CONTENTS
History of Greece
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Author: Holm Adolf
Year: 1896
The old tyrant* had in the end become a lover of peace. He composed poetry, and wished to have a court of poets and writers, like the most famous tyrants before him. And a certain number of them did come to Syracuse. True, there were not many real poets in existence at that time. Yet one of the most valued of them lived at his court, the lyric poet Philoxenus, who knew how to vindicate human dignity, even to the tyrant's face. The story goes that he was sent to the famous prison of the stone quarries for making some disrespectful remarks about Dionysius, whose verses he had condemned, but was taken into favour again after a time by the tyrant, and once more honoured with a recital of his poems. Dionysius now looked for some commendation, but Philoxenus, instead of praising the composition or holding his tongue, said to the guards after the royal poet had finished reading, "Take me back to the quarries."
Vol. IV, ch. xi
Dionysius' poetry, it seems, was on a par with that of Vogon star fleet commander in The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. A recital his verses at the Olympic Games "irritated" the crowd according to F.L. Lucas (From Olympus to the Styx)
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