Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/999

 SICILIA. and were thus restored to at least nominal freedom. A similar revolution occuired a few years later at Syracuse, where, on the death of Hieron (b. c. 467), the power passed into the hands of Thrasybulus, whose violent and tyrannical proceedings quickly excited an insurrection among the Syracusans. This became the signal for a general revolt of all the cities of Sicily, who united their forces with those of the Syracusans, and succeeded in expelling Thrasy- bulus from his strongholds of Ortygia and Achradina (Diod. xi. 67, 68), and thus driving him from Sicily. The fall of the Gelonian dynasty at Syracuse (b. c. 466) became for a time the occasion of violent internal dissensions in most of the Sicilian cities, wliica in many cases broke out into actual warfare. But after a few years these were terminated by a general congress and compromise, b. c. 461 ; the exiles were allowed to return to their respective cities: Camarina, which had been destroyed by Gelon, was repeopled and became once more a flou- rishing city; while Catana was restored to its ori- ginal Ciialcidic citizens, and resumed its ancient name (Diod. xi. 76). The tranquillity thus re- established was of unusual permanence and duration ; and the half century that followed was a period of the greatest prosperity for all the Greek cities in the island, and was doubtless that when they attained (with the exception of Syracuse) their highest degree of opulence and power. This is distinctly stated by Diodorus (/. c.) and is remarkably confirmed by the still existing monuments, — all the greatest ar- chitectural works being referable to this period. Of the form of government established in the Sicilian cities at this time we have little information, but it seems certain that a democratic constitution was in almost all instances substituted for the original oligarchies. But prosperous as this period (b. c. 461 — 409) undoubtedly was, it was by no means one of un- broken tranquillity. It was disturbed in the first instance by the ambitious schemes of Ducetius, a Siculian chief, who endeavoured to organise all the Sicels of the interior into one confederacy, which should be able to make head against the Greek cities. He at the same time founded a new city, to which be gave the name of Palice, near the sacred fountain of the Palici. But these attempts of Ducetius, remarkable as the only instance in the whole history of the island in which we find the Sicels attempting to establish a political power of their own, were frustrated by his defeat and banish- ment by the Syracusans in b. c. 451 ; and though lie once more returned to Sicily and endeavoured to establish himself on the N. coast of the island, his projects were interrupted by his death, b. c. 44.5. (Diod. xi. 88, 90—92, xii. 8, 29.) He found no successor; and the Sicels of the interior ceased to be formidable to the Greek cities. Jlany of their towns were actually reduced to stibjection by the Syracusans, while others retained their indepciulent position; but the operation of Hellenic infiuences was gradually diffusing itself throughout the whole island. The next important event in the history of Sicily is the great Athenian expedition in b. C. 415. Already, at an earlier period, soon after the outbreak of the I'eloponnesian War, the Athenians had inter- fered in the affairs of Sicily, and, in b. c. 427, had sent a squadron under Laches and Charocades to support the Ionic or Ciialcidic cities in tiic island. SICILIA. 979 which were threatened by their more powerful Doric neighbours. But the operations of these commanders, as well as of Eurymedon and Sophocles, who fol- lowed them in b. c. 425 with a large force, were of an unimportant character, and in b. c. 424 a general pacification of the Greek cities in Sicily was brought about by a congress held at Gela (Thuc. iv. 58, 65). But the peace thus concluded did not remain long unbroken. The Syracusans took advantage of the intestine dissensions at Leontini to expel the democratic party from that city : while the Selinun- tines were engaged in war with their non-Hellenic neighbours the Segestans, whom they pressed so hard that the latter were forced to apply for assist- ance to Athens. The Leontine exiles also sued for aid in the same quarter, and the Athenians, who were at this time at the height of their power, sent out an expedition on the largest scale, nominally for the protection of their allies in Sicily, but in reality, as Thucydides observes, in hopes of making them- selves masters of the whole island (Thuc. vi. 6). It is impossible here to relate in detail the pro- ceedings of that celebrated expedition, which will be more fully noticed in the article Syeacusae, and are admirably related in Grote's History of Greece, vol. -viii. ch. 58 — 60. Its failure may be attributed in great measure to the delays and inactivity of Nicias, who lingered at Catana, instead of proceed- ing at once to besiege Syracuse itself, and thus g.ive the Syracusans time to strengthen and enlarge their fortifications, at the same time that they revived the courage of their allies. The siege of Syracuse was not actually commenced till the spring of 414 b. c, and it was continued till the month of September, 413 B.C., with the most unremitting exertions on both sides. The Syracusans were supported by the chief Dorian cities in the island, with the exception of Agrigentum, which stood aloof from the contest, as well as by a portion of the Sicel tribes : but the greater part of those barbarians, as well as the Chalcidic cities of Naxos and Catana and the Seges- tans, furnished assistance to the Athenians (Thuc. vii. 57, 58). The total defeat of the Athenian armament (by far the most formidable that had been seen in Sicily since that of the Carthaginians under Hamilear), seemed to give an irresistible predominance to the Dorian cities in the island, and to Syracuse especi- ally. But it was not long before they again found themselves threatened by a still more powerful invader. The Selinuntines immediately took advan- tage of the failure of the Athenians to renew their attacks upon their neighbours of Scgesta, and the latter, feeling their inability to cope with them, now applied for protection to Carthage. It is remarkable that we hear nothing of Carthaginian intervention in the affairs of Sicily from the time of the battle of Himera until this occasion, and they seem to have abandoned all ambitious projects connected with the island, though they still maintained a footing there by means of their subject or dependent towii.s of Panormus, Jlotya, and Soluntum. But they now determined to avail themselves of the opportunity off'ered them, and sent an arniamciit to Sicily, whitli seemed like that of the Athenians, calculated not so much for the relief of Si'gesta as for the conquest of the whole island. Hannibal, the grandson of Ha- milear who had been slain at Himera, landed at Lilvbaeuiii, in B. C. 409, with an army estimated at 100,000 men, and inarching straight upon Selinus, laid siege at once to the city. Selinus was at this 3 K 2