The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire · Character
Damocles
- Supporting
- First seen · Book 1 · Ch. 155
There's something haunting about this figure at the feast, his apparent good fortune shadowed by the constant reminder of mortality hanging literally above him. His story captures the precarious nature of power and happiness.
- Gender
- male
- Age
- Middle-aged
- First appears
- Book 1 · Ch. 155
- Books
- 1
Damocles was the subject of a famous anecdote illustrating the dangers of envying the powerful, whose reign began and ended with the same dinner where a sword hung suspended above his head by a single thread. His tale became synonymous with the anxiety that accompanies great fortune.
Description
A middle-aged courtier of classical appearance, reclining at a banquet in elegant attire. His features show the tension between apparent pleasure and the awareness of danger, with the famous sword of Damocles suspended above him by a thread.
Story so far
BOOK 1The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire / Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes)
Appearances
Meet Damocles in Bookworm
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