Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1089

 SYEACUSAE. Bubiirb on the site, -(vliich must otherwise liave ma- terially interfered with the Athenian lines of cir- cunivallation, while the Syracusans would naturally have attempted to protect it, as they did that of Temenitis, by a special outwork. Yet it is remark- able that Diodorus notices the name, and even speaks of it as a distinct quarter of the city, as early as B. c. 466, during the troubles which led to the expulsion of Thrasybulus (Diod. si. 68). It is difficult to reconcile this with the entire silence of Thucydides. Tycha probably grew up after the great wall erected by Dionysius along the northern edge of the plateau had completely secured it from attack. Its position is clearly shown by the state- ment of Livy, that Marcellus, after he had forced the Hexapylum and scaled the heights, established his camp between Tycha and Neapolis, with the view of carrying on his assaults upon Achradina. (Liv. XXV. 2.5.) It is evident therefore that the two quarters were not contiguous, but that a consider- able extent of the table-land W. of Achradina was still unoccupied. 4. Neapolis (NectTToAis), or the New City, was, as its name implied, the last quarter of Syracuse which was inhabited, though, as is often the case, the New Town seems to have eventually grown up into one of the most splendid portions of the city. It may, however, well be doubted whether it was in fact more recent than Tycha ; at least it appears that some portion of Neapolis was already inhabited at the time of the Athenian invasion, when, as already mentioned, we have no trace of the existence of a suburb at Tycha. But there was then already a suburb called Temenitis, which had grown up around the sanctuary of Apollo Temenites. The statue of Apollo, who was worshipped under this name, stood as we learn from Cicero, within the precincts of the quarter subsequently called Neapolis ; it was placed, as we may infer from Thucydides, on the height above the theatre (which he calls aKpa T^/xev'iTLs'), forming a part of the table-land, and probably not far from the southern escarpment of the plateau. A suburb had apparently grown up around it, which was surrounded by the Syracusans with a wall just before the commencement of the siege, and this outwork bears a conspicuous part in till' operations that followed. (Thuc. vi. 75). But this cNtension of the fortifications does not appear to have been permanent, for we find in B.C. 396 the temples of Ceres and theCora, which also stood on the lu'igiits not far from the statue of Apollo, described as situated in a suburb of Achradina, which was taken and the temples plundered by the Carthaginian uiiieral Hiuiilco. (Diod. xiv. 63.) The name of Neapolis (■^ Ne'a ttoAis) is indeed already mentioned snme years before (Id. xiv. 9), and it appears pro- liable therefore that the city had already begun to extend itself over this quarter, though it as yet formed only an unfortified suburb. In the time of Cicero, as is evident from his description, as well as from existing remains, Neapolis had spread itself over the whole of the southern slope of the table-land, which licre forms a kind of second step or underfall, rising considerably above the low grounds beneath, though still separated from the heights of Temenitis by a .^econd line of clitf or abrupt declivity. The name of Temenitis for the district on the height seems to have been lost, or merged in that of Neapolis, which was gradually ajiplied to the whole of this quarter of the city. But the name was retained by the ad- joining gate, which was called the Temcnitid Gate SYEACUSAE. 1065 (riut. Dion. 29, where there seems no doubt that we should read Te/xef iViSas for M(u'niSas)^ and .seems to have been one of the principal entrances to the city. Of the buildings described by Cicero as existing in Neapolis, the only one still extant is the theatre, which he justly extols for its large size (" theatrunr maximum," Verr. iv. 53). Diodorus also alludes to it as the largest in Sicily (xvi. 83), a remark which is fully borne out by the existing remains. It is not less than 440 feet in diameter, and ap- pears to have had sixty rows of seats, so that it could have accommodated no less than 24,000 persons. The lower rows of seats were covered with slabs of white marble, and the several cunei are marked by inscriptions in large letters, bearing the name of king Hieron, of two queens, Philistis and Nereis, both of them historically unknown, and of two deities, the Olympian Zeus and Hercules, with the epithet of Evcppciiv. These inscriptions evidently belong to the time of Hieron II., who probably deco- rated and adorned this theatre, but the edifice itself is certainly referable to a much earlier period, pro- bably as early as the reign of the elder Hieron. It was u.sed not merely for theatrical exhibitions, but for the assemblies of the people, which are repeatedly alluded to as being held in it (Diod. xiii. 94 ; Plut. Dion. 38, Timol. 34, 38, &c.), as was frequently the case in other cities of Greece. The theatre, as originally constructed, must have been outside the walls of the city, but this was not an unusual ar- rangement. Near the theatre have been discovered the re- mains of another monument, expressly mentioned by Diodorus as constructed by king Hieron in that situation, an altar raised on steps and a platform not less than 640 feet in length by 60 in breadth (Diod. xiv. 83). A little lower down are the re- mains of an amphitheatre, a structure which un- doubtedly belongs to the Eonian colony, and was probably constructed soon after its establishment by Augustus, as we find incidental mention of gladia- torial exhibitions taking place there in the reigns of Tiberius and Nero (Tac. Ann. xiii. 49 ; Val. JIax. i. 7. § 8). It was of con.siderable size, the arena, which is the only part of which the dimensions can be distinctly traced, being somewhat larger than that of Verona. No traces have been discovered of the temples of Ceres and Libera or Proserpine on the height above : the colossal statue of Apollo Teme- nites had apparently no temple in connection with it, though it had of course its altar, as well as its sacred enclosure or refxtvos. The statue itself, which Verres was unable to remove on account of its large size, was afterwards transported to Eome by Tiberius (Suet. Tib. 74). Immediately adjoining the theatre are extensive quarries, similar in character to those already men- tioned in the clifi's of Achradina. The quarries of Syracuse (Latomiae or Lautumiae) are indeed fre- quently mentioned by ancient autiiors, and especially noticed by Cicero among the most remarkable objects in the city. (Cic. Verr. v. 27 ; Aelian, V. H. xii. 44.) There can be no doubt that they were ori- ginally designed merely as quarries for the extraction of the .soft limestone of which the whole table-land consists, and which makes an excellent building stone; but from the manner in which they were worked, being sunk to a considerable depth, without any outlet on a level, they were found j)laces of such, security, that from an early period they were em-