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Damocles
Dam·o·cles D0017600 (dăm′ə-klēz′) fl. fourth century bc. Greek courtier to Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, who according to legend was forced to sit at a banquet table under a sword suspended by a single hair to demonstrate the precariousness of a king's fortunes.Damocles (ˈdæməˌkliːz) n (Classical Myth & Legend) classical myth 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 ˌDamoˈclean adjDam•o•cles (ˈdæm əˌkliz)
n. a flatterer of classical legend who, having extolled the happiness of Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, was seated at a banquet with a sword suspended over his head by a single hair to show him the perilous nature of that happiness. Compare sword of Damocles. Thesaurus| Noun | 1. | Damocles - the Greek courtier to Dionysius the Elder who (according to legend) was condemned to sit under a naked sword that was suspended by a hair in order to demonstrate to him that being a king was not the happy state Damocles had said it was (4th century BC) |
TranslationsDamocles
a/the sword of Damocles hangs over (one's) headOne is faced with imminent danger or trouble. In Greek mythology, the courtier Damocles was forced to sit beneath a sword suspended by a single hair to emphasize the instability of a king's fortunes. I know his history of violent behavior, so I feel like a sword of Damocles is hanging over my head whenever I'm alone with him. With the threat of nuclear war, many feel that the sword of Damocles hangs over the world's head like never before.See also: Damocles, hang, head, of, over, sworda/the sword of Damocles hangs over (one)One is faced with imminent danger or trouble. In Greek mythology, the courtier Damocles was forced to sit beneath a sword suspended by a single hair to emphasize the instability of a king's fortunes. I know how irritable and unpredictable the boss can be, so I feel like the sword of Damocles hangs over me whenever I'm alone with him. With the threat of nuclear war, many feel that a sword of Damocles is hanging over the entire world.See also: Damocles, hang, of, over, swordDamocles' sword hangs over (one)One is faced with imminent danger or trouble. In Greek mythology, the courtier Damocles was forced to sit beneath a sword suspended by a single hair to emphasize the instability of a king's fortunes. I know how irritable and unpredictable the boss can be, so I feel like Damocles' sword hangs over me whenever I'm alone with him. With the threat of nuclear war, many feel that Damocles' sword is hanging over the entire world.See also: hang, over, swordDamocles' sword hangs over (one's) headOne is faced with imminent danger or trouble. In Greek mythology, the courtier Damocles was forced to sit beneath a sword suspended by a single hair to emphasize the instability of a king's fortunes. I know how irritable and unpredictable the boss can be, so I feel like Damocles' sword hangs over my head whenever I'm alone with him. With the threat of nuclear war, many feel that Damocles' sword is hanging over the entire world's head.See also: hang, head, over, swordDamocles' swordAny imminent, impending, or eventual trouble, danger, or disaster. In Greek mythology, the courtier Damocles was forced to sit beneath a sword suspended by a single hair to emphasize the instability of a king's fortunes. The threat of war has hung over the region like Damocles' sword for nearly a decade. Many businesses view the new tax law as a Damocles' sword hanging over their heads.See also: swordsword of DamoclesAny imminent, impending, or eventual trouble, danger, or disaster. In Greek mythology, the courtier Damocles was forced to sit beneath a sword suspended by a single hair to emphasize the instability of a king's fortunes. Usually used in the phrase "a/the sword of Damocles hangs over one/one's head." The threat of war has hung over the region like the sword of Damocles for nearly a decade. The new tax law is proving to be a sword of Damocles hanging over our very business model.See also: Damocles, of, swordsword of DamoclesAlso, Damocles' sword. Impending disaster, as in The likelihood of lay-offs has been a sword of Damocles over the department for months. This expression alludes to the legend of Damocles, a servile courtier to King Dionysius I of Syracuse. The king, weary of Damocles' obsequious flattery, invited him to a banquet and seated him under a sword hung by a single hair, so as to point out to him the precariousness of his position. The idiom was first recorded in 1747. The same story gave rise to the expression hang by a thread. See also: Damocles, of, swordthe Sword of Damocles hangs over someone or the Sword of Damocles hangs over someone's head LITERARYIf the Sword of Damocles hangs over someone or hangs over their head, they are in a situation in which something very bad could happen to them at any time. As a Grand Prix driver you have the Sword of Damocles hanging over your head at every moment. He lives with the illness, knowing that it is a Sword of Damocles, hanging over him. Note: This expression comes from a Greek legend. Dionysius, the ruler of Syracuse, was annoyed by Damocles, who kept flattering him and saying how much he admired him. Dionysius invited Damocles to a feast, and asked him to sit in his own seat. When Damocles looked up during the feast, he noticed a sword hanging by a single thread above his head, and so he could no longer enjoy the feast. The sword symbolized the dangers and fears that rulers have, in addition to all the privileges. See also: Damocles, hang, of, over, someone, swordsword of Damocles an imminent danger. When the courtier Damocles described Dionysius I, ruler of Syracuse ( 405–367 bc ), as the happiest of men, Dionysius gave him a graphic demonstration of the fragility of his happiness: he invited Damocles to a banquet, in the middle of which he looked up to see a naked sword suspended over his head by a single hair.See also: Damocles, of, sworda/the sword of ˈDamocles (literary) a bad or unpleasant thing that might happen to you at any time and that makes you feel worried or frightened: Now the news of my divorce is public, I’m relieved in a way. It had been hanging over my head like the sword of Damocles.This expression comes from the Greek legend in which Damocles had to sit at a meal with a sword hanging by a single hair above his head. He had praised King Dionysius’ happiness, and Dionysius wanted him to understand how quickly happiness can be lost.See also: Damocles, of, swordsword of DamoclesImpending danger or doom. The term comes from the same Greek legend about Damocles that gave us hang by a thread. Although the story illustrates the insecurity of power and high position, in later applications the term was used to signify any kind of impending misfortune.See also: Damocles, of, swordsword of DamoclesAn imminent and/or constant threat. According to Greek legend, Damocles, a friend of King Dionysius of Syracuse, envied the ruler's great wealth and power. When Damocles told the king how fortunate he was, Dionysius offered to change places for a day. As Damocles dined at the head of the table, he happened to look up. There above his head, held by only a single horsehair, hung a sharp sword pointing downward toward his chair. Frozen with fear that the thread would break, he pointed out the predicament to the king. Dionysius nodded, acknowledging that the sword was a constant factor in his life, an actual and a metaphoric reminder that some person or circumstance might at any time cut the thread. Such risk, the king added, comes as an integral part of power. Any ever-present risk, especially one that's hanging by a thread, is how the phrase has been used.See also: Damocles, of, swordDamocles
Damocles (dăm`əklēz), in classical mythology, courtier at the court of Dionysius I. He so persistently praised the power and happiness of Dionysius that the tyrant, in order to show the precariousness of rank and power, gave a banquet and had a sword suspended above the head of Damocles by a single hair. Hence the expression "the sword of Damocles" to mean an ever-present peril.Damocles ((5335) Damocles) An interplanetary object resembling an asteroid with an unusually elliptical orbit that carries it from 22 to 1.6 AU from the Sun. It was discovered in 1991 and is now believed to be the archetype of the Damocloids (see Damocloid).Damoclesfor his sycophancy to Dionysus, seated under sword at banquet. [Gk. Myth.: LLEI, I: 278]See: Flattery
Damocles,sword of sword hung by a single hair over his head. [Rom. Lit.: Brewer Handbook, 257]See: SwordDAMOCLES
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| DAMOCLES➣Damage Monitoring and Control Expert System |
ThesaurusSeesword of Damocles |