Dionysius, 20 years old, and a fearless combatant of the army of Syracuse, is forced to witness the horrifying massacre of Selinus - a splendid Greek city on the edge of the Carthaginian provinces - which he attributes to the fatal indecision of the democratic government. His rage and disdain foment three ironclad convictions in the young man: democracies are inefficient, the Carthaginians are mortal enemies of Hellenism and must be uprooted from Sicily, and no one but he is capable of achieving such an endeavour.

Dionysius dreams of transforming Sicily into a Greek island, and to achieve total control over the economic and military resources of his city he is willing to condemn himself in the eyes of history for centuries to come: to be eternally branded as the Tyrant.

Thus begins the adventure of a man who built the largest army of antiquity, invented dreadful war machines, designed and constructed the quinquereme (a five-module battleship powered by fifty oarsmen) and raised the most extensive circle of walls seen in just a few months. The adventure of a man who was also a dramatist and a statesman, a poet, a weaver of subtle political webs and a tender and vigorous lover, tied for all his life to the memory of his unfortunate first love, the beautiful Arete.

He fought five wars and dozens of battles against the Carthaginians and was wounded four times. He mercilessly struck down countless enemies and a good number of friends, finally managing to create a State that extended all the way to the northern end of the Adriatic.

But who was Dionysius? The ruthless, egocentric monster described by his detractors or an intellect capable of feats far ahead of his time? Historians have condemned him along with all tyrants, but they have not denied his greatness.

In Tyrant, Valerio Massimo Manfredi, the bestselling author of the ‘Alexander’ trilogy, Spartan, and The Last Legion has recreated a memorable protagonist full of Homeric energy combined with Machiavellian rationality. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Synopsis
It is Sicily 412 BC: the infinite duel between a man and a superpower begins. The man is Dionysius, who has just made himself Tyrant of Syracuse. The superpower Carthage, mercantile megalopolis and mistress of the seas. Over the next eight years, Dionysius' brutal military conquests will strike down countless enemies and many friends to make Syracuse the most powerful Greek city west of mainland Greece. He builds the largest army of antiquity and invents horrific war machines to use against the Carthaginians, who he will fight in five wars. But who was Dionysius? Historians have condemned him as one of the most ruthless, egocentric despots. But he was also patron of the arts, a dramatist, poet and tender lover.

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