Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, as he is known, was an Athenian Christian, converted by St. Paul. He was the first bishop of Athens and an author of philosophical writings and treatises. There are ten letters and four treatises, "The Celestial Hierarchy", "The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy", "The Divine Names", "Mystical Theology" written in Greek which have greatly influenced the development of scholasticism, particularly through Saint Thomas Aquinas. The treatises provided the medium for Western culture of the concepts of Neoplatonism and of the theology of angels. He is commonly referred to as "Pseudo-Dionysius" by scholars.
When the Lacedaemonians had settled the affairs of Greece to their own taste, they dispatched Aristus, one of their distinguished men, to Syracuse, ostensibly pretending that they would overthrow the government, but in truth with intent to increase the power of the tyranny; for they hoped that by helping to establish the rule of Dionysius they would obtain his ready service because of their benefactions to him.
Dionysius would even have the privilege of being allowed to conscript mercenaries from lands under Spartan authority. The demise of a prominent democratic polis in the classical world and the subsequent tenure of Dionysius represented what would become a recurring norm in fourth century Greece, thanks to the prevalence of mercenaries. The mercenary and the tyrant went hand-in-hand; Polybius for example noted how “the security of despots rests entirely on the loyalty and power of mercenaries”. Aristotle wrote how some form of ‘guard’ (viz. a personal army) is needed for absolute kingship, and for an elected tyrant a very particular number of professional soldiers should be employed; too few undermines the tyrants power and too many threatens the polis itself. The philosopher notes how based on this observation, the people of Syracuse were warned to not let Dionysius conscript too many ‘guards’ during his reign.
In 385 BC Alcetas of Epirus was a refugee in Dionysus' court. Dionysus wanted a friendly monarch in Epirus and so sent 2,000 Greek hoplites and five hundred suits of Greek armour to help the Illyrians under Bardyllis in attacking the Molossians of Epirus. They ravaged the region and killed 15,000 Molossians, and Alcetas regained his throne. Sparta however intervened; under Agesilaus and with aid from Thessaly, Macedonia and the Molossians themselves, the Spartans expelled the Illyrians.
Additionally, it is said that upon hearing news of his play, ''The Ransom of Hector'', winning the competition at the Lanaean festival at Athens, he celebrated so fiercely that he drank himself to death. Others report that he died of natural causes shortly after learning of his play's victory in 367 BC. The third theory suggests that "The Company", of which he was a member, had taken revenge on his earlier purges and taxation imposed upon them, in an attempt to raise money for the war with Carthage.
He also posed as an author and patron of literature; his poems, severely criticized by Philoxenus, were hissed at the Olympic games; but having gained a prize for a tragedy on the ''Ransom of Hector'' at the Lenaea at Athens, he was so elated that he engaged in a debauch which proved fatal.
His name is also known for the legend of Damon and Pythias, and he features indirectly (via his son) in the legend of the Sword of Damocles. The Ear of Dionysius in Syracuse is an artificial limestone cave named after Dionysius.
|width=25% align=center|Preceded by:''democracy'' position previously held by Thrasybulus in 465 BC |width=25% align=center|Tyrant of Syracuse405 BC – 367 BC |width=25% align=center|Succeeded by:Dionysius the Younger |-
Category:432 BC births Category:367 BC deaths Category:4th-century BC Greek people Category:Ancient Greek rulers Category:Sicilian tyrants Category:Ancient Syracusians
bg:Дионисий I Стари ca:Dionís el Vell de:Dionysios I. von Syrakus el:Διονύσιος ο Πρεσβύτερος es:Dionisio I de Siracusa fr:Denys l'Ancien it:Dionisio I di Siracusa he:דיוניסיוס הראשון (טיראן סירקוסאי) la:Dionysius Maior nl:Dionysios I van Syracuse no:Dionysios I av Syrakus pl:Dionizjos I pt:Dionísio I de Siracusa ru:Дионисий Старший scn:Dionisiu lu vecchiu sh:Dionizije I od Sirakuze fi:Dionysios I sv:Dionysios d.ä. uk:Діонісій I СіракузькийThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Name | Saint Dionysius the Areopagite |
---|---|
Birth date | unknown |
Death date | unknown |
Feast day | 9 October (Roman Catholicism), 3 October (Eastern Orthodox) |
Venerated in | Roman CatholicismEastern Orthodox |
Titles | Hieromartyr |
Attributes | Vested as a bishop, holding a Gospel Book |
Patronage | Lawyers |
Prayer attrib | }} |
Dionysius the Areopagite (Greek '''') was a judge of the Areopagus who, as related in the ''Acts of the Apostles'', (), was converted to Christianity by the preaching of the Apostle Paul during the Areopagus sermon. According to Dionysius of Corinth, quoted by Eusebius, this Dionysius then became the second Bishop of Athens.
Dionysius was also popularly mis-identified with the martyr of Gaul, Dionysius, the first Bishop of Paris, Saint Denis.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Dionysius the Areopagite and Saint Denis of Paris are celebrated as one commemoration on 3 October.
The legend is based on a claim made by Pseudo-Dionysius in a letter addressed to Polycarp: "What have you to say about the solar eclipse which occurred when the Savior was put on the cross? At the time the two of us were in Heliopolis and we both witnessed the extraordinary phenomenon of the moon hiding the sun at the time that was out of season for their coming together... We saw the moon begin to hide the sun from the east, travel across to the other side of the sun, and return on its path so that the hiding and the restoration of the light did not take place in the same direction but rather in diametrically opposite directions..."
Pseudo-Dionysius had apparently read the Alexandrinus variant of Lk 23:44f where the darkness said to have accompanied the crucifixion is attributed to an eclipse.
In 1457 the Italian humanist Lorenzo Valla wrote: "...the claim of 'Dionysius'... that he observed the eclipse of the sun at the hour of the Saviour's death... is as blatant a fiction as the epistolary form of the report."
Category:Ancient Athenians Category:Doctors of the Church Category:Roman-era Greeks Category:Eastern Orthodox saints Category:Hesychasm Category:1st-century bishops Category:New Testament people Category:Christian martyrs of the Roman era Category:Converts to Christianity Category:Saints of Roman Athens Category:Book of Acts
bg:Дионисий Ареопагит ca:Dionís l'Areopagita cs:Dionysios Areopagita de:Dionysius Areopagita el:Διονύσιος ο Αρεοπαγίτης es:Dionisio Areopagita fr:Denys l'Aréopagite id:Dionisius dari Areopagus it:Dionigi l'Areopagita ka:დიონისე არეოპაგელი la:Dionysius Areopagita nl:Dionysius de Areopagiet pl:Dionizy Areopagita ro:Dionisie Areopagitul ru:Дионисий Ареопагит sl:Dionizij Areopagit sr:Дионисије Ареопагит sh:Dionisije Areopagita fi:Dionysios Areopagita sv:Dionysios Areopagita uk:Діонісій АреопагітThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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