The Sword of Damocles (also referred to as Damocles’ sword) refers to an impending disaster or a constant, looming danger that could strike at any moment and destroy someone’s security, power, or happiness.
Origin of Sword of Damocles
The sword of Damocles’ refers to the Greek legend, told by Cicero, about King Dionysius I of Syracuse and his courtier, Damocles, who was a person we would refer to today as a brown-noser.
The King had grown weary of Damocles’ constant flattery. When Damocles referred to the king as “the happiest of men,” Dionysius decided to teach him a lesson. He invited Damocles to a banquet and ordered him to sit in the same place for the entire event. Over the chair was hung a sword held by a single hair. In this way, the king demonstrated to Damocles just how precarious the position of a king was, who, although he had access to many luxuries and pleasant distractions, always lived in the shadow of fear.
First English Use in Print: The phrase “sword of Damocles” appeared in print in English in 1625 in Patrick Scot’s Vox vera: Or, Obseruations from Amsterdam.
“…when perhaps it will be too late for those Royal Officers and Remonstrances, so oft rejected, to yield to those Metaphysical repining spirits, who can discerne the face of the sky, but cannot discern the difference of times, or their own danger, when destruction like Damocles sword hangeth perpendicular over their heads.”
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The Roman Connection: Although the story is set in the Greek city of Syracuse (Sicily), we actually owe its popularity to the Roman philosopher Cicero. He used the story in his Tusculan Disputations to argue that a tyrant can never be truly happy because fear is a constant companion to power.
Cicero’s Story of Damocles
THIS tyrant [Dionysius] showed himself how happy he really was; for once, when Damocles, one of his flatterers was dilating in conversation on his forces, his wealth, the greatness of his power, the plenty he enjoyed, the grandeur of his royal palaces and maintaining that no one was every happier, he said to him, “Have you an inclination, Damocles, as this kind life pleases you, to have a taste of it yourself and to make a trial of the good fortune that attends me?”
And when Damocles said that he should like it extremely, Dionysus ordered him to be laid on a bed of gold with the most beautiful covering, embroidered and wrought with the most exquisite work. And he dressed out a great many sideboards with silver and embossed gold. He then ordered some youths, distinguished for their handsome persons, to wait at his table and to observe his nod in order to serve him with what he wanted. There were ointments and garlands. Perfumes were burned. And tables were provided with the most exquisite meats. Damocles thought himself very happy.
In the midst of this apparatus, Dionysius ordered a bright sword to be let down from the ceiling, suspended by a single horsehair, so as to hang over the head of that happy man. After this, Damocles neither cast his eye on those handsome waiters, nor on the well-wrought plate, nor touched any of the provisions. Presently the garlands fell to pieces. At last, he entreated the tyrant to give him leave to go, for that now he had no desire to be happy. Does not Dionysius, then, seem to have declared there can be no happiness for one who is under constant apprehensions?
JFK and the Nuclear Age
One of the most famous modern uses of this idiom occurred on September 25, 1961. President John F. Kennedy addressed the United Nations, stating:
“Every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable. Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness.”
This speech essentially “re-branded” the idiom for the 20th century, moving it from a lesson about kingship to a metaphor for global nuclear anxiety.
Video Presentation
Movie & Literary Citations
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975): In the song “Sword of Damocles,” the newly created creature Rocky sings about the constant, looming dread and existential panic he feels immediately after being brought to life: “The sword of Damocles is hanging over my head / I’ve got the feeling someone’s gonna be cutting the thread.”
- Life of Thomas Carlyle (1882) by James Anthony Froude: Nineteenth-century essayist Thomas Carlyle uses the metaphor to describe how strict societal expectations of “proper behavior” severely restrict English biographers from telling the honest, unvarnished truth about their subjects: “A Damocles’ sword of respectability hangs forever over the poor English Life-writer… and reduces him to the verge of paralysis.”
Sentence Examples
“Living with a severe chronic illness can feel like sitting under the sword of Damocles, never knowing when the next relapse will strike.”
“Many people have lived in the shadow of Damocles’ sword for decades, knowing that nuclear weapons could be used at any moment.”
“Even though the company reported record profits this quarter, the threat of an impending federal lawsuit hangs over the executive board like a sword of Damocles.”
“Dennis had a cancer scare when he was young. The cancer may have been a misdiagnosis, but for him, it became a sword of Damocles.”
Further Reading: More Mythological Origins
- Achilles’ Heel While the Sword of Damocles represents a constant external threat, an Achilles’ heel is a hidden internal weakness. Explore how this legendary hero’s one vulnerable spot became a universal metaphor for failure.
- Herculean Task Compare the anxiety of Damocles to the raw power of Hercules. Learn the difference between a task that requires “Herculean” strength and one that is simply impossible.
- Midas Touch Another tale of a Greek King whose apparent “good fortune” turned out to be a curse. Discover the origin of this idiom for someone who seems to turn everything they touch into gold.