Philistus himself fell into the hands of the Syracusans, by whom he was put to death; and Dionysius, now almost despairing of success, soon after quitted Syracuse, leaving Apollocrates in charge of the citadel in 356 BC.
[6][7] Unfortunately our knowledge of the subsequent intrigues and dissensions between the two leaders is almost wholly derived from Plutarch; and his manifest partiality to Dion renders his statements concerning his rival liable to much suspicion.
Yet the reconciliation was far from sincere: Heracleides, if we may believe the accounts of his enemies, withdrew, with the fleet under his command, to Messana, and even entered into negotiations with Dionysius: but he was again induced to submit to Dion, who (contrary, it is said, to the advice of all his friends) spared his life, and restored him to favor.
But when the departure of Apollocrates had left Dion sole master of Syracuse in 354 BC, he no longer hesitated to remove his rival, whom he justly regarded as the chief obstacle to his ambitious designs; and under pretense that Heracleides was again intriguing against him, he had him put to death in his own house by a band of armed men.
The popularity of Heracleides was so great, and the grief and indignation of the Syracusans, on learning his death, broke forth with so much violence, that Dion was compelled to honor him with a splendid funeral, and to make a public oration in extenuation of his crime.