a sycophant forced by Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, to sit under a sword suspended by a hair to demonstrate that being a king was not the happy state Damocles had said it was
See also Sword of Damocles
Derived forms
Damoclean (ˌDamoˈclean)
adjective
Damocles in American English
(ˈdæməˌkliz)
noun
Classical Mythology
a courtier of ancient Syracuse who was given a lesson in the perils to a ruler's life when the king seated him at a feast under a sword hanging by a single hair
Idioms:
sword of Damocles
Word origin
L < Gr Damoklēs
More idioms containing
Damocles
have the Sword of Damocles hanging over your head
Examples of 'Damocles' in a sentence
Damocles
Carol spotted Damocles up ahead of her on the opposite side of the street.
Val McDermid THE LAST TEMPTATION (2002)
Directly opposite Damocles, two men were making a very thorough job of cleaning the window of a newsagent's.