African

Ancient Mediterranean

Asian

European and American

Art since 1900

European and American Art

Dionysius, who had seized power in the city of Syracuse, overheard the young man Damocles envying his wealth and power. "Very well", said the ruler, "if you think I am so fortunate, you can change places with me." As Damocles sat feasting in the palace, he happened to glance up and was terrified to see a sharp sword dangling by a single hair, high over his head. "Are you surprised?" said Dionysius. "I came to power by violence and I have many enemies. This sword is only a symbol of the danger that I face every day."

In 1811 Richard Westall represented the ancient story of the sword of Damocles for an English collector, Richard Payne Knight. Westall's painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy, where it attracted the attention of another wealthy patron of the arts, Thomas Hope. Hope commissioned a second version of the painting, and it is the second, larger version that you see here.