.php>
Map of the Roman Empire - Syracuse
Syracuse
J-7 on the Map
Ancient Syracuse - Syrakousai was a leading city on the east coast of Sicily in southern Italy, originally a Greek colony. The Italian name is Siracusa. Syracuse was the birthplace of Archimedes. Syracuse was mentioned in the Bible in Acts 28:12.
Acts 28:12 -And landing at Syracuse, we tarried [there] three days.
Syracuse (Italian: Siracusa; Sicilian: Sarausa; Ancient Greek: Συράκουσαι Syrákousai)[2] is a historic city in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the preeminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in ancient times, when it was one of the major powers of the Mediterranean world. Syracuse is located in the southeast corner of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Syracuse next to the Ionian Sea. The city was founded by Ancient Greek Corinthians and became a very powerful city-state. Syracuse was allied with Sparta and Corinth, exerting influence over the entire Magna Grecia area of which it was the most important city. Once described by Cicero as "the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all", it later became part of the Roman Republic and Byzantine Empire.
Syracuse during the Roman Empire. Though declining slowly by the years, Syracuse maintained the status of capital of the Roman government of Sicily and seat of the praetor. It remained an important port for the trades between the Eastern and the Western parts of the Empire. Christianity spread in the city through the efforts of Paul of Tarsus and Saint Marziano, the first bishop of the city, who made it one of the main centres of proselytism in the West. In the age of the persecutions massive catacombs were carved, whose size is second only to those of Rome. - Wikipedia
Syracus. E (Syracusa, Syracossse, Syracosa), a city of Sicily, on the E. coast, at the mouth of Anapus fl., L. Founded by a joint colony of Corinthians, under Archias, and Dorians. It was a five-fold city, its divisions being respectively named Nasos or Ortygia (s.e.), Achradina (e.), Tyche (central), Neapolis (s.w.) and Epipoplse (w.). The latter, being but thinly inhabited, was not taken notice of by many topographers. The circuit of the city was 15 m. Restored by Augustus. The birth-place of Archimedes, Theocritus, Philemon, Vopiscus, &c. Syracusa. - Classical Gazetteer
Syracūsae (Συράκουσαι or Συράκοσσαι, Ion. Συρήκουσαι, also Συρακοῦσαι, Συρακούση). Now Siracusa in Italian; Syracuse in English: the wealthiest and most populous town in Sicily. It was situated on the south part of the east coast, 400 stadia north of the promontory Plemmyrium, and ten stadia northeast of the mouth of the river Anapus, near the lake or marsh called Syraco (Συρακώ), from which it derived its name. It was founded B.C. 734, one year after the foundation of Naxos, by a colony of Corinthians and other Dorians, led by Archias the Corinthian. The town was originally confined to the island Ortygia lying immediately off the coast; but it afterwards spread over the neighbouring mainland, and at the time of its greatest extension under the elder Dionysius it consisted of five distinct towns, each surrounded by separate walls. Some writers indeed describe Syracuse as consisting of four towns, but this simply arises from the fact that Epipolae was frequently not reckoned a portion of the city. These five towns were:Syracuse
SYRACU´SAE (Συρακοῦσαι: Eth. Συρακούσιος, Steph. B. sub voce but Thucydides,
Diodorus, &c. use the form Συρακόσιος, which, as we learn from coins and
inscriptions, was the native form; Syracusanus: Siracusa, Syracuse), the most
powerful and important of all the Greek cities in Sicily, situated on the E.
coast of the island, about midway between Catana and Cape Pachynus. Its
situation exercised so important an influence upon its history and progress,
that it will be desirable to describe this somewhat more fully before proceeding
to the history of the city, reserving, at the same time, the topographical
details for subsequent discussion.
I. SITUATION.
Syracuse was situated on a table-land or tabular hill, forming the prolongation
of a ridge which branches off from the more elevated table-land of the interior,
and projects quite down to the sea, between the bay known as the Great Harbour
of Syracuse, and the more extensive bay which stretches on the N. as far as the
peninsula of THAPSUS or Magnisi. The broad end of the kind of promontory thus
formed, which abuts upon the sea for a distance of about 2 1/2 miles, may be
considered as the base of a triangular plateau which extends for above 4 miles
into the interior, having its apex formed by the point now called Mongibellisi,
which was occupied by the ancient fort of EURYALUS. This communicates, already
stated, by a narrow ridge with the tableland of the interior, but is still a
marked point of separation, and was the highest point of [2.1056] the ancient
city, from whence the table-land slopes very gradually to the sea. Though of
small elevation, this plateau is bounded on all sides by precipitous banks or
cliffs, varying in height, but only accessible at a few points. It may be
considered as naturally divided into two portions by a slight valley or
depression running across it from N. to S., about a mile from the sea: of these
the upper or triangular portion was known as EPIPOLAE, the eastern portion
adjoining the sea bore the name of ACHRADINA, which thus forms in some degree a
distinct and separate plateau, though belonging, in fact, to the same mass with
Epipolae.
The SE. angle of the plateau is separated from the Great Harbour by a small
tract of low and level ground, opposite to which lies the island of ORTYGIA a
low islet about a mile in length, extending across the mouth of the Great
Harbour, and originally divided by only a narrow strait from the mainland,
whilst its southern extremity was separated from the nearest point of the
headland of Plemmyrium by an interval of about 1200 yards, forming the entrance
into the Great Harbour. This last was a spacious bay, of above 5 miles in
circumference; thus greatly exceeding the dimensions of what the ancients
usually understood by a port, but forming a very nearly land-locked basin of a
somewhat oval form, which afforded a secure shelter to shipping in all weather;
and is even at the present day one of the finest harbours in Sicily. But between
the island of Ortygia and the mainland to the N. of it, was a deep bight or
inlet, forming what was called the Lesser Port or PORTUS LACCEIUS, which, though
very inferior to the other, was still equal to the ordinary requirements of
ancient commerce.
S. of the Great Harbour again rose the peninsular promontory of PLEMMYRIUM
forming a table-land bounded, like that on the N. of the bay, by precipitous
escarpments and cliffs, though of no great elevation. This table-land was
prolonged by another plateau at a somewhat lower level, bounding the southern
side of the Great Harbour, and extending from thence towards the interior. On
its NE. angle and opposite to the heights of Epipolae, stood the temple of
Jupiter Olympius, or the OLYMPIEUM, overlooking the low marshy tract which
intervenes between the two table-lands, and through which the river Anapus finds
its way to the sea. The beautiful stream of the CYANE rises in a source about 1
1/2 mile to the N. of the Olympieumn, and joins its waters with those of the
Anapus almost immediately below the temple. From the foot of the hill crowned by
the latter extends a broad tract of very low marshy ground, extending along the
inner side of the Great Harbour quite to the walls of the city itself. A portion
of this marsh, which seems to have formed in ancient times a shallow pool or
lagoon, was known by the name of LYSIMELEIA (Λυσιμέλεια, Thuc. 7.53; Theocr. Id.
16.84), though its more ancient appellation would seem to have been SYRACO (Συρακώ),
from whence the city itself was supposed to derive its name. (Steph. B. sub voce
Συρακοῦσαι; Scymn. Ch. 281.) It is, however, uncertain whether the names of
Syraco and Lysimeleia may not originally have belonged to different portions of
these marshes. This marshy tract, which is above a mile in breadth, extends
towards the interior for a considerable distance, till it is met by the
precipitous escarpments of the great table-land of the interior. The proximity
of these marshes must always have been prejudicial to the healthiness of the
situation; and the legend, that when Archias and Myscellus were about to found
Syracuse and Crotona, the latter chose health while the former preferred wealth
(Steph. B. sub voce l.c.), points to the acknowledged insalubrity of the site
even in its most flourishing days. But in every other respect the situation was
admirable; and the prosperity of Syracuse was doubtless owing in a great degree
to natural as well as political causes. It was,r moreover, celebrated for the
mildness and serenity of its climate, it being generally asserted that there was
no day on which the sun was not visible at Syracuse (Cic. Ver. 5.10), an
advantage which it is said still to retain at the present day.
II. HISTORY.
Syracuse was, with the single exception of Naxos, the most ancient of the Greek
colonies in Sicily. It was a Corinthian. colony, sent out from that city under a
leader named Archias, son of Euagetes, who belonged to the powerful family of
the Bacchiadae, but had been compelled to expatriate himself. According to. some
accounts the colony was strengthened by an admixture of Dorian or Locrian
colonists with the original Corinthian settlers; but it is certain that the
Syracusans regarded themselves in all ages as of pure Corinthian origin (Theocr.
Id. xvi 91), and maintained relations of the closest amity with their parent
city. The colony was founded in B.C. 734, and the first settlers established
themselves in the island of Ortygia, to which it is probable that the city was
confined for a considerable period. (Thuc. 6.2; Strab. vi. p.269; Seymn. Ch.
279--282; Marm. Par.; concerning the date, see Clinton, F. H. vol. i. p. 164.)
The name of Ortygia is evidently Greek, and derived from the well-known epithet
of Diana, to whom the island was regarded as consecrated (Diod. 5.3); but the
city seems to have assumed from the very beginning the name of Syracusae, which
was derived, as already mentioned, from the name of the adjoining marsh or lake,
Syraco, doubtless an indigenous name, as it has no signification in Greek. It
appears indeed that the form Syraco was used by Epicharmus for the name of the
city itself, but this was evidently a mere poetic license. (Strab. viii. p.364.)
As in the case of most of the Greek colonies in Sicily, we have very little
information concerning the early history and progress of Syracuse; but we may
infer that it rose steadily, if not rapidly, to prosperity, from the
circumstance that it continued to extend its power by the foundation of fresh
colonies: that of Acrae within 70 years after its own establishment (B.C. 664);
Casmenae 20 years later (B.C. 644), and Camarina 45 years afterwards, or B.C.
599. None of these colonies, however, rose to any considerable power: it was
obviously the policy of Syracuse to keep them in the position of mere
dependencies; and Camarina, having given umbrage to the parent city, was
destroyed only 46 years after its foundation. (Thuc. 6.5; Scymn. Ch. 294-296.)
Syracuse was not, however, free front internal dissensions and revolutions. An
obscure notice preserved to us by Thucydides indicates the occurrence of these
as early as B.C. 648, which led to the expulsion of a party or clan called the
Myletidae, who withdrew into exile and joined in the foundation of Himera. (Thuc.
6.5.) Another indication of such disputes is found in Aristotle (Aristot. Pol.
5.4), but we are unable [2.1057] to assign any definite place in chronology to
the occurrence there alluded to. At a later period we find the government in the
hands of an exclusive oligarchy called the Geomori or Gamori, who, from their
name, would appear to have been the descendants of the original colonists,
around whom there naturally grew up a democracy or plebs, composed of the
citizens derived from other sources. At length, about B.C. 486, a revolution
took place; and the democracy succeeded in expelling the Geomori, who thereupon
withdrew to Casmenae. (Hdt. 7.155; Dionys. A. R. 6.62.) But this revolution
quickly led to another; Gelon, the powerful despot of Gela, having espoused the
cause of the exiles. Gela was at this time at least equal, if not superior, to
Syracuse in power. Hippocrates, its late despot, had extended his power over
many of the other cities in the east of Sicily, and defeated the Syracusans
themselves in a great battle at the river Helorus. He would probably indeed have
made himself master of Syracuse upon this occasion had it not been for the
interposition of the Corinthians and Corcyraeans, who brought about a peace upon
equitable terms. (Hdt. 7.154.) But the expulsion of the Geomori opened a fresh
opportunity to Gelon, who, putting himself at the head of the exiles, easily
effected their restoration, while the people of Syracuse readily admitted Gelon
himself as their ruler with despotic authority. (Ib. 155.)
This revolution (which occurred in B.C. 485) seemed at first likely to render
Syracuse subordinate to Gela, but it ultimately produced a directly contrary
effect. Gelon seems to have been fully alive to the superior advantages of
Syracuse, and from the moment he had established his power in that city, made it
the chief object of his solicitude, and directed all his efforts to the
strengthening and adorning his new capital. Among other measures, he removed
thither the whole body of the citizens of Camarina (which had been repeopled by
Hippocrates), and subsequently more than half of those of Gela itself, admitting
them all to the full rights of Syracusan citizens. Afterwards, as he directed
his arms successively against the Sicilian Megara and Euboea, he removed the
wealthy and noble citizens of both those cities also to Syracuse. (Ib. 156.)
That city now rose rapidly to a far greater amount of power and prosperity than
it had previously enjoyed, and became, under the fostering care of Gelon,
unquestionably the first of the Greek cities in Sicily. It was probably at this
period that it first extended itself beyond the limits of the island, and
occupied the table-land or heights of Achradina, which were adapted to receive a
far more numerous population, and had already become thickly peopled before the
time of Thucydides. (Thuc. 6.3.) This portion of the city now came to be known
as the Outer City (ἡ ἔξω πόλις), while the island of Ortygia was called the
Inner City, though still frequently designated as “the Island.” Strictly
speaking, however, it had ceased to merit that term, being now joined to the
mainland by an artificial dike or causeway. (Thuc. l.c.)
From the time of Gelon the history of Syracuse becomes inseparably blended with
that of Sicily in general; its position in the island being so important that,
as Strabo justly remarks, whatever vicissitudes of fortune befel the city were
shared in by the whole island. (Strab. vi. p.270.) Hence it would be useless to
recapitulate the events of which a brief summary has been already given. in the
article SICILIA and which are more fully detailed by all the general historians
of Greece. The following summary will, therefore, be confined to those
historical events which more immediately affected the city itself, as
distinguished from the political vicissitudes of the state.
There can be no doubt that Syracuse continued to flourish extremely throughout
the reign of Gelon (B.C. 485--478), as well as that of his successor Hieron
(B.C. 478--467), who, notwithstanding the more despotic character of his
government, was in many respects a liberal and enlightened ruler. His patronage
of letters and the arts especially rendered Syracuse one of the chief resorts of
men of letters, and his court afforded shelter and protection to Aeschylus,
Pindar, and Bacchylides. Nor was Syracuse itself deficient in literary
distinction. Epicharmus, though not a native of the city, spent all the latter
years of his life there, and Sophron, the celebrated writer of mimes, was a
native of Syracuse, and exhibited all his principal works there. The care
bestowed upon the arts is sufficiently attested by the still extant coins of the
city, as well as by the accounts transmitted to us of other monuments; and there
is every probability that the distinction of Syracuse in this respect commenced
from the reign of Hieron. The tranquil reign of that monarch was followed by a
brief period of revolution and disturbance; his brother Thrasybulus having,
after a short but tyrannical and violent reign, been expelled by the Syracusans,
who established a popular government, B.C. 466. This was for a time agitated by
fresh tumults, arising out of disputes between the new citizens who had been
introduced by Gelon and the older citizens, who claimed the exclusive possession
of political power; but after some time these disputes were terminated by a
compromise, and the new citizens withdrew to Messana. (Diod. 11.67, 68, 72, 73,
76.)
The civil dissensions connected with the expulsion of Thrasybulus, which on more
than one occasion broke out into actual hostilities, show how great was the
extent which the city had already attained. Thrasybulus himself, and afterwards
the discontented citizens, are mentioned as occupying the Island and Achradina,
both of which were strongly fortified, and had their own separate walls (Diod.
11.68, 73); while the popular party held the rest of the city. It is evident
therefore that there were already considerable spaces occupied by buildings
outside the walls of these two quarters, which are distinctly mentioned on one
occasion as “the suburbs” (τὰ προαστεῖα, Ib. 68). Of these, one quarter called
Tycha, which lay to the W. of Achradina, adjoining the N. slope of the
table-land, is now first mentioned by name (Ibid.); but there can be no doubt
that the plain between the heights of Achradina and the marshes was already
occupied with buildings, and formed part of the city, though it apparently was
not as yet comprised within the fortifications.
The final establishment of the democracy at Syracuse was followed by a period of
about sixty years of free government, during which we are expressly told that
the city, in common with the other Greek colonies in Sicily, developed its
resources with great rapidity, and probably attained to its maximum of wealth
and power. (Diod. 11.68, 72.) Before the close of this period it had to
encounter the severest danger it had yet experienced, and gave abundant proof of
its great resources by coming off victorious in a contest with Athens, then at
the very height of [2.1058] its power The circumstances of the great siege of
Syracuse by the Athenians must here be related in some detail, on account of
their important bearing on all questions connected with the topography of the
city, and the interest they confer on its localities. At the same time it will
obviously be impossible to do more than give a very brief sketch of that
memorable contest, for the details of which the reader must refer to the
narrative of Thucydides, with the copious illustrations of Arnold, Grote, and
Col. Leake.
It was not till the spring of B.C. 414 that the siege of Syracuse was regularly
commenced. But in the autumn of 415, the Athenians had already made a
demonstration against the, city, and sailing into the Great Harbour, effected a
landing without opposition near the Olympieum, where they established their camp
on the shore, and erected a temporary fort at a place called Dascon (Thuc. 6.66;
Diod. 12.6), apparently on the inner bight of the harbour, between the mouth of
the Anapus and the bay now called the Bay of Maddalena. But though successful in
the battle that ensued, Nicias did not attempt to follow up his advantage, and
withdrew to winter at Catana. The next spring the Athenians landed to the N. of
Syracuse, at a place called Leon, about 6 or 7 stadia from the heights of
Epipolae, while they established their naval station at the adjoining peninsula
of Thapsus (Magnisi). The land troops advanced at once to occupy Epipolae, the
military importance of which was felt by both parties, and succeeded in
establishing themselves there, before the Syracusans could dislodge them. They
then proceeded to build a fort at a place called Labdalum, which is described by
Thucydides as situated “on the top of the cliffs of Epipolae, looking towards
Megara” (Thuc. 6.97), and having occupied this with a garrison, so as to secure
their communications with their fleet, they advanced to a place called Syce (ἡ
Συκῆ), where they established themselves, and began to construct with great
rapidity a line of circumvallation across the plateau of Epipolae.1 The
construction of such a line was the customary mode of proceeding in Greek
sieges, and it was with the special object of guarding against it that the
Syracusans had in the preceding winter extended their fortifications by running
a new line of wall so as to enclose the temple of Apollo Temenites (Thuc. 6.75),
which probably extended from thence down to the Great Harbour. Nevertheless the
Athenian line of circumvallation was carried on so rapidly as to excite in them
the greatest alarm. Its northern extremity was made to rest on the sea at a
point called Trogilus (probably near the Scala Greca), and it was from thence
carried across the table-land of the Epipolae, to the point nearest to the Great
Harbour. Alarmed at the rapid progress of this wall, the Syracusans endeavoured
to interrupt it by constructing a counter or cross wall (ὑποτείχισμα or
ἐγκάρσιον τεῖχος), directed apparently from the wall recently erected around the
temple of Apollo Temenites towards the southern cliff of Epipolae. (Thuc. 6.99.)
This wall was, however, carried by the Athenians by a sudden attack and
destroyed, whereupon the Syracusans attempted a second counterwork, carried
through the marshes and low ground, so as to prevent the Athenians from
connecting their works on Epipolae with the Great Harbour. But this work was,
like the preceding one, taken and destroyed; and the Athenians, whose fleet had
meanwhile entered the Great Harbour, and established itself there, were able to
construct a strong double line of wall, extending from the cliffs of Epipolae
quite down to the harbour. (Ib. 100--103.) On the table-land above, on the
contrary, their works were still incomplete, and especially that part of the
line of circumvallation near Trogilus was still in an unfinished state when
Gylippus landed in Sicily, so that that commander was able to force his passage
through the lines at this point, and effect an entry into Syracuse. (Id. 7.2.)
It is remarkable that the hill of Euryalus, though in fact the key of the
position on the Epipolae, seems to have been neglected by Nicias, and was still
undefended by any fortifications.
Gylippus immediately directed his efforts to prevent the completion of the
Athenian lines across the table-land, and obtained in the first instance an
important advantage by surprising the Athenian fort at Labdalum. He next began
to erect another cross wall, running out from the walls of the city across the
plateau, so as to cross and intersect the Athenian lines; and notwithstanding
repeated efforts on the part of the Athenians, succeeded in carrying this on so
far as completely to cut off their line of circumvallation, and render it
impossible for them to complete it. (Id. 7.4--6.) Both parties seem to have
looked on the completion of this line as the decisive point of the siege; Nicias
finding himself unable to capture the outwork of the Syracusans, almost
despaired of success, and wrote to Athens for strong reinforcements. Meanwhile
he sought to strengthen his position on the Great Harbour by occupying and
fortifying the headland of Plemmyrium, which completely commanded its entrance.
(lb. 4.) The Syracusans, however, still occupied the Olympieum (or Polichne, as
it was sometimes called) with a strong body of troops, and having, under the
guidance of Gylippus, attacked the Athenians both by sea and land, though foiled
in the former attempt, they took the forts which had been recently erected on
the Plemmyrium. (lb. 4, 22--24.) This was a most important advantage, as it
rendered it henceforth very difficult for the Athenians to supply their fleet
and camp with provisions; and it is evident that it was so regarded by both
parties (Ib. 25, 31): the Syracusans also subsequently gained a decisive success
in a sea-fight within the Great Harbour, and were preparing to push their
advantage further, when the arrival of Demosthenes and Eurymedon from Athens
with a powerful fleet restored for a time. the superiority of the Athenians.
Demosthenes immediately directed all his efforts to the capture of the Syracusan
counterwork on Epipolae; but meanwhile Gylippus had not neglected to strengthen
his position. there, by constructing three [2.1059] redoubts or forts, each of
them occupied with a strong garrison, at intervals along the sloping plateau of
Epipolae, while a fort had been also erected at the important post of Euryalus,
at the extreme angle of the heights. (Thuc. 7.43.) So strong indeed was their
position that Demosthenes despaired of carrying it by day, and resolved upon a
night attack, in which he succeeded in carrying the fort at Euryalus, but was
foiled in his attempt upon the other outworks, and repulsed with heavy loss.
(lb. 43--45.)
The failure of this attack was considered by Demosthenes himself as decisive,
and he advised the immediate abandonment of the siege. But the contrary advice
of Nicias prevailed; and even when increasing sickness in the Athenian camp had
induced him also to consent to a retreat, his superstitious fears, excited by an
eclipse of the moon, again caused them to postpone their departure. The
consequences were fatal. The Syracusans now became rather the besiegers than the
besieged, attacked the Athenian fleet in the Great Harbour, and cut off and
destroyed the whole of their right wing under Eurymedon, in the bay of Dascon.
Elated with this success, they sought nothing less than the capture of the whole
armament, and began to block up the mouth of the Great Harbour, from Ortygia
across to Plemmyrium, by mooring vessels across it. The Athenians were now
compelled to abandon all their outposts and lines on the heights, and draw
together their troops as close to the naval camp as possible; while they made a
final effort to break through the barrier at the entrance of the harbour. But
this attempt proved unsuccessful, and led to a complete defeat of the Athenian
fleet. There was now no course but to retreat. The army under Nicias and
Demosthenes broke up from its camp, and at first directed their course along the
valley of the Anapus, till they came to a narrow pass, commanded by a
precipitous ridge called the Acraean Rock (Ἀκραῖον λέπας, Thuc. 7.78), which had
been occupied in force by the Syracusans. Failing in forcing this defile, the
Athenians changed their line of retreat, and followed the road to Helorus, but
after forcing in succession, though not without heavy loss, the passage of the
two rivers Cacyparis and Erineus, and reaching the banks of the Asinarus, the
last survivors of the Athenian army were compelled to lay down their arms. The
whole number of prisoners was said to amount to 7000. A trophy was erected by
the Syracusans on the bank of the Asinarus, and a festival called the Asinaria
instituted to commemorate their victory. (Thuc. 7.78-87; Diod. 13.18, 19.)
The failure of the Athenian expedition against Syracuse seemed likely to secure
to that city the unquestionable superiority among the Greek colonies in Sicily.
But a new and formidable power now appeared--the Carthaginians, who were invited
by the Segestans to support them against the Selinuntines, but who, not content
with the destruction of Selinus and Himera (B.C. 410), and with that of
Agrigentum (B.C. 406), pushed forward their conquests with a view of making
themselves masters of the whole island. Dionysius, then a young man, took
advantage of the alarm and excitement caused by this danger to raise himself to
despotic power at Syracuse (B.C. 405), and he soon after concluded a peace with
the Carthaginians, whose career of victory had been checked by a pestilence. The
history of the reign of Dionysius at Syracuse, which continued for a period of
38 years (B.C. 405--387), cannot be here related: it is briefly given in the
Biogr. Dict., art. DIONYSIUS, and very fully in Grote's History of Greece, vols.
x. and xi.; but its influence and effects upon the city itself must be here
noticed. From a very early period he turned his attention to the strengthening
and fortification of the city, and constructed great works, partly with a view
to the defence of the city against external invasion, partly for the security of
his own power. One of his first operations was to convert the island of Ortygia
into a strong fortress, by surrounding it with a lofty wall, fortified with
numerous towers, especially on the side where it adjoined the land, where he
raised a strongly fortified front, called the Pentapyla; while, for still
further security, he constructed an interior fort or citadel within the island,
which became the acropolis of Syracuse, and at the same time the residence of
Dionysius and his successors in the despotism. Adjoining this he constructed
within the lesser port, or Portus Lacceius, docks for his ships of war on a
large scale, so as to be capable of receiving 60 triremes: while they were
enclosed with a wall, and accessible only by a narrow entrance. But not content
with this, he a few years afterwards added docks for 160 more ships, within the
Great Port, in the recess or bight of it which approaches most nearly to the
Portus Lacceius, and opened a channel of communication between the two. At the
same time he adorned the part of the city immediately outside the island with
porticoes and public buildings for the convenience of the citizens. (Diod.
14.7.) But his greatest work of all was the line of walls with which he
fortified the heights of Epipolae. The events of the Athenian siege had
sufficiently proved the vital importance of these to the safety of the city; and
hence before Dionysius engaged in his great war with Carthage he determined to
secure their possession by a line of permanent fortifications. The walls erected
for this purpose along the northern edge of the cliffs of Epipolae (extending
from near Sta Panagia to the hill of Euryalus, or Mongibellisi) were 30 stadia
in length, and are said to have been erected by the labour of the whole body of
the citizens in the short space of 20 days. (Diod. 14.18.) It is remarkable that
we hear nothing of the construction of a similar wall along the southern edge of
the plateau of Epipolae; though the table-land is at least as accessible on this
side as on the other; and a considerable suburb called Neapolis had already
grown up on this side (Diod. 14.9), outside of the wall of Achradina, and
extending over a considerable part of the slope, which descends from the
Temenitis towards the marshy plain of the Anapus. But whatever may have been the
cause, it seems certain that Syracuse continued till a later period to be but
imperfectly fortified on this side.
The importance of the additional defences erected by Dionysius was sufficiently
shown in the course of the war with Carthage which began in B.C. 397. In that
war Dionysius at first carried his arms successfully to the western extremity of
Sicily, but fortune soon turned against him, and he was compelled in his turn to
shut himself up within the walls of Syracuse, and trust to the strength of his
fortifications. The Carthaginian general Himilco entered the Great Port with his
fleet, and established his head-quarters at the Olympieum, while he not only
ravaged the country outside the walls, but made himself master of one of the
suburbs, [2.1060] 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 of 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 Plemmyrium, on which
they had erected a fort, while they had also fortified the Olympieum, or
Polichne, and constructed a third fort, close to the edge of the Great Harbour
for the protection of their fleet, which lay 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 succeeded 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. 14.62, 63, 70--75.)
The defeat 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 in 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 Achradina, 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
greater, so as effectually to cut off the garrison from all communication with
the interior. (Plut. Dion. 29; Diod. 16.12.) It was not till after the blockade
had been continued for above a year that Apollocrates 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:
Ortygia was voluntarily surrendered to him by Dionysius; and Neon, whom he left
there as commander of the garrison, by a sudden sally made himself master of
Achradina also. Soon after Timoleon carried 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 Island, 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. Tim. 22.)
Syracuse had suffered severely from the long period of civil dissensions and
almost constant hostilities which had preceded its liberation by Timoleon; and
one of the first cares of its deliverer was to recruit its exhausted population,
not only by recalling from all quarters the fugitive or exiled citizens, 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. Tim. 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. 13.35,
16.70.) At the same time a new annual magistracy was established, with the title
of Amphipolus of the Olympian Jove, who was thenceforth 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. 16.70; Cic. Ver. 2.51, 4.61.)
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 than 30 years after the
capture of Syracuse by Timoleon, the city fell under the despotism of Agathocles
(B.C. 317), which continued without interruption 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, Agathocles 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
desultory 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. 20.29.) 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 government 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 subjects flourished under his
liberal and enlightened rule, external tranquillity was secured by the
steadiness 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, Megara, and Leontini, to
which was annexed Tauromenium also, as an outlying dependency. (Diod. xxiii.
Exc. H. p. 502.) Notwithstanding the small extent of his territory, [2.1061]
Hieron was undoubtedly a powerful prince, and Syracuse seems to have risen,
during this long period of peace and tranquillity, to a high state of wealth and
prosperity. Its commercial relations with foreign countries, especially with
Egypt, were assiduously cultivated and extended, while the natural resources of
its fertile territory were developed to the utmost by the wise and judicious
regulations of Hieron, which, under the name of the Lex Hieronica, were
subsequently introduced into all parts of Sicily, and continued to be observed
by the Romans, in their administration of that province. At the same time the
monarch adorned the city with many public works and buildings, including
temples, gymnasia, &c., while he displayed his wealth and magnificence by
splendid offerings, both at Rome and the most noted sanctuaries of Greece. On
the whole it may probably be assumed that the reign of Hieron II. was the period
when Syracuse attained its highest degree of splendour and magnificence, as well
as of wealth and population.
But this state of things was abruptly changed after the death of Hieron. His
grandson, Hieronymus, who succeeded him, deserted the alliance of Rome for that
of Carthage, and though the young king was shortly after assassinated, the
Carthaginian party continued to maintain its ascendency at Syracuse under two
leaders named Hippocrates and Epicydes, who were appointed generals with supreme
power. They shut the gates against Marcellus, who was in command of the Roman
armies in Sicily, and having refused all terms of accommodation, compelled that
general to form the siege of Syracuse, B.C. 214. (Liv. 24.21-33.) The enterprise
proved far more arduous than the Roman General seems to have anticipated. He
established his camp, as the Carthaginians had repeatedly done, on the height of
the Olympieum; but his principal attacks were directed against the northern
walls, in the neighbourhood of Hexapylum (the outlet of the city towards
Leontini and Megara), as well as against the defences of Achradina from the sea.
His powerful fleet gave Marcellus the complete command of the sea, and he
availed himself of this to bring up his ships with powerful battering engines
under the very walls which bordered the rocks of Achradina; but all his efforts
were baffled by the superior skill and science of Archimedes; his engines and
ships were destroyed or sunk, and after repeated attempts, both by sea and land,
he found himself compelled to abandon all active assaults and convert the siege
into a blockade. (Liv. 24.33, 34.)
During the winter he left the camp and army at the Olympieum, under the command
of T. Quinctius Crispinus, while he himself took up his winter-quarters and
established a fortified camp at Leon, on the N. side of the city. But he was
unable to maintain a strict blockade by sea, and the Carthaginians succeeded in
frequently throwing in supplies, so that the blockade was prolonged for more
than two years; and Marcellus began to entertain little prospect of success,
when in the spring of B.C. 212 an accident threw in his way the opportunity of
scaling the walls by night, at a place called by Livy the Portus Trogiliorum
(evidently the little cove called Scala Greca); and having thus surprised the
walls he made himself master of the gate at Hexapylum, as well as of a great
part of the slope of Epipolae. But the strong fort of Euryalus, at the angle of
Epipolae, defied his efforts, and the walls of Achradina, which still retained
its separate fortifications, enabled the Syracusans to hold possession of that
important part of the city, as well as of the island and fortress of Ortygia.
The two quarters of Tycha and Neapolis were, however, surrendered to him, and
given up to plunder, the citizens having stipulated only for their lives; and
shortly after Philodemus, who commanded the garrison of Euryalus, having no
hopes of relief, surrendered that important post also into the hands of
Marcellus. (Liv. 25.23-25.) The Roman general was now in possession of the whole
heights of Epipolae, and being secured from attacks in the rear by the
possession of Euryalus, he divided his forces into three camps, and endeavoured
wholly to blockade Achradina. At the same time Crispinus still held the old camp
on the hill of the Olympieum. (Ib. 26.) In this state of things a vigorous
effort was made by the Carthaginians to raise the siege: they advanced with a
large army under Himilco and. Hippocrates, and attacked the camp of Crispinus;
while Bomilcar, with a fleet of 150 ships, occupied the Great Harbour, and took
possession of the shore between the city and the mouth of the Anapus, at the
same time that Epicydes made a vigorous sally from Achradina against the lines
of Marcellus. But they were repulsed at all points, and though they continued
for some time to maintain their army in the immediate neighbourhood of the city,
it was soon attacked by a pestilence, arising from the marshy nature of the low
grounds in which they were encamped, to which both Hippocrates and Himilco fell
victims, with a great part of their troops. Bomilcar, also, who had quitted the
port with the view of obtaining reinforcements from Carthage, never returned,
and Epicydes, who had gone out to meet him, abandoned the city to its fate, and
withdrew to Agrigentum. The defence of Syracuse was now entrusted to the leaders
of the mercenary troops, and one of these, a Spaniard named Mericus, betrayed
his post to Marcellus. A body of Roman troops was landed in the night at the
extremity of the island, near the fountain of Arethusa, and quickly made
themselves masters of the whole of Ortygia; while Marcellus, having at the same
time made a general assault on Achradina, succeeded in carrying a portion of
that quarter also. The remaining part of the city was now voluntarily
surrendered by the inhabitants; and Marcellus, after taking precautions to
secure the royal treasures, and the houses of those citizens who had been
favourable to the Romans, gave up the whole city to be pillaged by his soldiers.
Archimedes, who had contributed so much to the defence of the city, was
accidentally slain in the confusion. The plunder was said to be enormous; and
the magnificent statues, pictures, and other works of art which were carried by
Marcellus to Rome, to adorn his own triumph, are said to have given the first
impulse to that love of Greek art which afterwards became so prevalent among the
Romans. (Liv. 25.26-31, 40; Plut. Marc. 14-19; Diod. xxvi. Fr. 18--20.)
From this time Syracuse sank into the ordinary condition of a Roman provincial
town; but it continued to be the unquestionable capital of Sicily, and was the
customary residence of the Roman praetors who were sent to govern the island, as
well as of one of the two quaestors who were charged with its financial
administration. Even in the days of Cicero; it is spoken of by that orator as
“the greatest of Greek cities, and the most beautiful of all cities.” (Cic. Ver.
4.52) Its public buildings had apparently suffered little, if at all, from its
capture by [2.1062] Marcellus, and were evidently still extant in the days of
the orator, who enumerates most of them by name. All the four quarters of the
city, the Island, Achradina, Tycha, and Neapolis, were still well inhabited;
though as a measure of precaution no persons of native Syracusan extraction were
permitted to dwell in the Island. (Ib. 5.32.) But the prosperity of Syracuse
seems to have sustained a severe shock in the time of Sextus Pompeius, who,
according to Strabo, inflicted upon it injuries, from which it appears never to
have recovered. Such was its decayed condition that Augustus endeavoured
to-recruit it by sending thither a Roman colony (B.C. 21). But the new settlers
were confined to the Island and to the part of the city immediately adjoining
it, forming a portion only of Achradina and Neapolis. (Strab. vi. p.270; D. C.
54.7; Plin. Nat. 3.8. s. 14.) It is in this part of the town that the
amphitheatre and other edifices of Roman construction are still found.
But though greatly fallen from its former splendour, Syracuse continued
throughout the Roman Empire to be one of the most considerable cities of Sicily,
and still finds a place in the 4th century in the Ordo Nobilium Urbium of
Ausonius. The natural strength of the Island as a fortress rendered it always a
post of the utmost importance. After the fall of the Western Empire, it fell
with the rest of Sicily under the dominion of the Goths, but was recovered by
Belisarius in A. D. 535, and annexed to the dominions of the Byzantine emperors,
in whose hands it continued till the 9th century, when it was finally wrested
from them by the Arabs or Saracens. Syracuse was, with the single exception of
Tauromenium, the last place in Sicily that fell into the hands of those
invaders: it was still a very strong fortress, and it was not till 878, more
than fifty years after the Saracens first landed in the island, that it was
compelled to surrender, after a siege of nine months' duration. The inhabitants
were put to the sword, the fortifications destroyed, and the city given up to
the flames. Nor did it ever recover from this calamity, though the Island seems
to have always continued to be inhabited. Its fortifications were strengthened
by Charles V., and assumed very much their present appearance. The modern city,
which is still confined to the narrow limits of the Island, contains about
14,000 inhabitants. But the whole of the expanse on the opposite side of the
strait, as well as the broad table-land of Achradina and Epipolae, are now
wholly bare and desolate, being in great part uncultivated as well as
uninhabited.
III. TOPOGRAPHY.
The topographical description of Syracuse as it existed in the days of its
greatness cannot better be introduced than in the words of Cicero, who has
described it in unusual detail. “You have often heard (says he) that Syracuse
was the largest of all Greek cities, and the most beautiful of all cities. And
it is so indeed. For it is both strong by its natural situation and striking to
behold, from whatever side it is approached, whether by land or sea. It has two
ports, as it were, enclosed within the buildings of the city itself, so as to
combine with it from every point of view, which have different and separate
entrances, but are united and conjoined together at the opposite extremity. The
junction of these separates from the mainland the part of the town which is
called the Island, but this is reunited to the continent by a bridge across the
narrow row strait which divides them. So great is the city that it may be said
to consist of four cities, all of them of very large size; one of which is that
which I have already mentioned, the Island, which is surrounded by the two
ports, while it projects towards the mouth and entrance of each of them. In it
is the palace of king Hieron, which is now the customary residence of our
praetors. It contains, also, several sacred edifices, but two in particular,
which far surpass the others, one a temple of Diana, the other of Minerva, which
before the arrival of Verres was most highly adorned. At the extremity of this
island is a fountain of fresh water, which bears the name of Arethusa, of
incredible magnitude, and full of fish: this would be wholly overflowed and
covered by the waves were it not separated from the sea by a strongly-built
barrier of stone. The second city at Syracuse is that which is called Achradina,
which contains a forum of very large size, beautiful porticoes, a most highly
ornamented Prytaneum, a spacious Curia, and a magnificent temple of Jupiter
Olympius; not to speak of the other parts of the city, which are occupied by
private buildings, being divided by one broad street through its whole length,
and many cross streets. The third city is that which is called Tycha, because it
contained a very ancient temple of Fortune; in this is a very spacious
gymnasium, as well as many sacred edifices, and it is the quarter of the town
which is the most thickly inhabited. The fourth city is that which, because it
was the last built, is named Neapolis: at the top of which is a theatre of vast
size; besides this it contains two splendid temples, one of Ceres, the other of
Libera, and a statue of Apollo, which is known by the name of Temenites, of
great beauty and very large size, which Verres would not have hesitated to carry
off if he had been able to remove it.” (Cic. Ver. 4.52, 53.)
Cicero here distinctly describes the four quarters of Syracuse, which were
commonly compared to four separate cities; and it appears that Diodorus gave the
same account. (Diod. 26.19, ed. Didot.) In later times, also, we find it alluded
to as “the quadruple city” ( “quadruplices Syracusae,” Auson. Cl. Urb. 11).
Others, however, enumerated five quarters, as Strabo tells us that it was
formerly composed of five cities (πεντάπολις ἦν τὸ παλαιόν, Strab. v. p.270),
probably because the heights of Epipolae towards the castle of Euryalus were at
one time inhabited, and were reckoned as a fifth town. But we have no distinct
statement to this effect. The several quarters of the city must now be
considered separately.
1. Ortygia.
ORTYGIA (Ὀρτυγία, Pind., Diod., Strab., &c.), more commonly known simply as “the
Island” (ἡ νῆσος, Thuc., &c., and in the Doric dialect Νᾶσος: hence Livy calls
it Nasus, while Cicero uses the Latin Insula), was the original seat of the
colony, and continued throughout the flourishing period of the city to be as it
were the citadel or Acropolis of Syracuse, though, unlike most citadels, it lay
lower than the rest of the city, its strength as a fortress being derived from
its insular position. It is about a mile in length, by less than half a mile in
breadth, and of small elevation, though composed wholly of rock, and rising
perceptibly in the centre. There is no doubt that it was originally an island,
naturally separated from the mainland, though in the time of Thucydides it was
united with it (Thuc. 6.3): probably, however, this was merely effected by an
artificial mole or causeway, [2.1063] for the purpose of facilitating the
communication with “the outer city,” as that on the mainland was then called. At
a later period it was again severed from the land, probably by the elder
Dionysius, when he constructed his great docks in the two ports. It was,
however, undoubtedly always connected with the mainland by a bridge, or series
of bridges, as it is at the present day. The citadel or castle, constructed by
Dionysius, stood within the island, but immediately fronting the mainland, and
closely adjoining the docks or navalia in the Lesser Port. Its front towards the
mainland, which appears to have been strongly fortified, was known as the
Pentapyla (τὰ πεντάπυλα, Plut. Dion. 29); and this seems to have looked directly
upon the Agora or Forum, which we know to have been situated on the mainland. It
is therefore clear that the citadel must have occupied nearly the same position
with the modern fortifications which form the defence of Syracuse on the land
side. These were constructed in the reign of Charles V., when the isthmus by
which Ortygia had been reunited to the mainland was cut through, as well as a
Roman aqueduct designed to supply this quarter of the city with water,
constructed, as it appeared from an inscription, by the emperor Claudius. (Fazell.
Sic. iv. i. p. 169.)
Ortygia was considered from an early time as consecrated to Artemis or Diana (Diod.
5.3), whence Pindar terms it “the couch of Artemis,” and “the sister of Delos” (δέμνιον
Ἀρτέμιδος, Δάλου κασιγνάτα, Nem. 1.3). Hence, as we learn from Cicero (l.c.),
one of the principal edifices in the island was a temple of Diana. Some remains
of this are supposed to be still extant in the NE. corner of the modern city,
where two columns, with a portion of their architrave, of the Doric order, are
built into the walls of a private house. From the style and character of these
it is evident that the edifice was one of very remote antiquity. Much more
considerable remains are extant of the other temple, noticed by the orator in
the same passage--that of Minerva. This was one of the most magnificent in
Sicily. Its doors, composed of gold and ivory, and conspicuous for their
beautiful workmanship, were celebrated throughout the Grecian world: while the
interior was adorned with numerous paintings, among which a series representing
one of the battles of Agathocles was especially celebrated. All these works of
art, which had been spared by the generosity of Marcellus, were carried off by
the insatiable Verres. (Cic. Ver. 4.55, 56.) On the summit of the temple was a
shield, which served as a landmark to sailors quitting or approaching the port.
(Polemon, ap. Athen. 11.462.) There can be no doubt that this temple, which must
have stood on the highest point of the island, is the same which has been
converted into the modern cathedral or church of Sta Maria delle Colonne. The
columns of the sides, fourteen in number, are still perfect, though built into
the walls of the church; but the portico and façade were destroyed by an
earthquake. It was of the Doric order, and its dimensions (185 feet in length by
75 in breadth), which nearly approach those of the great temple of Neptune at
Paestum, show that it must have belonged to the first class of ancient edifices
of this description. The style of the architectural details and proportions of
the columns would render it probable that this temple may be referred to the
sixth century B.C., thus confirming an incidental notice of Diodorus (viii.. Fr.
9), from which it would appear that it was built under the government of the
Geomori, and therefore certainly prior to the despotism of Gelon. No other
ancient remains are now extant in the island of Ortygia; but the celebrated
fountain of Arethusa is still visible, as described by Cicero, near the southern
extremity of the island, on its western shore. It is still a very copious
source, but scarcely answering to the accounts of its magnitude in ancient
times; and it is probable that it has been disturbed and its supply diminished
by earthquakes, which have repeatedly afflicted the modern town of Syracuse.
At the extreme point of the island, and outside the ancient walls, probably on
the spot where the castle built by John Maniaces now stands, was situated a
temple of the Olympian Juno, with an altar from which it was the custom for
departing sailors to take a cup with certain offerings, which they flung into
the sea when they lost sight of the shield on the temple of Minerva (Polemon,
ap. Athen. l.c.). Of the other edifices in the island the most remarkable were
the Hexecontaclinus (οἶκος ὁ Ἑξηκοντάκλινος καλούμενος, Diod. 16.86), built, or
at least finished, by Agathocles, but the purpose and nature of which are
uncertain; the public granaries, a building of so massive and lofty a
construction as to serve the purposes of a fortress (Liv. 24.21); and the palace
of king Hieron, which was afterwards made the residence of the Roman praetors (Cic.
Ver. 4.52). The site of this is uncertain: the palace of Dionysius, which had
been situated in the citadel constructed by him, was destroyed together with
that fortress by Timoleon, and a building for the courts of justice erected on
the site. Hence it is probable that Hieron, who was always desirous to court
popularity, would avoid establishing himself anew upon the same site. No trace
now remains of the ancient walls or works on this side of the island, which have
been wholly covered and concealed by the modern fortifications. The remains of a
tower are, however, visible on a shoal or rock near the N. angle of the modern
city, which are probably those of one of the towers built by Agathocles to guard
the entrance of the Lesser Harbour, or Portus Lacceius (Diod. 16.83); but no
traces have been discovered of the corresponding tower on the other side.
2. Achradina
ACHRADINA (Ἀχραδίνη, Diod., and this seems to be the more correct form of the
name, though it is frequently written Acradina; both Livy and Cicero, however,
give Achradina), or “the outer city,” as it is termed by Thucydides, was the
most important and extensive of the quarters of Syracuse. It consisted of two
portions, comprising the eastern part of the great triangular plateau already
described, which extended from the angle of Epipolae to the sea, as well as the
lower and more level space which extends from the foot of this table-land to the
Great Harbour, and borders on the marshes of Lysimeleia. This level plain, which
is immediately opposite to the island of Ortygia, is not, like.the tract beyond
it extending to the Anapus, low and marshy ground, but has a rocky soil, of the
same limestone with the table-land above, of which it is as it were a lower
step. Hence the city, as soon as it extended itself beyond the limits of the
island, spread at once over this area; but not content with this, the
inhabitants occupied the part of the table-land above it nearest the sea, which,
as already mentioned in the general description, is partly separated by a cross
valley or depression from the upper part of the plateau, or the heights of
Epipolae. Hence this part of the city [2.1064] was of considerable natural
strength, and seems to have been early fortified by a wall. It is not improbable
that, in the first instance, the name of Achradina was given exclusively to the
heights2, and that these, as well as the island, had originally their own
separate defences; but as the city spread itself out in the plain below, this
must also have been protected by an outer wall on the side towards the marshes.
It has indeed been supposed (Grote's Greece, vol. vii. p. 556) that no defence
existed on this side till the time of the Athenian expedition, when the
Syracusans, for the first time, surrounded the suburb of Temenitis with a wall;
but no mention is found in Thucydides of so important a fact as the construction
of this new line of defence down to the Great Harbour, and it seems impossible
to believe that this part of the city should so long have remained unprotected.3
It is probable indeed (though not certain) that the Agora was already in this
part of the city, as we know it to have been in later times; and it is highly
improbable that so important a part of the city would have been placed in an
unfortified suburb. But still more necessary would be some such defence for the
protection of the naval arsenals or dockyards in the inner bight of the Great
Harbour, which certainly existed before the Athenian invasion. It seems,
therefore, far more natural to suppose that, though the separate defences of
Ortygia and the heights of Achradina (Diod. 11.67, 73) were not destroyed, the
two were from an early period, probably from the reign of Gelon, united by a
common line of defence, which ran down from the heights to some point near that
where the island of Ortygia most closely adjoined the mainland. The existence of
such a boundary wall from the time of the Athenian War is certain; and there
seems little doubt that the name of Achradina, supposing it to have originally
belonged to the heights or table-land, soon came to be extended to the lower
area also. Thus Diodorus describes Dionysius on his return from Gela as arriving
at the gate of Achradina, where the outer gate of the city is certainly meant. (Diod.
13.113.) It is probable that this gate, which was that leading to Gela, is the
same as the one called by Cicero the Portae Agragianae, immediately outside of
which he had discovered the tomb of Archimedes. (Cic. Tusc. Quaest. 5.2. 3) But
its situation cannot be determined: no distinct traces of the ancient walls
remain on this side of Syracuse, and we know not how they may have been modified
when the suburb of Neapolis was included in the city. It is probable, however,
that the wall (as suggested by Col. Leake) ran from the brow of the hill near
the amphitheatre in a direct line to the Great Harbour.
Of the buildings noticed by Cicero as still adorning Achradina in his day there
are scarcely any vestiges; but the greater part of them were certainly situated
in the lower quarter, nearest to the island and the two ports. The Forum or
Agora was apparently directly opposite to the Pentapyla or fortified entrance of
the island; it was surrounded with porticoes by the elder Dionysius (Diod.
14.7), which are obviously those alluded to by Cicero ( “pulcherrimae porticus,”
Verr. 4.53). The temple of Jupiter Olympius, noticed by the orator, also
adjoined the Agora; it was built by Hieron II. (Diod. 16.83), and must not be
confounded with the more celebrated temple of the same divinity on a hill at
some distance from the city. The prytaneum, which was most richly adorned, and
among its chief ornaments possessed a celebrated statue of Sappho, which fell a
prey to the cupidity of Verres (Cic. Ver. 4.53, 57), was probably also situated
in the neighbourhood of the Agora; as was certainly the Timoleonteum, or
monument erected to the memory of Timoleon. (Plut. Tim. 39.) The splendid
sepulchral monument which had been erected by the younger Dionysius in memory of
his father, but was destroyed after his own expulsion, seems to have stood in
front of the Pentapyla, opposite the entrance of the citadel. (Diod. 15.74.) A
single column is still standing on this site, and the bases of a few others have
been discovered, but it is uncertain to what edifice they belonged. The only
other ruins now visible in this quarter of the city are some remains of Roman
baths of little importance. But beneath the surface of the soil there exist
extensive catacombs, constituting a complete necropolis: these tombs, as in most
similar cases, are probably the work of successive ages, and can hardly be
referred to any particular period. There exist, also, at two points on the slope
of the hill of Achradina, extensive quarries hewn in the rock, similar to those
found in Neapolis near the theatre, of which we shall presently speak.
Traces of the ancient walls of Achradina, crowning the low cliffs which bound it
towards the sea, may be found from distance to distance along the whole line
extending from the quarries of the Cappuccini round to the little bay or cove of
Sta Panagia at the NW. angle of the plateau. Recent researches have also
discovered the line of the western wall of Achradina, which appears to have run
nearly in a straight line from the cove of Sta Panagia, to the steep and narrow
pass or hollow way that leads up from the lower quarter to the heights above,
thus taking advantage of the partial depression or valley already noticed. The
cove of Sta Panagia may perhaps be the PORTUS TROGILIORUM of Livy (25.23),
though the similar cove of the Scala Greca, about half a mile further W., would
seem to have the better claim to that designation. The name is evidently the
same with that of Trogilus, mentioned by Thucydides as the point on the N. side
of the heights towards which the Athenians directed their lines of
circumvallation, but without succeeding in reaching it. (Thuc. 6.99, 7.2.)
3. Tycha
TYCHA (Τύχη), so called, as we are told by Cicero, from its containing an
ancient and celebrated temple of Fortune, was situated on the plateau or
table-land W. of Achradina, and adjoining the northern face of the cliffs
looking towards Megara. Though it became one of the most populous quarters of
Syracuse, no trace of its existence is found at the period of the Athenian
siege; and it may fairly be assumed that there was as yet no considerable
[2.1065] suburb on the site, which must otherwise have materially interfered
with the Athenian lines of circumvallation, while the Syracusans would naturally
have attempted to protect it, as they did that of Temenitis, by a special
outwork. Yet it is a remarkable 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. 11.68). 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 statement 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.
25.25.) It is evident therefore that the two quarters were not contiguous, but
that a considerable extent of the table-land W. of Achradina was still
unoccupied.
4. Neapolis
NEAPOLIS (Νεάπολις), 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 ἄκρα Τεμενῖτις), 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 the
operations that followed. (Thuc. 6.75). But this extension of the fortifications
does not appear to have been permanent, for we find in B.C. 396 the temples of
Ceres and the Cora, which also stood on the heights 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 general Himilco. (Diod. 14.63.) The name
of Neapolis (ἡ Νέα πόλις) is indeed already mentioned some years before (Id.
14.9), and it appears probable 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 here 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 second line of cliff 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 applied to the whole of this quarter of
the city. But the name was retained by the adjoining gate, which was called the
Temenitis Gate (Plut. Dion. 29, where there seems: no doubt that we should read
Γεμενίτιδας and Μενίτιδας), 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 ( “theatrum
maximum,” Verr. 4.53). Diodorus also alludes to it as the largest in Sicily
(16.83), a remark which is fully borne out by the existing remains. It is not
less than 440 feet in diameter, and appears 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 Nereïs, both of them historically unknown, and of two
deities, the Olympian Zeus and Hercules, with the epithet of Εὐφρών. These
inscriptions evidently belong to the time of Hieron II., who probably decorated,
and adorned this theatre, but the edifice itself is certainly referable to a
much earlier period, probably as early as the reign of the elder Hieron. It was
used not merely for theatrical exhibitions, but for the assemblies of the
people, which are repeatedly alluded to as being held in it (Diod. 13.94; 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 arrangement.
Near the theatre have been discovered the remains 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. 14.83). A little lower down are the remains of an amphitheatre, a
structure which undoubtedly belongs to the Roman colony, and was probably
constructed soon after its establishment by Augustus, as we find incidental
mention of gladiatorial exhibitions taking place there in the reigns of Tiberius
and Nero (Tac. Ann. 13.49; V. Max. 1.7.8). It was of considerable 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 Temenites had apparently no temple in connection with it,
though it had of course its altar, as well as its sacred enclosure or τέμενος.
The statue itself, which Verres was unable to remove on account of its large
size, was afterwards transported to Rome by Tiberius (Suet. Tib. 74).
Immediately adjoining the theatre are extensive quarries, similar in character
to those already mentioned in the cliffs of Achradina. The quarries of Syracuse
(Latomiae or Lautumiae) are indeed frequently mentioned by ancient authors, and
especially noticed by Cicero among the most remarkable objects in the city. (Cic.
Ver. 5.27; Aelian, Ael. VH 12.44.) There can be no doubt that they were
originally 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 places of
such security, that from an early period they were employed [2.1066] as prisons.
Thus, after the Athenian expedition, the whole number of the captives, more than
7000 in number, were confined in these quarries (Thuc. 7.86, 87; Diod. 13.33);
and they continued to be used for the same purpose under successive despots and
tyrants. In the days of Cicero they were used as a general prison for criminals
from all parts of Sicily. (Cic. Ver. 5.27) The orator in one passage speaks of
them as constructed expressly for a prison by the tyrant Dionysius (Ib. 55),
which is a palpable mistake if it refers to the Lautumiae in general, though it
is not unlikely that the despot may have made some special additions to them
with that view. But there is certainly no authority for the popular tradition
which has given the name of the Ear of Dionysius to a peculiar excavation of
singular form in the part of the quarries nearest to the theatre. This notion,
like many similar ones now become traditional, is derived only from the
suggestion of a man of letters of the 16th century.
5. Epipolae and Fort Euryalus
EPIPOLAE (Ἐπίπολαι), was the name originally given to the upper part of the
table-land which, as already described, slopes gradually from its highest point
towards the sea. Its form is that of a tolerably regular triangle, having its
vertex at Euryalus, and its base formed by the western wall of Achradina. The
name is always used by Thucydides in this sense, as including the whole upper
part of the plateau, and was doubtless so employed as long as the space was
uninhabited; but as the suburbs of Tycha and Temenitis gradually spread
themselves over a considerable part of the heights, the name of Epipolae came to
be applied in a more restricted sense to that portion only which was nearest to
the vertex of the triangle. It is generally assumed that there subsequently
arose a considerable town near this angle of the walls, and that this is the
fifth quarter of the city alluded to by Strabo and those who spoke of Syracuse
as a Pentapolis or aggregate of five cities. But there is no allusion to it as
such in the passage of Cicero already quoted, or in the description of the
capture of Syracuse by Marcellus; and it seems very doubtful whether there was
ever any considerable population at this remote point. No vestiges of any
ancient buildings remain within the walls; but the line of these may be
distinctly traced along the top of the cliffs which bound the table-land both
towards the N. and the S.; in many places two or three courses of the masonry
remain; but the most important ruins are those at the angle or vertex of the
triangle, where a spot named Mongibellisi is still crowned by the ruins of the
ancient castle or fort of EURYALUS (Εὐρύηλος, Thuc., but the Doric form was
Εὐρύαλος, which was adopted by the Romans). The ruins in question afford one of
the best examples extant of an ancient fortress or castle, designed at once to
serve as a species of citadel and to secure the approach to Epipolae from this
quarter. The annexed plan will give a good idea of its general
PLAN OF THE FORT EURYALUS.
form and arrangement. The main entrance to the city was by a double gate (A.),
flanked on both sides by walls and towers, with a smaller postern or sally-port
a little to the right of it. The fortress itself was an irregular quadrangle,
projecting about 200 yards beyond the approach to the gate, and fortified by
strong towers of solid masonry with a deep ditch cut in the rock in front of it,
to which a number of subterraneous passages gave access from within. These
passages communicating with the fort above by narrow openings and stairs, were
evidently designed to facilitate the sallies of the besieged without exposing
the fortress itself to peril. As the whole arrangement is an unique specimen of
ancient fortification a view is added of the external, or N. front of the fort,
with the subterranean openings.
There can be no doubt that the fortress at Mongibellisi is the one anciently
known as Euryalus. This clearly appears from the mention of that fort at the
time of the siege of Syracuse by Marcellus, as one capable of being held by a
separate garrison after the capture of the outer walls of Epipolae, and
threatening the army of Marcellus in the rear, if he proceeded to attack
Achradina. (Liv. 25.25, 26.) Euryalus is also mentioned by Thucydides at the
time of the Athenian expedition, when it was still unfortified, as the point
which afforded a ready ascent to the heights of Epipolae (Thuc. 6.99, 7.2); and
it must indeed have always been, in a military point of view, the key of the
whole position. Hence, the great care with which it was fortified after the
occupation of Epipolae by the Athenians had shown the paramount importance of
that position in case of a siege. The existing fortifications may, indeed, be in
part the work of Hieron II. (as [2.1067] supposed by Col. Leake); but it is
certain that a strong fort was erected there by Dionysius I.4, and the
importance of this was sufficiently shown in the reign of Agathocles, when the
attack of Hamilcar
VIEW OF THE FORT EURYALUS.
was repulsed by means of a strong garrison posted at Euryalus, who attacked his
army in flank, while advancing to the attack of Epipolae. (Diod. 20.29.)
Some writers on the topography of Syracuse have supposed the fortress of
Mongibellisi to be the ancient Hexapylum, and that Euryalus occupied the site of
Belvedere, a knoll or hill on the ridge which is continued from Mongibellisi
inland, and forms a communication with the table-land of the interior. But the
hill of Belvedere, which is a mile distant from Mongibellisi, though somewhat
more elevated than the latter point, is connected with it only by a narrow
ridge, and is altogether too far from the table-land of Epipolae to have been of
any importance in connection with it; while the heights of Mongibellisi, as
already observed, form the true key of that position. Moreover, all the passages
that relate to Hexapylum, when attentively considered, point to its position on
the N. front of the heights, looking towards Megara and Thapsus; and Colonel
Leake has satisfactorily shown that it was a fort constructed for the defence of
the main approach to Syracuse on this side; a road which then, as now, ascended
the heights at a point a short distance W. of the Scala Greca, where a
depression or break in the line of cliffs affords a natural approach. (Leake,
Notes on Syracuse, pp. 258, 342, &c.) The gate at Hexapylum thus led, in the
first instance, into the suburb or quarter of Tycha, a circumstance completely
in accordance with, if not necessarily required by, a passage in Livy (24.21),
where the two are mentioned in close connection.
It is more difficult to determine the exact position of LABDALUM, where the
Athenians erected a fort during the siege of Syracuse. The name is not
subsequently mentioned in history, so that we have no knowledge of its relation
to the fortifications as they existed in later times; and our only clue to its
position is the description of Thucydides, that it stood “on the summit of the
cliffs of Epipolae, looking towards Megara.” It was probably situated (as placed
by Göller and Mr. Grote) on the point of those heights which forms a slightly
projecting angle near the farmhouse now called Targia. Its purpose was,
doubtless, to secure the communications of the Athenians with their fleet which
lay at Thapsus, as well as with the landing-place at Leon.
It was not till the reign of the elder Dionysius (as we have already seen) that
the heights of Epipolae were included within the walls or fortifications of
Syracuse. Nor are we to suppose that even after that time they became peopled
like the rest of the city. The object of the walls then erected was merely to
secure the heights against military occupation by an enemy. For that purpose he
in B.C. 402 constructed a line of wall 30 stadia in length, fortified with
numerous towers, and extending along the whole N. front of the plateau, from the
NW. angle of Achradina to the hill of Euryalus. (Diod. 14.18.) The latter point
must at the same time have been occupied with a strong fort. The north side of
Epipolae was thus securely guarded; but it is singular that we hear of no
similar defence for the S. side. There is no doubt that this was ultimately
protected by a wall of the same character, as the remains of it may be traced
all around the edge of the plateau; but the period of its construction is
uncertain. The portion of the cliffs extending from Euryalus to Neapolis may
have been thought sufficiently strong by nature; but this was not the case with
the slope towards Neapolis, which was easily accessible. Yet this appears to
have continued the weakest side of the city, as in B.C. 396 Himilco was able to
plunder the temples in the suburb of Temenitis with apparently little
difficulty. At a later period, however, it is certain from existing remains,
that not only was there a line of fortifications carried along the upper
escarpment as far as Neapolis, but an outer line of walls was carried round that
suburb, which was now included for all purposes as part of the city. Strabo
reckons the whole circuit of the walls of Syracuse, including the fortifications
of Epipolae, at 180 stadia (Strab. vi. p.270); but this statement exceeds the
truth, the actual circuit being about 14 English miles, or 122 stadia. (Leake,
p. 279.)
Other locations
It only remains to notice briefly the different localities in the immediate
neighbourhood of Syracuse, which are noticed by ancient writers in connection
with that city. Of these the most important [2.1068] is the OLYMPIEUM, or Temple
of Jupiter Olympius, which stood, as already mentioned, on a height, facing the
southern front of Epipolae and Neapolis, from which it was about a mile and a
half distant (Liv. 24.33), the interval being occupied by the marshy plain on
the banks of the Anapus. The sanctuary seems to have early attained great
celebrity: even at the time of the Athenian expedition there had already grown
up around it a small town, which was known as POLICHNE (ἡ Πολίχνη, Diod.), or
the Little City. The military importance of the post, as commanding the bridge
over the Anapus and the road to Helorus, as well as overlooking the marshes, the
Great Harbour, and the lower part of the city, caused the Syracusans to fortify
and secure it with a garrison before the arrival of the Athenians. (Thuc. 6.75.)
For the same reason it was occupied by all subsequent invaders who threatened
Syracuse; by Himilco in B.C. 396, by Hamilcar in B.C. 309, and by Marcellus in
B.C. 214. The remains of the temple are still visible: in the days of Cluverius,
indeed, seven columns were still standing, with a considerable part of the
substructure (Cluver. Sicil. p. 179), but now only two remain, and those have
lost their capitals. They are of an ancient style, and belong probably to the
original temple, which appears to have been built by the Geomori as early as the
6th century B.C.
The adjoining promontory of Plemmyrium does not appear to have been ever
inhabited, though it presents a table-land of considerable height, nor was it
ever permanently fortified. It is evident also, from the account of the
operations of successive Carthaginian fleets, as well as that of the Athenians,
that the Syracusans had not attempted to occupy, or even to guard with forts,
the more distant parts of the Great Harbour, though the docks or arsenal, which
were situated in the inner bight or recess of the bay, between Ortygia and the
lower part of Achradina, were strongly fortified. The southern bight of the bay,
which forms an inner bay or gulf, now known as the bay of Sta Maddalena, is
evidently that noticed both during the Athenian siege and that by the
Carthaginians as the gulf of DASCON. (Δάσκων, Thuc. 6.66; Diod. 13.13, 14.72.)
The fort erected by the Athenians for the protection of their fleet apparently
stood on the adjacent height, which is connected with that of the Olympieum.
Almost immediately at the foot of the Olympieum was the ancient bridge across
the Anapus, some remains of which may still be seen, as well as of the ancient
road which led from it towards Helorus, memorable on account of the disastrous
retreat of the Athenians. They did not, however, on that occasion cross the
bridge, but after a fruitless attempt to penetrate into the interior by
following the valley of the Anapus, struck across into the Helorine Way, which
they rejoined some distance beyond the Olympieum. Not far from the bridge over
the Anapus stood the monument of Gelon and his wife Demarete, a sumptuous
structure, where the Syracusans were in the habit of paying heroic honours to
their great ruler. It was adorned with nine towers of a very massive
construction; but the monument itself was destroyed by Himilco, when he encamped
at the adjacent Olympieum, and the towers were afterwards demolished by
Agathocles. (Diod. 11.38, 14.63.)
About a mile and a half SW. of the Olympieum is the fountain of CYANE a copious
and clear stream rising in the midst of a marsh: the sanctuary of the nymph to
whom it was consecrated (τὸ τῆς Κυάνης ἱερόν, Diod.), must have stood on the
heights above, as we are told that Dionysius led his troops round to this spot
with a view to attack the Carthaginian camp at the Olympieum (Diod. 14.72); and
the marsh itself must always have been impassable for troops. Some ruins on the
slope of the hill to the W. of the source are probably those of the temple in
question. [CYANE] The fountain of Cyane is now called La Pisma: near it is
another smaller source called Pismotta, and a third, known as Il Cefalino, rises
between the Cyane and the Anapus. The number of these fountains of clear water,
proceeding no doubt from distant sources among the limestone hills, is
characteristic of the neighbourhood of Syracuse, and is noticed by Pliny, who
mentions the names of four other noted sources besides the Cyane and the more
celebrated Arethusa. These he calls Temenitis, Archidemia, Magaea, and Milichia,
but they cannot be now identified. (Plin. Nat. 3.8. s. 14.) None of these
springs ,however, was well adapted to supply the city itself with water, and
hence an aqueduct was in early times carried along the heights from the
interior. The existence of this is already noticed at the time of the Athenian
siege (Thuc. 6.100); and the channel, which is in great part subterraneous, is
still visible at the present day, and conveys a stream sufficient to turn a mill
situated on the steps of the great theatre.
A few localities remain to be noticed to the N. of Syracuse, which, though not
included in the city, are repeatedly alluded to in its history. LEON the spot
where the Athenians first landed at the commencement of the siege (Thuc. 6.97),
and where Marcellus established his winter quarters when he found himself unable
to carry the city by assault (Liv. 24.39), is probably the little cove or bay
about 2 miles N. of the Scala Greca: this is not more than a mile from the
nearest point of Epipolae, which would agree with the statement of Thucydides,
who calls it 6 or 7 stadia from thence; Livy, on the contrary, says it was 5
miles from Hexapylum, but this must certainly be a mistake. About 3 miles
further N. is the promontory of THAPSUS (ἡ Θάψος, now called Magnisi), a low but
rocky peninsula, united to the mainland by a sandy isthmus, so that it formed a
tolerably secure port on its S. side. On this account it was selected, in the
first instance, by the Athenians for their naval camp and the station of their
fleet, previous to their taking possession of the Great Harbour. (Thuc. 6.97.)
It had been one of the first points on the Sicilian coast occupied by Greek
colonists, but these speedily removed to Megara (Thuc. 6.4); and the site seems
to have subsequently always remained uninhabited, at least there was never a
town upon it. It was a low promontory, whence Virgil appropriately calls it
“Thapsus jacens.” (Verg. A. 3.689; Ovid, Ov. Fast. 4.477.) About a mile inland,
and directly opposite to the entrance of the isthmus, are the remains of an
ancient monument of large size, built of massive blocks of stone, and of a
quadrangular form. The portion now remaining is above 20 feet high, but it was
formerly surmounted by a column, whence the name by which it is still known of
L'Aguglia, or “the Needle.” This monument is popularly believed to have been
erected by Marcellus to commemorate the capture of Syracuse; but this is a mere
conjecture, for which there is no foundation. It is probably in reality a
sepulchral [2.1069] monument. (D'Orville, Sicula, p. 173; Swinburne, vol. ii. p.
318.)
The topography of Syracuse attracted attention from an early period after the
revival of letters; and the leading features are so clearly marked by nature
that they could not fail to be recognised. But the earlier descriptions by
Fazello, Bonanni, and Mirabella, are of little value. Cluverius, as usual,
investigated the subject with learning and diligence; and the ground has been
carefully examined by several modern travellers. An excellent survey of it was
also made by British engineers in 1808; and the researches and excavations
carried on by the duke of Serra di Falco, and by a commission appointed by the
Neapolitan government in 1839 have thrown considerable light upon the extant
remains of antiquity, as well as upon some points of the topography. These have
been discussed in a separate memoir by the architect employed, Saverio Cavallari,
and the whole subject has been fully investigated, with constant reference to
the ancient authors, in an elaborate and excellent memoir by Col. Leake. The
above article is based mainly upon the researches of the last author, and the
local details given in the great work of the duke of Serra di Falco, the fourth
volume of which is devoted wholly to the antiquities of Syracuse. (Fazell. de
Reb. Sic. 4.1; Bonanni, Le Antiche Siracuse, 2 vols. fol. Palermo, 1717;
Mirabella, Dichiarazione della Pianta dell' antiche Siracuse, reprinted with the
preceding work; Cluver. Sicil. 1.12; D'Orville, Sicula, pp. 175--202; Smyth's
Sicily, pp. 162--176; Swinburne, Travels in the Two Sicilies, vol. ii. pp.
318--346; Hoare, Classical Tour, vol. ii. pp. 140--176; Leake, Notes on
Syracuse, in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature, 2nd series,
vol. iii. pp. 239--345; Serra di Falco, Antichità della Sicilia, vol. iv;
Cavallari, Zur Topographie von Syrakus, 8vo. Göttingen, 1845.) [E.H.B]
1 The account here given of the Athenian operations assumes that “the circle”
repeatedly spoken of by Thucydides (6.98, 99, &c.), is the circuit of the lines
of circumvallation. This is the construction adopted by Göller, and all earlier
editors of Thucydides, as well as by Col. Leake; and appears to the writer of
this article by far the most natural and intelligible interpretation. Mr. Grote,
on the contrary, as well as Dr. Arnold in his later edition adopts the
suggestion of M. Firmin Didot that “the circle” (ὁ κύκλος) was a particular
intrenchment or fortified camp of a circular form. It is difficult to understand
the military object of such a work, as well as to reconcile it with the
subsequent details of the siege operations.
2 These still abound in the wild pear-trees (ἀχράδες), from which the name, as
suggested by Leake, was probably derived.
3 The argument against this, urged by Cavallari, and derived from the existence
of numerous tombs, especially the great necropolis of the catacombs, in this
part of the city, which, as he contends, must have been without the walls, would
prove too much, as it is certain that these tombs were ultimately included in
the city; and if the ordinary custom of the Greeks was deviated from at all, it
may have been so at an earlier period. In fact we know that in other cases also,
as at Agrigentum and Tarentum, the custom was violated, and persons habitually
buried within the walls.
4 This must have been the fort on Epipolae taken by Dion, which was then
evidently held by a separate garrison. (Plut. Dion. 29.)
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Geography (1854) William Smith, LLD, Ed.
Ancient Buildings in Syracuse
The Temple of Apollo, adapted to a church in Byzantine times and to a mosque under Arab rule.
The Fountain of Arethusa, in the Ortygia island. According to a legend, the nymph Arethusa, hunted by Alpheus, took shelter here.
The Theatre, whose cavea is one of the largest ever built by the ancient Greeks: it has 67 rows, divided into nine sections with eight aisles. Only traces of the scene and the orchestra remain.
The edifice (still used today) was modified by the Romans, who adapted it to their different style of spectacles, including also circus games. Near the theatre are the latomìe, stone quarries, also used as prisons in ancient times. The most famous latomìa is the Orecchio di Dionisio ("Ear of Dionysius").
The Roman amphitheatre, of Roman Imperial age. It was partly carved out from the rock. In the centre of the area is a rectangular space which was used for the scenic machinery.
The so-called Tomb of Archimede, in the Grotticelli Nechropolis. Decorated with two Doric columns, it was a Roman tomb.
The Temple of Olympian Zeus, about 3 km outside the city, built around 6th century BC. - Wikipedia