was for a long time on the most intimate footing. By Macrinus he was intrusted with the administration of Pergamus and Smyrna; and on his return to Rome he was raised to the consulship about 220. After this he obtained the proconsulship of Africa, and again on his return was sent as legate successively to Dalmatia and Pannonia. He was raised a second time to the consulship by Alexander Severus, in 229; but under pretext of suffering from a diseased foot, he soon after retired to Nicaea, where he died. The date of his death is unknown. Previous to writing his history Dion Cassius had inscribed to the Emperor Severus an account of various dreams and prodigies which had presaged his elevation to the throne, and had. also written a biography of the Emperor Commodus, which was afterwards incorporated into his larger work. The history of Rome, which consisted of 80 books,—and, after the example of Livy, was divided into decades,—began with the landing of Aeneas in Italy, and was continued as far as ...

DION CHRYSOSTOM (z>., golden mouthed), (c. 50- 117), was born at Prusa, in Bithynia, about the middle of the lst century. He visited Egypt with his father at an early period of his life, and went to Rome during the reign of Domitian. Being implicated in a plot against the tyrant, Dion fled from the capital, and wandered about in Thrace, Mysia, Scythia, and the other countries of the Getae, with only Plato’s Phaedo and Demosthenes On the Embassy in his possession, till the accession of Nerva, when he was allowed to return. With Nerva and Trajan he continued on the most friendly footing. He retired to Prusa for a short time; but having been accused of peculation and treason, he returned to Rome, where he remained till his death. Eighty orations of his are extant entire, and there are fragments of about fifteen others. They are written in a lucid and elegant style, and treat mostly of political, ethical, and mythological subjects.

DIONYSIA, or Bacchanalia, were festivals in honour of Dionysus (¢.v.) generally, but in particular the term refers to the festivals celebrated in Attica and by the branches of the Attic-Ionic race in the islands and in Asia Minor. In Attica there were two festivals annually. (1) The lesser Dionysia, or τa κατ aγpoυς, were held in the country places where the vine was grown in the month of December. This was a vintage festival, and was accompanied by songs, dance, phallus processions, and the impromptu performances of itinerant players, who with others from the city thronged to take part in the excitement of the rustic sports. (2) The greater Dionysia, or rù ∈v aστeι, were held in the city of Athens in the month of March. This was a festival of joy at the departure of winter and the promise of summer, Dionysus being regarded as having delivered the people from the wants and troubles of winter. The religious act of the festival was the conveying of the ancient image of the god, which had been brought from Eleutherae to Athens, from the ancient sanctuary of the Lenaeen to another sanctuary, with a chorus of boys and a procession carrying masks and singing the dithyrambus. The culmination of the festival was in the production of tragedies, comedies, and satiric dramas in the great theatre of Dionysus. Besides the Dionysia strictly so called, there were also the Lenaea and Anthesteria, both held in honour of this god, the former in January and the latter in February.

DIONYSIUS, the Elder (c. 430-367 b.c.), tyrant of Syracuse, was born about 430 b.c. He began life as a clerk in a public office, and first took part in political affairs during the dissensions that followed the destruction of the Athenian expedition. He was wounded in the attempt of Hermocrates to seize upon Syracuse; and, during the disasters inflicted by the Carthaginians who had invaded the island, he succeeded, along with Philistus and Hipparinus, in procuring the deposition of the Sicilian generals, and was himself included in the number appointed in their stead. By intriguing with the inhabitants of Gela, which he had been sent to relieve, and spreading insinuations of treachery in regard to his colleagues, he was ultimately invested with the supreme command; and by the help of a large body-guard he soon made himself independent of the popular opinion. Pestilence having thinned the Carthaginian army, Dionysius, in spite of his ill success, found no difficulty in procuring peace (405 b.c. ). In the stronghold of Ortygia he defied the machinations of his enemies, until, partly from defeats and partly from dissensions, the opposition died away. After a successful expedition against Naxos, Catana, and Leontini, his efforts were directed against Carthage. (See Carthage). He also carried an expedition against Rhegium and its allied cities in Magna Graecia. In one campaign, in which he was joined by the Lucanians, he devastated the territories of Thurii, Croton, and Locri. After a protracted siege he took Rhegium, 387 b.c., and sold the inhabitants as slaves. He joined the Illyrians in an unsuccessful attempt to plunder the temple of Delphi, and also pillaged the temple of Caere on the Etruscan coast. In the Peloponnesian war he espoused the side of the Spartans. Not ...

the Areopagite, a convert of St. Paul, Acts xvii, 34. Chrysostom declares Dionysius to have been a citizen of Athens; which is credible, because the judges of the Areopagus generally were so. After his conversion, Dionysius was made the first bishop of Athens; having laboured, and suffered much in the Gospel, he is said to have been burnt at Athens, A. D. 95. The works attributed to Dionysius are generally reputed spurious.

DIONYSIUS EXIGUUS, one of the most learned men of the 6th century, and especially distinguished as a chronologist, was, according to the statement of his friend Cassiodorus, a Scythian by birth, “Scytha natione.” This may mean only that he was a native of rhe region bordering on the Black Sea, and does not necessarily imply that he was not of Greek origin. Such origin is indicated by his name and by his thorough familiarity with the Greek language. His surname “Exiguus” is usually translated “the Little,” and is supposed to refer to his stature; but it appears to be at least as probable that his known humility led him to assume the designation. He was living at Rome in the first half of the 6th century, and is usually spoken of as abbot of a Roman monastery. Cassiodorus, however, calls him simply “monk,” while Bede calls him “abbot.” But as it was not unusual to apply the latter term to distinguished monks who were not heads of their houses, it is uncertain whether Dionysius was abbot in fact or only by courtesy. He was in high repute as a learned theologian, was profoundly versed in the Holy Scriptures and in canon law, and was also an accomplished mathematician and astronomer. We owe to him a collection of ecclesiastical canons, comprising the apostolical canons and the decrees of the councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, Chalcedon, and Sardis, and also a collection of the decretals of the Roman pontiffs from Siricius to Anastasius II. These collections were published by Justel in 1628. Dionysius did good service to his contemporaries by his translations of many Greek works into Latin; and by these translations some works, the originals of which have perished, have been handed down to us. His name, however, is now perhaps chiefly remembered for his ...

DIONYSUS, in Greek Mythology, is principally the god of the vine; and in the myths concerning him it is clear that the effects of wine and the spread of vine growing have both been kept in view. No sooner had the god grown up than he started on distant expeditions to teach men to cultivate the vine, and on these occasions his followers were known for their ecstatic ceremonies. It would seem also as if the story of his birth was only a mythical representation of the growth and ripening of the grape. Thebes in Baeotia was originally the local centre of his worship in Greece; and he was a son of Semele, a daughter of Cadmus, the king of Thebes, his father being Zeus, who among other divine functions exercised also that of god of the fertilizing spring showers. Before the child was mature, Zeus appeared to Semele at her request in his majesty as god of lightning, by which she was killed, but the infant was saved from the same fate by cool ivy which grew up suddenly around him. Zeus took him up, inclosed him within his own thigh till he came to maturity, and then brought him to the light, so that he was twice born; and it was to celebrate this double birth that the dithyrambus was sung. He was now conveyed by Hermes to be brought up by the nymphs of Nysa, from which place it is probable his name Dio-nysus, or “god of Nysa,” is derived; but among the many places of this name claiming to have been the true one it is impossible to decide. In his journeys to teach the cultivation of the vine he met with opposition in some cases, as in that of Lycurgus, a Thracian king, from whose attack Dionysus saved himself by leaping into the sea, where he was kindly received by Thetis. Lycurgus was blinded by Zeus and soon died, or, according to another story, became frank'c and hewed ...