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Founded (734 BC) by Greek colonists from
Corinth, Syracuse grew rapidly and soon founded colonies of
its own. Its democratic government was suppressed by Gelon ,
tyrant of Gela, who took possession of the city in 485 BC
Under his rule, marked by a great victory (480 BC) over
Carthage at Himera, Syracuse took the lead among the Greek
cities of Sicily. Gelon's successor, Hiero I, made it one of
the great centers of Greek culture; the poet Pindar and the
dramatist Aeschylus lived at his court. Soon after Hiero's
death a democracy was again established; it lasted from 466 BC
to 406 BC During this period Syracuse extended its control
over E Sicily and defeated an Athenian expedition (begun in
415 BC by Alcibiades) in a great land and sea battle (414 BC).
In 406 BC, Dionysius the Elder became tyrant. Under his long
rule Syracuse reached the high point of its power and
territorial expansion.
Tearto Greco
After the death of Dionysius there followed a period of bitter
internal struggle in which Dionysius the Younger , Dion of
Syracuse , and Timoleon were the chief protagonists. There
were several decades of democratic government until tyranny
was reestablished by Agathocles and Hiero II (4th-3d cent. BC).
Hiero's reign was relatively peaceful and prosperous, but
after his death Syracuse suffered catastrophically when it
abandoned its traditional ally Rome in favor of Carthage, in
the second of the Punic Wars . After a long siege by the Roman
consul Marcellus, the city fell in 212 BC and was sacked;
Syracuse thence was reduced to the status of a provincial
town. The period from Dionysius the Elder to 212 BC was
brilliant in terms of culture. The philosopher Plato visited
Syracuse several times, and the poet Theocritus probably lived
at the court of Hiero II. The mathematician and physicist
Archimedes, born (287 BC) in Syracuse, directed the defense of
the city against the Romans and was killed during the sack of
the city. Syracuse suffered another major setback in the late
9th cent. AD, when it was badly damaged by Arab conquerors. It
was captured by the Normans in 1085.
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