his son, the younger Dionys ius—an easy, good-natured, unpractical man—a reaction set in amongst the restless citizens of Syracuse. His uncle, Dion, was for a time the trusted political adviser of his nephew Dionysius II. Dion's idea seems to have been to make Dionysius something like a constitutional sovereign, and with this view he brought him into contact with Plato. But Dionysius had Philistus and others about him, who were opposed to any kind of liberal reform, and the result was the banishment of Dion from Syracuse as a dan gerous innovator. Ten years afterwards, in 357, the exile entered Achradina a victor. A siege and blockade followed, till Dion made himself finally master of the mainland city. Ortygia, pro visions failing, was also soon surrendered. Dion's rule lasted only three years, for he perished in 354 by the hand of an assassin.
Of what took place in Syracuse during the next ten years we know but little. The younger Dionysius came back and from his island fortress again oppressed the citizens. Sicily, too, was again menaced by Carthage. Syracuse, in its extremity, asked help from the mother-city, Corinth; and Timoleon (q.v.) de livered Syracuse from the younger Dionysius and from Hicetas, who held the rest of Syracuse, and won a decisive triumph over Carthage and the safe possession of Sicily west of the river Haly cus, the largest portion of the island. From 343 to 337 he was supreme at Syracuse, with the hearty good will of the citizens. Syracuse, with an influx of a multitude of new colonists from Greece and from towns of Sicily and Italy, once more became a prosperous city. Timoleon, having accomplished his work, ac cepted the position of a private citizen. After his death (337) a splendid monument, with porticoes and gymnasia surrounding it, known as the Timoleonteum, was raised to his honour.
In the interval of 20 years between the death of Timoleon and the rise of Agathocles (q.v.) to power another revolution at Syra cuse transferred the government to an oligarchy of 600 leading citizens. It was shortly after this revolution, in 317, that Agathocles, with a body of mercenaries from Campania and a host of exiles from the Greek cities, backed up by the Cartha ginian Hamilcar, became tyrant of the city, and the senate and the heads of the oligarchical party were massacred wholesale, while a unanimous vote of the people gave him absolute control over the fortunes of Syracuse. His wars in Sicily and Africa left him time to do something for the relief of the poorer citizens at the expense of the rich, as well as to erect new fortifications and public buildings; and under his strong government Syracuse seems to have been at least quiet and orderly. After his death in 289 comes another period of revolution and despotism; and but for the brief intervention of Pyrrhus in 278 Syracuse, and indeed all Sicily, would have fallen a prey to the Carthaginians.
A better time began under Hieron II., who had fought under Pyrrhus and who rose from the rank of general of the Syracusan army to be tyrant—king, as he came to be soon styled—about 27o. During his reign of more than so years (see HIERON) Syracuse enjoyed tranquillity, and seems to have grown greatly in wealth and population. Hieron's rule was kindly and enlight ened, combining good order with a fair share of liberty and self government. His financial legislation was careful and consider
ate; his laws as to the customs and the corn tithes were accepted and maintained under the Roman government, and one of the many bad acts of Verres was to set them aside. It was a time, too, for great public works—works for defence at the entrance of the Lesser Harbour between the island and Achradina, and temples and gymnasia. Hieron through his long reign was the stanch friend and ally of Rome in her struggles with Carthage.
the grandson of Hieron, thought fit to ally himself with Carthage, but he soon fell in a conspiracy. There was a fierce popular outbreak and more bloodshed ; the conspirators were put to death and Hieron's family was murdered; whilst the Carthaginian faction, under the pretence of delivering the city from its tyrants, got the upper hand and drew the citizens into open defiance of Rome. M. Claudius Marcellus was then in command of the Roman army in Sicily, and he threatened the Syracusans with attack unless they would get rid of Epicydes and Hippocrates, the heads of the anti-Roman faction. Marcellus struck his first blow at Leontini, which was quickly stormed ; and its sack roused the feeling of the Syracusans against any negotiations with the Roman general, and, putting themselves under Epicydes and Hippocrates, they closed their gates on him. Marcellus, after an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate, began the siege in regular form (214 B.c.) by both land and sea, establishing a camp on Polichne, where stood the old temple of Olympian Zeus; but he made his chief assault on the northern side and on the defences of Tyche. The city was de fended by a numerous soldiery and by the ingenious contrivances of Archimedes, whose engines dealt havoc among the Roman ships and frustrated the attack on the fortifications on the north ern slopes of Epipolae. Marcellus had recourse to a blockade, and at last, in 212, information was given him that the Syra cusans were celebrating a great festival to Artemis. Making use of this opportunity, he forced the Hexapylon entrance by night and established himself in Tyche and on the heights of Epipolae. The strong fortress of Euryelus held out for a time, but, being now isolated, it soon had to surrender. The "outer" and the "inner" city of Thucydides still held out, whilst a Carthaginian fleet was moored off Achradina and Carthaginian troops were en camped on the spot. But a pestilence broke out in the autumn of 212, which swept them clean away and thinned the Roman ranks. The ships sailed away to Carthage; on their way back to Syracuse with supplies they could not get beyond Cape Pachynus owing to adverse winds, and they were confronted by a Roman fleet. All hope for the city being now at an end, the Syracusans threw themselves on the mercy of Marcellus ; but Achradina and the island still held out for a brief space under the Syracusan mercenaries, till one of their officers, a Spaniard, betrayed the latter position to the enemy, and at the same time Achradina was carried and taken. Marcellus gave the city up to plunder, and the art treasures in which it was so rich—many of the choicest of them, no doubt—were conveyed to Rome. Archimedes per ished in the confusion of the sack while he pursued his studies.