Damocles a legendary courtier who extravagantly praised the happiness of Dionysius I, ruler of Syracuse. To show him how precarious this happiness was, Dionysius seated him at a banquet with a sword hung by a single hair over his head. The sword of Damocles is now used to refer to a precarious situation.

Damocles In Greek history, a courtier of Dionysius I of Syracuse (Sicily). Dionysius suspended a sword by a thread above Damocles' head to make him realize that wealth and power were transient and fragile.