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Hiero

by Xenophon (-431–-355)

  • Free to read
  • 1 hour to read
  • 11 chapters
  • Reading level: 7th grade

"Hiero" by Xenophon is a dialogue written around 474 BC. Set as a conversation between Hiero, tyrant of Syracuse, and the poet Simonides, it explores whether a tyrant's life is truly more pleasant than a commoner's. Drawing from experience in both positions, Hiero challenges common assumptions about power and happiness, revealing the hidden miseries of tyranny—the violence, fear, and impossible longing for genuine love and praise that trap rulers in their positions.

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  • Classical literature
  • Hieron I, Tyrant of Syracuse, -467 B.C. or 466 B.C.
  • Simonides, approximately 556 B.C.-467 B.C.
  • Dialogues, Greek · Translations into English
  • Despotism · Early works to 1800
  • Syracuse (Italy) · Politics and government · Early works to 1800

Read the opening

Chapter I

Once upon a time Simonides the poet paid a visit to Hiero the "tyrant," (1) and when both obtained the leisure requisite, Simonides began this conversation:

(1) Or, "came to the court of the despotic monarch Hiero." For the "dramatis personae" see Dr. Holden's Introduction to the "Hieron" of Xenophon.

Would you be pleased to give me information, Hiero, upon certain matters, as to which it is likely you have greater knowledge than myself? (2)

(2) Or, "would you oblige me by explaining certain matters, as to which your knowledge naturally transcends my own?"

And pray, what sort of things may those be (answered Hiero), of which I can have greater knowledge than yourself, who are so wise a man?

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Contents

  1. Chapter I
  2. Chapter II
  3. Chapter III
  4. Chapter IV
  5. Chapter V
  6. Chapter VI
  7. Chapter VII
  8. Chapter VIII
  9. Chapter IX
  10. Chapter X
  11. Chapter XI

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About this edition

This free edition of Hiero by Xenophon comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #1175, released 1998-01-01. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Classics of Literature, Philosophy & Ethics.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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