History Main / SwordOfDamocles

* Referred to in ''TheDresdenFiles'' as the "Doom of Damocles." The "Doom" is applied to those the White Council believes to be ''just'' shy of being a full-on Warlock, and can summed up as "One strike and you're out." With "out" meaning, "beheaded by the Wardens."

* Referenced by name in ''TheDresdenFiles'', as the White Council's, one strike and you're out, probation system.

* The power of Kira in ''DeathNote'', to instantly kill evil or unethical people, has limiting the world to good, obedient people as its intended consequence.

* In ''CodeGeass'', Schneizel has a flying craft with [[NuclearWeaponsTaboo the equivalent of a stockpile of nukes]] to cause the forced compliance of the entire world, through fear of superweapons, aptly named The Damocles.

* In ''StarWars'', this is what Tarkin intended the Death Star and its [[EarthShatteringKaboom superlaser]] to be used for: The threat of having your planet instantly destroyed would (presumably) curtail the ambitions of any seditious systems. The ExpandedUniverse gave this philosophy the name "The Tarkin Doctrine", and revealed that TheEmpire built an impractically large number of various planet-destroying devices in an attempt to implement it in practice. Since they all had a nasty tendency to get hijacked or blow up due to Rebel Scum, sabotage or other unfortunate circumstances, the doctrine was never put into proper field testing beyond what happened to Alderaan.

* In ''StarWars'', this is what Tarkin intended the Death Star and its [[WaveMotionGun superlaser]] to be used for. However, since it's large, noticeable and slow, it's not the most effective technique. The Stormtrooper occupying army is ''[[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy generally]]'' more effective.

-->-- '''Governor Tarkin''', ''StarWarsANewHope''

* The OlderThanDirt [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damocles trope namer,]] of course.

* The OlderThanDirt trope namer, of course
** Any info on that trope namer?
* SantaClaus. Or at least, his coal. He knows when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows when you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.

* In ''OnePiece'', the protection or threat of of some of the Three Great Powers is used to control specific locations, Whitebeard's protection kept people from attacking even the weakest of his territories, Boa Hancock's membership in the Seven Warlords of the Sea protected her home of Amazon Lily, and the threat of a Marine Admiral, Buster Call, etc., kept certain laws and policies in place for the marines.

* In ''CodeGeass'', Schneizel has a flying craft to cause the forced compliance of the entire world, through fear of superweapons, aptly named The Damocles.

* In ''OnePiece'', the protection or threat of of some of the Three Great Powers is used to control specific locations, Whitebeard's protection kept people from attacking even the weakest of his territories, Boa Hancock's membership in the Shichibukai protected her home of Amazon Lily, and the threat of a Marine Admiral, Buster Call, etc., kept certain laws and policies in place for the marines.

* This was Pain's plan for the tailed-beasts powered weapon in {{Naruto}}; [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything to create (and even use) a weapon so terrible that it would put an end to war]], [[{{Foreshadowing}} at least until people stopped fearing it]] and [[FunnyAneurysmMoment it would have to be used again.]]

* ''StarWars''. The Death Star's laser is intended to be this. However, since it's large, noticeable and slow, it's not the most effective technique. The Stormtrooper occupying army is ''[[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy generally]]'' more effective.

* This was Pain's plan for the tailed-beasts powered weapon in {{Naruto}}; [[DoesThisSoundFamilar to create (and even use) a weapon so terrible that it would put an end to war]], [[Foreshadowing at least until people stopped fearing it]] and [[FunnyAneurysmMomentit would have to be used again.]]

A weapon used as a deterrent, to sway ''people'' into acting in a certain manner. This comes from the second moral of the original story of TheSwordOfDamocles, where "The value of the sword is not that it fall, but rather, that it hangs."

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]
* ''DungeonsAndDragons''. The ForgottenRealms spell ''Blade of Doom'' causes a sword-like blade of force to come into existence over the target creature. When the target performs a specific act the blade drops onto the target, damaging it.