Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/452

 SYRACUSE

396

SYRACUSE

wards artificially joined with the mainland, the most ancient part of the city, containing the acropolis dis- mantled by Timoleon, and the palace of King Hiero, where in later days the Roman govenors resided; (2) Achradine, the most sumptuous quarter, where most business was conducted, situated on the small port or the Trogilos (now the Gulf of Manghisi). It was fortified and contained the temple of Jupiter Olym- picus, the prytaneion, the theatre, and the catacomb of San Giovanni; (3) Tyche, the most populous part, deriving its name from the temple of Fortune and containing the palaces of Diodes and Dionysius, the Ughthouse, and the Galeagra Tower; (4) Neapolis or Temenites, containing various temples, the thea.- tre, the amphitheatre, and the Latomie; (5) Epipolai, which arose on the heights dominating the remainder of the city, and contained the fort Euryalos. All the city was surrounded by strong walls and beyond Epipolai was the castle of Labdalon. The circum- ference of the city was 180 stadia (20 miles). The name Syracuse is derived from the swamps of the valley of the Anapus. The ancient aqueduct is still in use.

^\^len in 734 the Corinthian Archias approached the isle of Ortygia, it was inhabited by natives whom he expelled. The colony flourished amid continual petty wars with the natives, whose greatest leader, Ducetius (4.50 b. c.) voluntarily surrendered to the Syracusans, who sent him to Corinth. The govern- ment was in the hands of the landowners (geomoroi), against whom in 484 the slaves revolted. The land- owners were expelled, but were conducted back into the city by Gelon, t>Tant of Gela, who in this manner became lord also of Syracuse. It being easier, as he said, to govern one hundred rich than a single poor man, the poor were sold. Otherwise Gelon was an excellent ruler. He conquered the Carthaginians at Himera, aspired to dominion over the whole island, and was an object of wonder to all the aristocrats of Syracuse. It was he who aggrandized the city by bringing in the inhabitants of Camarina, of Megara, of Eubcea, and part of those of Gela. In 478 he was succeeded by his brother Hiero, who held a splen- did court, favoured poets, orators, and philosophers. He contrived to avoid a war with Girgenti, aided the Cumaneans to conquer the Etruscans by sea (474), and established his dominion as far as Mt. Etna. He should have been succeeded by his son, but his brother Thrasybulus assumed the government, which he carried on with such cruelty and perfidy that he was expelled after a year. Syracuse was again free, and the government then became a democracy. Following the example of Athenian ostracism they introduced the practice of "petalism", according to which each man wrote on an olive leaf the name of the most powerful citizen; whoever obtained the greatest number of leaves was banished for five years. At first the democracy was favourable to the greatness of the city, which obtained a sort of hegemony over the Greek cities of Sicily, and also of Magna Gra'cia. The arts and hterature flourished. The ambitious designs of the Syracu.sans at the expense of the Leon- tines (427) and of Egesta (416) caused the interven- tion of the Athenians, instigated especially by Alci- biades. In 415 a splendid fleet sailed for Sicily and anchored in the great harbour. The city would per- haps have fallen if the Spartans, lead by Gylip[X)S, had not come to the rescue. Finally, in September, 413, tlie Athenian army and fleet were totally dtv stroyed. The prisoners were either slain or thrown into the Latomie. Syracu.se received from Diodes a new constitution and new laws which were most severe. But soon the interference of Syracuse in the quarrels of Egesta and Selinus provoked the intervention of Cartilage. The victories of the Carthaginians at Himera (409) gave the oppor- tunity to Hormocrates, then an exile, to attempt to

overturn the Government, an attempt which cost him his fife (407). Dionysius, proceeding more craftily, first had himself elected among the judges. By flattering the common people and discrediting his colleagues he obtained for himself the sole command of the army and succoured Gela against Hannibal the Elder (405). On his return the people gave him unlimited powers. He surrounded himself with a bodyguard, fortified and enlarged the city, combatted with varying fortunes the Carthaginians, who were conquered at Motye in 397, and obUged to retreat from Syracuse, which they had besieged by land and by sea (396). Every reverse of the tyrant was fol- lowed by revolts, which were, however, always crushed with extreme severity. Ha\'ing made peace with the Carthaginians in 392, he attempted the subjection of Magna Graecia as well, until the activi- ties of the Carthaginians called him back to Syra- cuse (383-68). Dionysius perfected the science and technic of war, favoured poets and philosophers, and was a wise ruler, but he was suspicious and cruel. He was succeeded in 368 by his son Dionysius II, a vicious young man, upon whom his uncle Dion and Plato in vain attempted to exercise a beneficent influence. Dion deposed him in 356, but impru- dently rendered himself unpopular and was slain (354) by the Athenian CaUipus. The latter was in turn e.xpelled by Hipparinus, another son of Diony- sius I (353-51). Nysa^us followed in succession (350- 47), but in 346 Dionysius II, who had remained in exile at Locri, expelled Ny.saeus, and resumed the government with greater tyrnanny than ever. The nobiUty conspired against him, and summoned Hica- tas, tyrant of Leontini, who succeeded in conquering and imprisoning Dionysius. Others, however, had applied for aid to Corinth, which in 345 sent Timo- leon, who conquered Hicatas and the Carthaginians (340), and re-established the constitution of Diodes. In 317 Agathocles, an able general, by the slaughter of six hundred of the richest Syracusans obtained the appointment to the command of the troops and the government. A good ruler, he warred with the Car- thaginians, who in 311, for the third time, entered the port of SjTacuse. By an act of supreme audacity, Agathocles shifted the scene of the war into Africa and thus Uberated his country. His star afterwards declined and he was killed by his nephew Archaga- thus (289). The city fell into a state of anarchy, ended in 288 by Hicatas, who was in turn deposed by Tinion (280). In 271 it was found necessary to sum- mon the aid of Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, who raised the siege of the city, but soon retired. The ravages of the Mamertines gave occasion to Hiero II to oppose them successfully, and thus to acquire the government of Syracuse (269). This war brought him into opposition with the Romans, with whom he finally concluded peace by becoming their tributary, and even aided them after their disaster at Canna;. His nephew and successor, Hieronymus (216), changed this policy, forming an alliance with Han- nibal, which policy was continued after his mur- der by the popular government. For this reason the city was besieged and blockaded in 214 by Clau- dius Marcellus, and finally taken and sacked in 212. The statues and other objects of art or of value were transported to Rome. Syracuse became the seat of the Roman government in Sicily, and remained such until the Byzantine epoch. During the Roman period thi> Latin language rcjilaced the Greek, which was restored under the Byzantines. From t)t>3 to 66S the ICmperor Const an tine II resided here until he w;is slain by his general Mezezius, who in his turn was killed by the soldiery of Italy. News of these events brought over the Saracens from .\frica, wlio sacked the city. .\ century later (S7S) the city was taken and jiillaged for forty days by the Arabs. Its decline, which began during the Roman period.