Plutarchi Vitae parallelae

This story is set in the mid-fourth century B.C., in the city-state of Syracuse on the island of Sicily. It's the story of two father-and-son tyrant rulers who called themselves kings, both named Dionysius (pronounced Die-oh-nee-see-us). But the main character is Dion (pronounced Dion as in Lion), who was a relative, mentor, and finally mortal enemy to the second Dionysius. It has been pointed out that Dion and his siblings Megacles and Aristomache, as the children of Hipparinus, a wealthy and powerful man, had a social status that the upstart Dionysius I lacked, which suggests that envy…