Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1084

 lOGO SYRACUSAE. in which were situated the temples of Ceres and Proserpine, both of which he gave up to plunder. But the anger of the goddesses, brought on by this act uf sacrilege, was believed to be the source of all the calamities that soon befel him. A pestilence broke out in the Carthaginian camp, from which they sustained very heavy losses, and Dionysius took advantage of their enfeebled state to make a general attack on their camp both by sea and land. The position occupied by the Carthaginians was very much the same as that which had been held by the Athenians: they occupied the headland of Plemmy- rium, on which they had erected a fort, while they had also fortifled the Olympieum, or Polichne, and constructed a third fort close to the edge of the Great Harbour for the protection of their fleet, which Jay within the inner bay or harbour of Dascon. But Dionysius, by a sudden attack from the land side, carried both the last forts, and at the same time suc- ceeded in burning a great part of the Carthaginian fleet, so that Himilco was compelled to abandon the enterprise, and by a secret capitulation secured a safe retreat for himself and the native Carthaginians in his army, abandoning his allies and mercenaries to their fate. (Diod. siv. 62, 63, 70—75.) The (iefeat of the Carthaginian armament left Dionysius undisputed master of Syracuse, while that city held as unquestioned a pre-eminence over the other cities of Sicily; and it is probable that the city itself continued to increase in extent and population. The impregnable citadel iu the island of Ortygia constructed by the elder Dionysius continued to be the bulwark of his power, as well as that of his son and successor. Even when the citizens, in b. c. 357, opened their gates to Dion, who made a triumphal entry into Achiadina, and made himself master with little difficulty of the fort on the summit of Epipolae, the island still held out, and Dion was compelled to resort to a blockade, having erected a line or wall of contravallation across from the lesser port to the gi-eater, so as effectually to cut off the garrison from all ciinnnunication with the interior. (Plut. Dion. 29; Diod. xvL 12.) It was not till after the block- ade had been continued for above a year that Apollo- crates was compelled by scarcity of provisions to surrender this stronghold, and Dion thus became complete master of Syracuse, B.C. 356. But that event did not, as had been expected, restore liberty to Syracuse, and the island citadel still remained the stronghold of the despots who successively ruled over the city. When at length Timoleon landed in Sicily (b. c. 344) Ortygia was once more in the possession of Dionysius, while the rest of the city was in the hands of Hicetas, who was supported by a Carthaginian fleet and army, with which he closely blockaded the island fortress. But the arrival of Timoleon quickly changed the face of affairs: Or- tygia was voluntarily surrendered to him by Dio- nysius; and Neon, whom he left there as commander of the garrison, by a sudden sally made himself master of Achradina also. Soon after Timoleon car- ried the heights of Epipolae by assault, and thus found himself master of the whole of Syracuse. One of the first measures he took after his success was to demolish the fortress erected by Dionysius within the Isknd, as well as the palace of the despot himself, and the splendid monument that had been erected to him by his son and successor. On the site were erected the new courts of justice. (Plut. Timol 22.) Syracuse had suffered severely from the Jgng SYRACUSAE. period of civil dissensions and almost constant hos- tilities which had preceded its liberation by Timo- leon ; and one of the first cares of its deliverer was to recruit its exhausted population, not only by re- calling from all quarters the fugitive or exiled citi- zens, but by summoning from Corinth and other parts of Greece a large body of new colonists. Such was the success of his invitation that we are assured the total number of immigrants (including of course the restored exiles) amounted to not less than 60,000. (Plut. Timol. 22, 23.) The democratic form of government was restored, and the code of laws which had been introduced by Diodes after the Athenian expedition, but had speedily fallen into neglect under the long despotism of the two Dionysii, was now revived and restored to its full vigour. (Diod. xiii. 35, xvi. 70.) At the same time a new annual magistracy was established, with the title of Amphipolus of the Olympian Jove, who was thence- forth destined, like the Archon at Athens, to give name to the year. The office was apparently a merely honorary one, but the years continued to be designated by the names of the Amphipoli down to the time of Augustus. (Diod. xvi. 70; Cic. Verr. ii. 51, iv. 61.) There can be no doubt that the period following the restoration of liberty by Timoleon was one of great prosperity for Syracuse, as well as for Sicily in general. Unfortunately it did not last long. Less tlian 30 years after the capture of Syracuse by Timoleon, the city fell under the despotism of Aga- thocles (b. c. 317), which continued without inter- ruption till B. c. 289. We hear very little of the fortunes of the city itself under his government, but it appears that, like his predecessor Dionysius, Aga- thocles devoted his attention to the construction of great works and public buildings, so that the city continued to increase in magnificence. We are told, among other things, that he fortified the entrance of the lesser port, or Portus Lacceius, with towers, the remains of one of which are still visible. During the absence of Agathocles in Africa, Syracuse was indeed exposed to the assaults of the Carthaginian general Hamilcar, who encamped, as Himilco had formerly done, at Polichne, and from thence made desultoiy attacks upon the city, but without any important result ; and having at length made a night attack upon the fort of Euryalus, he was defeated, and himself taken prisoner. (Diod. xx. 29.) After the death of Agathocles, Syracuse for a short time recovered its liberty, but soon fell again under the virtual despotism of Hicetas, and subsequently passed into the hands of successive military adventurers, till in b. c. 275, the govern- ment became vested in Hieron, the son of Hierocles, who, at first with the title of general autocrator, and afterwards with that of king, continued to reign over the city till b. c. 216. His wisdom and moderation proved a striking contrast to the despotism of several of the former rulers of Syracuse, and while his sub- jects flourished under his liberal and enlightened rule, external tranquillity was secured by the steadi- ness with which he adhered to the alliance of Rome, after having once measured his strength against that formidable power. By the treaty concluded between him and the Romans in b. c. 263, he was recognised as king of Syracuse, with the dependent towns of Acrae, Helorus, Netum, Jlegara, and Leontini, to which was annexed Tauromenium also, as an out- lying dependency. (Diod. xxiii. Exc. H. p. 502.) Notwithstanding the small extent of his territory,