The sword of Damocles

The Sword of Damocles dates to an ancient moral parable by the Roman philosopher Cicero in his 45 B.C. book 'Tusculan Disputations.' Cicero’s version of the tale centers on Dionysius II, a tyrannical king who once ruled over the Sicilian city of Syracuse. Dionysius II ruled Syracuse from 367 BC to 357 BC and again from 346 BC to 344 BC. Though rich and powerful, Dionysius was unhappy. His iron-fisted rule had made him many enemies, and he was tormented by fears of assassination.

Cicero said the king’s dissatisfaction came to an apex after a court flatterer named Damocles showered him with compliments and remarked how blissful his life must be. “Since this life delights you,” an annoyed Dionysius replied, “do you wish to taste it yourself and make a trial of my good fortune?”

Damocles quickly agreed. Dionysius seated him on a golden couch and ordered servants to wait on him. He was treated to food and lavished with scented perfumes and ointments. Damocles was just starting to enjoy his good fortune when he noticed that Dionysius had hung a razor-sharp sword from the ceiling. It was positioned over Damocles’ head, suspended only by a single strand of horsehair. From that moment on his fear for his life made it impossible for him to savor the feast or enjoy the attention of servants. After casting several nervous glances at the blade dangling above him, he asked to be excused, saying he no longer wished to be so fortunate.

The tale of Dionysius and Damocles represented the idea that those in power were always under the specter of anxiety and death, and that “there can be no happiness for one who is under constant apprehensions.” The parable later became a common motif. The phrase “Sword of Damocles” is now commonly used. Likewise, the saying “hanging by a thread” has become shorthand for a precarious situation. One of its famous uses came in 1961 during the Cold War, when President John F. Kennedy gave a speech before the United Nations in which he said that “Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness.”