The history of Greek Sicily ( Ancient Greek : Σικελία ) began with the foundation of the first Greek colonies around the mid 8th century BC. The Greeks of Sicily were known as Siceliotes .
106-611: Over the following centuries many conflicts between the city-states occurred until around 276 BC Pyrrhus of Epirus managed to conquer the whole island except Carthaginian Lilybaeum . After the First Punic War in 241 BC the island was conquered by the Romans. The first Greek colonies were founded in eastern Sicily in the 8th century BC when the Chalcidian Greeks founded Zancle , Naxos , Leontinoi and Katane ; in
212-458: A bid to subdue the Romans. The elephants had been loaned to him by Ptolemy II Philadelphus , who had also promised 9,000 soldiers and a further 50 elephants to defend Epirus while Pyrrhus and his army were away. Due to his superior cavalry, his elephants and his deadly phalanx infantry , he defeated the Romans, led by Consul Publius Valerius Laevinus , in the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC, in
318-458: A city wall, temples and agora. Two years later Syracuse attacked and defeated Akragas, raiding the territory but also triggering a new Carthaginian invasion. At this point Pyrrhus of Epirus (fresh from his eponymous 'Pyrrhic victory' against the Romans at Taranto ) replied to Sicilian Greek cities' appeal for assistance, landing at Taormina in 278 BC, welcomed by the tyrant Tyndarion . His large army and 200 ships succeeded in neutralising both
424-670: A decade of struggles which drew in Leontini and the other cities and ended with Syracusan control of Sicily weakened. Syracuse was also convulsed by a series of murders, whilst Callipus became tyrant of Catania and Hicetas of Leontini. According to Plutarch , Plato was also caught up in this period. In 346 BC Dionysius the Younger returned to Syracuse, though sources on the period are fragmentary. Meanwhile Troina may have taken Leptines 's power in Apollonia and Eugione , Mamercus
530-603: A fleet of 250 ships and 25,000 men to assist them, but this Sicilian expedition ended in disaster. Later assistance in 414 BC and 413 BC under Demosthenes was still unable to defeat the coalition which had gathered at Syracuse in the meantime. At the end of 413 BC the Athenians were routed, with 7,000 of their men captured and sent to the stone quarries, where most of them died. The rest were sold into slavery and Demosthenes and Nicias were tried. Syracuse celebrated victory, but this could not guarantee internal peace. Its government
636-529: A humiliating defeat after which he was captured, tortured to death and beheaded, with his head sent to Agathocles in Africa. However, Agathocles did not have enough troops to launch an attack on Carthage and so allied himself with Alexander the Great 's old officer Ofella, governor of Cyrenaica, who had 10,000 elephants and cavalry at his disposal. Agathocles then murdered Ofella for unknown reasons and took command of
742-580: A large indemnity and return to Carthage. Messina was repopulated and Dionysius fought with Carthage again, with varying degrees of success, until his death in 367 BC. Around 387 BC Dionysius began to establish colonies on the Adriatic coast to obtain wheat from the Po valley without it having to cross Etruscan territory. He also agreed to populate the new colonies with his pro-democratic political opponents and let them set up democratic governments there. This marked
848-799: A military dictatorship of Sicily and installing military garrisons in Sicilian cities. These actions were deeply unpopular and soon Sicilian opinion became inflamed against him. Pyrrhus had so alienated the Sicilian Greeks that they were willing to make common cause with the Carthaginians. The Carthaginians took heart from this and sent another army against him. This army was promptly defeated. In spite of this victory, Sicily continued to grow increasingly hostile to Pyrrhus, who began to consider abandoning Sicily. At this point, Samnite and Tarentine envoys reached Pyrrhus and informed him that of all
954-464: A monarch having a touch that could heal all wounds may have originated with Pyrrhus. As Pliny the Elder states, Pyrrhus' great toe on his right foot cured diseases of the spleen by merely touching the patient. His toe could also not be burned so when his body was cremated, his toe was put in a coffer, and kept at an unknown temple. Pyrrhus lends his name to the term " Pyrrhic victory ", which stems from
1060-757: A peace treaty was signed under the patronage of the Syracusan Hermocrates , who wished to focus on the Athenian troops who had landed on the island and who left as a result of treaty. In 422 BC, a civil war in Leontini provided a fresh pretext for intervention in Syracuse. The city was razed to the ground and the victorious oligarchs moved to Syracuse. The conflict also drew in western Sicily; in 416 BC Selinunte (with Syracusan support) declared war on Segesta (who had turned to Athens after Carthage refused to help). In 415 BC Athens sent Alcibiades with
1166-528: A period of prosperity and population growth in Sicily, but also saw conflict both within the colonies and between them and the local populations. Some individuals profited from this and took power through despotic and brutal means and expansionist policies. In 570 BC Phalaris became tyrant of Akragas , followed by Cleander in Gela in 505 BC, succeeded by his brother Hippocrates . To secure his power, he conquered
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#17327880461331272-401: A powerful fleet by deforesting large areas of Etna. He declared open war on Carthage in 398 BC. Erice surrendered and after a year's siege Motia was destroyed and its inhabitants slaughtered. In 396 BC the Carthaginians returned to Sicily in force, taking almost the whole island, destroying Messina and menacing Syracuse itself before a plague forced them to make peace with Dionysius, pay him
1378-485: A propaganda campaign in which he appealed to the patriotism of the Macedonians serving Pyrrhus. He reminded them that Pyrrhus was in fact a foreign king while he himself was a true Macedonian. The campaign was successful. With his Macedonian troops turning against him Pyrrhus had no other choice but to withdraw to Epirus. Lysimachus invaded and plundered Epirus the following year. Pyrrhus did not oppose Lysimachus for he
1484-619: A regional power to one of the most powerful states in the Mediterranean. Over the next century the failure of the various Kingdoms and city states of the Hellenistic world to put on a united front against Rome resulted in their absorption into the Roman Empire or, in the case of some, the reduction to the status of a Roman client state. By 197 BC, Macedonia and many southern Greek city-states became Roman client states; in 188 BC,
1590-531: A statement he is alleged to have made following the Battle of Asculum. In response to congratulations for winning a costly victory over the Romans, he is reported to have said: "If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined". The term Pyrrhic Victory has therefore come to signify a victory that was won at such cost that it loses all worth. Pyrrhus and his campaign in Italy provided
1696-524: A third time, this time to a daughter of Ptolemy I . During his long reign Sicily prospered, as is confirmed by the archaeological record. He was murdered by a family rival in 289 BC, aged 72, but his death quickly led to anarchy and power struggles. One of those power struggles was between the Syracusans and a group of Italic mercenaries known as the Mamertines . To convince the mercenaries to leave
1802-778: A treaty with the Republic in 263 BC and remained faithful to it until his death, sparing his subjects the consequences of the First Punic War . In fact for some years Roman troops had severely damaged the cities in western Sicily. The city of Messina is home to a small Greek-speaking minority, which arrived from the Peloponnese between 1533 and 1534 when fleeing the expansion of the Ottoman Empire . They were officially recognised in 2012. Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus ( / ˈ p ɪr ə s / PIRR -əss ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Πύρρος Pýrrhos ; 319/318–272 BC)
1908-605: A vast Siculan league in revolt. Setting off from his birthplace of Mineo and destroying Inessa-Etna and Morgantina , he founded colonies of his own at strategic points to control the territory, including Palikè near the former sanctuary of the Palici . Around 450 BC he was heavily defeated by the Syracusans and forced into exile in Corinth , though he soon landed a small group of Peloponnesian Greeks back on Sicily and founded Kale Akte , where he remained until his death in 440 BC. In
2014-408: A vast army and a huge fleet. Faced with this threat, the other Diadochi Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus allied against him. The three kings sent embassies to Pyrrhus trying to win him over to their side or at least get him to remain neutral. If the allies won and Pyrrhus remained neutral he would gain nothing. If on the other hand Demetrius would be victorious he could overwhelm Pyrrhus at any time in
2120-533: A veteran of Alexander. Unfortunately for Demetrius, his troops were so fed up with him that they deserted to Pyrrhus and he had to flee. Lysimachus was soon joined by Pyrrhus and they decided to share rulership over Macedonia. Demetrius gathered a new army in Greece and besieged Athens, which had rebelled against the puppet government he had installed. The Athenians called on Pyrrhus for assistance and he marched against Demetrius once more. This caused Demetrius to raise
2226-463: A victory over Lysimachus near Amphipolis . When the Macedonian army heard that their homeland was being overrun by Pyrrhus, they turned on Demetrius. They were fed up with his autocratic rule and grandiose plans and refused to advance any further. Demetrius then led his army against Pyrrhus, probably hoping that his Macedonians would be more willing to fight a foreign invader rather than Lysimachus,
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#17327880461332332-604: Is later recounted by Plutarch in his Life of Pyrrhus. Antigonus had him cremated with all honours and sent his surviving son Helenus back to Epirus. That same year, upon hearing the news of Pyrrhus's death, the Tarentinians surrendered to Rome. In his Life of Pyrrhus , Plutarch records that Hannibal ranked him as the greatest commander the world had ever seen, though in the Life of Titus Quinctius Flamininus , Plutarch writes that Hannibal placed him second after Alexander
2438-695: The Aetolian League , hoping to neutralize them before he invaded Epirus. The Aetolians refused battle and retreated into the hills. After ransacking the Aetolians' countryside, Demetrius left a strong force under his best general Pantauchus in Aetolia and marched on Epirus. Meanwhile, Pyrrhus had raised his army and was marching to the rescue of his Aetolian allies. The two armies, on different roads, passed one another and Demetrius started plundering Epirus while Pyrrhus met Pantauchus in battle. Pyrrhus had
2544-658: The Seleucid Empire was forced to cede most of Asia Minor to Rome's ally Pergamon (Pergamum). In 133 BC Attalus III , the last King of Pergamon (excluding the pretender Eumenes III ), bequeathed the Kingdom and its considerable territories in Asia Minor to Rome in his will. At the destruction of Corinth in 146 BC Rome defeated the city-state of Corinth and its allies in the Achaean League . The league
2650-804: The Sicani , the Siculi and the Elimi . There were also small Phoenician trading posts in the west of the island. The growing Greek colonies eventually came into conflict with the Phoenicians, which led to a series of wars between them. As Greece was absorbed by Rome in a series of conquests and alliances, the Romans carried on the Greco-Punic wars as the Roman-Punic wars. As the Greeks sought to colonize
2756-535: The Wars of the Successors . Pyrrhus probably fought with Demetrius on the right wing, a place of honour, and made a brilliant display of valour among the combatants. Despite these brave efforts, Antigonus lost both the battle and his life. Demetrius, victorious on his wing, managed to escape with 9,000 men, and Pyrrhus continued to serve his brother-in-law as he started rebuilding Antigonus' empire. In 298 BC, Pyrrhus
2862-468: The Carthaginian and Mamertine threats, but he was unable to take the Carthaginian stronghold at Lilybaeum and soon had to return to Italy. In 269 BC Hiero took power in Syracuse, made a treaty with the Carthaginians and launched a new attack on the Mamertines . However, Carthage was wary of letting Syracuse's power from growing too great and thus forbade Hiero from taking Messina. Hiero's next step
2968-642: The Carthaginians at the Battle of the Strait of Messina , with 98 warships sunk or disabled out of 110. While Pyrrhus had been campaigning against the Carthaginians, the Romans had rebuilt their army by calling up thousands of fresh recruits . Near today's Benevento , one of the two Roman Consuls for that year (275 BC), Manius Curius Dentatus , had camped with his men. The other Highness was at that time in Lucania , so Pyrrhus sent against him part of his army, to prevent him from reinforcing Curius, whom Pyrrhus himself
3074-501: The Carthaginians at the river Crimiso (possibly the river Caldo, a tributary of the S.Bartolomeo near Segesta) and seized immense amounts of booty. Later that year, old and possibly blind, he retired. According to Diodorus and Plutarch he had restored democracy to Syracuse, even if real power remained in the hands of the Council of Six Hundred. Syracuse and Sicily thus began a new period of prosperity and redevelopment, with Akragas, Gela,
3180-448: The Great . This latter account is also given by Appian . While he was a mercurial and often restless leader, and not always a wise king, he was considered one of the greatest military commanders of his time. Pyrrhus was known for his benevolence. As a general, Pyrrhus's greatest political weaknesses were his failures to maintain focus and to maintain a strong treasury at home (many of his soldiers were costly mercenaries). The concept of
3286-806: The Greek cities in Magna Graecia . The Tarentines asked Pyrrhus to lead their war against the Romans. Pyrrhus was encouraged to aid the Tarentines by the Oracle of Delphi . He recognized the possibility of carving out an empire for himself in Italy . He made an alliance with Ptolemy Keraunos , King of Macedon and his most powerful neighbor, and arrived in Italy in 280 BC. Pyrrhus entered Italy with an army consisting of 20,000 infantry , 3,000 cavalry , 2,000 archers , 500 slingers , and 20 war elephants in
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3392-471: The Greek cities in Italy, only Tarentum had not been conquered by Rome. Pyrrhus made his decision and departed from Sicily. As his ship left the island, he turned and, foreshadowing the Punic Wars , said to his companions: "What a wrestling ground we are leaving, my friends, for the Carthaginians and the Romans." While his army was being transported by ship to mainland Italy, Pyrrhus' navy was destroyed by
3498-487: The Greek world with an opportunity to check the advance of Rome further into the Mediterranean. The failure to fully exploit this opportunity while Rome was still only an Italian regional power had immense consequences. The conquest of Magna Graecia by the Romans brought them into direct competition with Carthage, ultimately leading to the First Punic War. Rome's victory in this conflict arguably transformed it from
3604-729: The Greek-speaking presence on Sicily. The numbers of Siculi and Sicani were rising and so he fought a series of battles aimed at combating this perceived threat, turning Syracuse into a powerful city with an army and navy, repopulating it by moving people from Gela and adding some of the conquered Megareans . In only ten years Gelon became the richest and most powerful man in the Greek world and through an alliance with Theron of Acragas took control of most of Greek-speaking Sicily other than Selinunte and Messina (then controlled by Anaxilas of Reggio). Terillus of Himera and Anaxilas sought help from Carthage, but Gelon and Teron gathered all
3710-480: The Libyan Sea a boundary between themselves and the Greeks. The Greek cities of Sicily opposed making peace with Carthage because the Carthaginians still controlled the powerful fortress of Lilybaeum , on the western end of the island. Pyrrhus eventually gave in to their proposals and broke off the peace negotiations. Pyrrhus' army then began besieging Lilybaeum . For two months he launched unsuccessful assaults on
3816-555: The Ptolemies, by marrying Arsinoe II , the sister of Ptolemy II Philadelphus . He also made a large donation to the Aetolians , Pyrrhus's main allies in Greece. Pyrrhus felt threatened enough to make an alliance with Antigonus Gonatas. In 284 BC, Lysimachus invaded Pyrrhus's half of Macedonia with a huge army. Unable to stand against Lysimachus's superior army Pyrrhus retreated and linked up with Antigonus Gonatas. Lysimachus started
3922-529: The Roman province of Lucania . There are conflicting sources about casualties. Hieronymus of Cardia reports the Romans lost about 7,000 while Pyrrhus lost 3,000 soldiers, including many of his best; Dionysius gives a bloodier view of 15,000 Roman dead and 13,000 Epirot. Several tribes, including the Lucanians , Bruttii , Messapians , and the Greek cities of Croton and Locri , joined Pyrrhus. He then offered
4028-516: The Romans a peace treaty which was eventually rejected. Pyrrhus tried to wrest Campania from the Romans, but was thwarted in this by the reinforced army of Laevinus. He then boldly marched on Rome itself, but found its defences too formidable. Meanwhile, the Romans had made peace with the Etruscans and had recalled Tiberius Coruncanius , the other consul, who was marching his army southwards from Etruria towards Rome. Pyrrhus now faced three armies;
4134-465: The Siceliot forces on Sicily for a decisive engagement at Himera in 480 BC, where they defeated and killed Hamilcar , burned his ships and sold the captured Carthaginian troops into slavery. The resulting peace treaty also imposed a heavy indemnity on the enemy and (according to Herodotus ) forced them to renounce human sacrifice, especially of first-born sons at Tofet . On Gelon's death in 476 BC he
4240-457: The Siculi against Greek settlements. In the end, ethnic Greek settlement was substantive on Sicily, while Carthaginian settlement was fleeting. Homeric Thrinacia (Θρινακίη from θρῖναξ " trident "), the island of Helios ' cattle, was later identified with Sicily, and re-interpreted as Trinakria (Τρινακρία, from τρεῖς and ἄκραι, as "[island] with three headlands"). Thucydides writes that
4346-571: The Syracusan army under Diocles. After heavy losses the Syracusans retreated. The Imeresi also fled, but half of them were killed. Hannibal quickly returned to Carthage and demobbed his army. Hermocrates had in the meantime been dismissed from the Aegean fleet and returned with five ships and a small army of refugees and mercenaries, with which he settled in what remained of Selinunte and attacked Carthage's vassal cities. Syracuse fell into chaos, Diocles
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4452-412: The art of war. These have since been lost, although, according to Plutarch, Hannibal was influenced by them, and they received praise from Cicero . Pyrrhus was married five times: his first wife Antigone bore him a daughter called Olympias and a son named Ptolemy in honour of her stepfather . She died in 295 BC, possibly in childbirth, since that was the same year her son was born. His second wife
4558-610: The back of Pyrrhus' Epirot army, guaranteeing the security of Rome itself. In the end, the Romans lost 6,000 men and Pyrrhus 3,500 including many officers. Pyrrhus later famously commented on his victory at Asculum, stating, "If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined". It is from reports of this semi-legendary event that the term Pyrrhic victory originates. In 278 BC, Pyrrhus received two offers simultaneously. The Greek cities in Sicily asked him to come and drive out Carthage , which along with Rome
4664-413: The bulk of the army of Epirus with him, probably 20,000–25,000 men, while Pantauchus commanded but a detachment of Demetrius' army consisting of around 11,000 men. The fighting was heavy, and according to the sources Pantauchus and Pyrrhus sought out one another. Pantauchus challenged Pyrrhus to individual combat, and Pyrrhus accepted. After hurling spears at each other they fought it out with swords. Pyrrhus
4770-408: The cancellation of debts and the division and distribution of land, promises which it seems from the limited sources that he kept. According to Polybius , the cruel actions attributed to him were limited to his early days and were solely directed at the oligarchic class and never towards the general population. Sicily began to prosper again, though Agathocles' first decade was marked by conflicts with
4876-519: The capital of his kingdom to Ambracia . In 292 BC, he went to war against his former ally and brother-in-law Demetrius by invading Thessaly while Demetrius was besieging Thebes . Demetrius responded immediately; he left the siege to his son Antigonus Gonatas and marched back north at the head of a large army. Pyrrhus, outnumbered, withdrew to Epirus. While he was back in Epirus, Pyrrhus suffered another setback. His second wife, Lanassa , daughter of
4982-525: The chariot race. He won the chariot race at Delphi in 470 BC (a victory celebrated in Pindar's first Pythian ode) and at Olympia in 468 BC (this, his greatest victory, was commemorated in Bacchylides' third victory ode). Other odes dedicated to him include Pindar's first Olympian Ode, his second and third Pythian odes, and Bacchylides' fourth and fifth victory odes. He died at Catania/Aetna in 467 BC and
5088-451: The cities in mainland Greece and Sicily thus ended and the Hellenistic monarchies were born. Agathocles seized power in Sicily with the aid of veterans from Morgantina and other cities in the interior during two days of popular revolts. According to Diodorus Siculus , 4,000 high-ranking people were killed and 6,000 more exiled. In the end Agathocles was elected sole commander with full powers. Like all demagogues of this period he promised
5194-400: The city, the Syracusans offered them the port of Messina, which the mercenaries seized, massacring the men and enslaving the women and children. The mercenaries then began raids on the area and also attacked Gela and Camarina. In 282 BC, Phintias tyrant of Akragas took advantage of this and finally destroyed Gela and deported its population to Licata , which he rebuilt in pure Greek style with
5300-457: The city, until finally he realized he could not mount an effective siege without blockading it from the sea as well. Pyrrhus then requested manpower and money from the Sicilians in order to construct a powerful fleet. When the Sicilians became unhappy about these contributions he had to resort to compulsory contributions and force to keep them in line. These measures culminated in him proclaiming
5406-504: The cunning of Pyrrhus and the strong resistance of the Epirotes, failed. However a second wave frightened the elephants – possibly with flaming arrows – causing them to rush against the Epirotes. The latter left the battlefield in disorder, and Pyrrhus had no choice but to withdraw from the battle. After this inconclusive battle, Pyrrhus decided to end his campaign in Italy and return to Epirus which resulted in
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#17327880461335512-511: The extra forces himself, taking Utica , Hippon Akra and a major naval force with its shipyards and bases. He was still unable to take Carthage itself, however, and news of revolts on Sicily in 307 BC forced him to return there for a time. He then returned to Africa, but his depleted resources and his troops' low morale led him to sue for peace in 306 BC. The settlement left Carthage with Eraclea Minoa, Termini, Solunto, Selinunte and Segesta, but forced it to give up its expansionist aims on Sicily. It
5618-512: The first Greek colonies were founded by aristoi (exclusive aristocracies) after the internal struggles following the return from the Trojan War . However, the first sites chosen indicated a commercial strategy; Messina, Naxos, Reggio , Catania and Syracuse were all ports on one of the most important trade routes of the era and became points from which to control them. The earliest Greek colonies in Sicily are all on its east coast, showing
5724-493: The first period of tyranny among the Greek colonies on Sicily, though Aristotle argues that their fall was mainly caused by internal struggles between powerful families. Trasideus was the first to fall, in his case to a coalition of Syracusan insurgents, Siculan troops and soldiers from Akragas, Gela, Selinunte and Himera. Only Deinomenes remained in power in Aitna until a Siculan-Syracusan coalition forced its population to flee to
5830-516: The following years Syracuse reconquered almost all the lands he had removed from the Greek sphere of influence. The Peloponnesian War had broken out in mainland Greece in 431 BC, heavily involving the colonies on Sicily. In 427 BC groups of Siculi became involved again, this time in the war between Leontini and Syracuse. This also drew in Catania, Naxos and Camarina on Leontini's side and Himera and Gela on Syracuse's side. After three years, in 424 BC
5936-567: The foundation of Adrìa (now Adria ), Ankón (now Ancona ), Issa (now Vis ), Dimos (now Hvar ), Pharos (now Stari Grad ) and Tragyrion (now Traù ). Dionysius was succeeded by his son Dionysius the Younger , but he was less able than his father and aroused hostility from a faction led by Dion of Syracuse , the brother of his father's Syracusan wife. Dion was exiled in 367 BC but ten years later took 1,000 mercenaries to Minoa to request its assistance. He then marched on Syracuse, which quickly opened its gates and welcomed him, leading to
6042-581: The future. Pyrrhus's personal enmity against Demetrius might have played an additional role in his decision to join the allies. In 288 BC, the allied kings began their campaigns against Demetrius. Ptolemy sailed against Demetrius's Greek allies with a large fleet. Lysimachus invaded upper Macedonia from Thrace. Pyrrhus waited until Demetrius had marched against Lysimachus and then invaded southern Macedonia. Demetrius must have thought that Pyrrhus would not renege on his treaty, because western and southern Macedonia fell without opposition. Meanwhile, Demetrius had won
6148-446: The garrison of Rome, Laevinus from the south and Curuncanius from the north. Not wanting to be caught between three armies Pyrrhus withdrew to Tarentum, where he wintered his troops. When Pyrrhus invaded Apulia (279 BC), the two armies met in the Battle of Asculum , where Pyrrhus won a costly victory. The consul Publius Decius Mus was the Roman commander, and while his able force was ultimately defeated, they almost managed to break
6254-493: The greatest general of his time, if he lived long enough. Antigonus had grown too powerful and the other successors, Seleucus , Lysimachus , Ptolemy and Cassander , had united against him. Lysimachus and Seleucus, reinforced by two of Cassander's armies, had concentrated their forces in Asia Minor and marched on Antigonus. Both armies met at Ipsus in Phrygia . The Battle of Ipsus was the largest and most important battle of
6360-432: The head of an army, but not willing to fight a civil war, he agreed to rule Epirus together with Neoptolemus. Soon both kings started to plot against one another. Pyrrhus was informed of a plot against his life and decided to strike first. He invited Neoptolemus to a dinner and had him murdered. The act does not appear to have been unpopular as Epirus' nobility seem to have been devoted to him. In 295 BC, Pyrrhus transferred
6466-447: The hinterlands, Kamarina, Megara Hyblea, Segesta and Morgantina all flourishing again. Timoleon's retirement from politics soon led to another period of instability, mainly marked by internal class conflict between the oligarchs and the people of Syracuse. Wars broke out between the cities, paving the way for the long reign of Agathocles from 317 BC. He played a major part in these wars. The long period of autonomy and self-government for
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#17327880461336572-459: The importance of the trade route through the Straits of Messina . The metropoleis from which the Greek colonists came were usually also the source of the new cities' ( poleis ) names. Once consolidated, the colonies also produced sub-colonies for military or commercial purposes; Akrai and Casmene , for example, probably originated as military outposts of Syracuse. The 6th century BC proved
6678-508: The island, and the Phoenicians merely desired sporadic outposts for their trading network with little intent on direct control, conflict between the Greeks and the Siculi took on the nature of a colonizer/colonized relationship, while the Phoenicians frequently played the role of a third party in playing entities off against each other in however a way best fit their commercial interests. The Phoenicians would consequently align with weaker Greek actors against more dominant Greek actors, or align with
6784-462: The island, leaving the Punic, Sicanian and Elymian cities in the latter. It also imposed a tribute to Carthage on Selinunte, Akragas, Himera, Gela and Camarina and forbade them to build city walls, but Leontini, Messina and the Siculi were freed and Dionysius was left in control of Syracuse. Thus ended the brief period of democracy. The period from 405 BC right up to the conquest by Rome would be marked by
6890-446: The loss of essentially all the gains he had made in Italy. Only the city of Tarentum remained under the dominion of the Epirotes. His western campaign had taken a heavy toll on his army as well as his treasury. Despite (or perhaps because of) this, Pyrrhus went to war yet again. The realm of his rival king Antigonus Gonatas of Macedon was the most obvious target. Pyrrhus raised an army from his Epirote garrisons, Gallic mercenaries and
6996-529: The oligarchies of Akragas, Gela and Messina, backed by Carthage which in 311 BC invaded Sicily again. Besieged in Syracuse, in mid-August 310 BC Agathocles entrusted the city's defence to his brother Antandros and escaped with 14,000 men and 60 ships to invade North Africa. He burned his ships after arriving and based himself in Tunis , directly threatening Carthage itself. Forced to send some of his force back from Sicily to defend his homeland, Hamilcar Barca suffered
7102-598: The phrase " Pyrrhic victory " was coined. Pyrrhus became king of Epirus in 306 BC at the age of 13, but was dethroned by Cassander four years later. He saw action during the Wars of the Diadochi and regained his throne in 297 BC with the support of Ptolemy I Soter . During what came to be known as the Pyrrhic War , Pyrrhus fought Rome at the behest of Tarentum , scoring costly victories at Heraclea and Asculum . He proceeded to take over Sicily from Carthage but
7208-472: The rearguard. Pyrrhus had little time to mourn, as he was immediately offered an opportunity to intervene in a civic dispute in Argos . Since Antigonus Gonatas was approaching too, he hastened to enter the city with his army by stealth, only to find the place crowded with hostile troops. During the confused Battle of Argos in the narrow city streets, Pyrrhus was trapped. While he was fighting an Argive soldier,
7314-524: The rest of eastern Sicily, subduing Zancle (Messina), Naxos and Leontini , setting up tyrants there loyal to him but ultimately proving unable to conquer Syracuse. Hippocrates then concentrated his troops to march on Ibla (whose site is unknown), but died there and was succeeded by Gelon in 491 BC or 490 BC. After six years, Gelon conquered Syracuse without resistance (485 BC or 484 BC) and made it his capital, becoming its tyrant and leaving his brother Hiero to command Gela. Gelon's rise to power reinforced
7420-628: The rulers of Syracuse. Dionysius I of Syracuse took power by stages and reigned over the whole of Sicily as far as Solunto , extending his influence as far as the bay of Taranto and into Etruscan territory. He attacked and destroyed the port of Pyrgi (now Santa Severa ) and sacked Cerveteri in a 384 BC campaign. As early as 404 BC he renounced Syracuse's treaty with Carthage and began to take over several Siculan colonies, pushing as far as Enna. He then attacked and destroyed Naxos and conquered Catania, deporting its inhabitants. He strengthened his army, adopting new weapons such as catapults and building
7526-469: The self-proclaimed king of Sicily Agathocles of Syracuse , deserted him. She claimed that she, a daughter of a Greek king, could no longer bear to share her home with barbarian women. She fled to Corcyra with her dowry, offering it and herself to Demetrius. He accepted, sailed to the island and took possession of both Corcyra and Lanassa. After returning to his army in mainland Greece, Demetrius planned to invade Epirus. In 289 BC, he invaded Pyrrhus' allies,
7632-802: The siege. The Athenians thanked Pyrrhus by erecting a bust to him and allowing him into the city for the celebrations. However, they did not allow his army to enter the city, probably fearing Pyrrhus would install a garrison and make himself overlord of Athens. Pyrrhus made the most of the situation and advised the Athenians never to let a king enter their city again. Pyrrhus and Demetrius made peace once more but, like all previous agreements, it did not last. When Demetrius, in 286 BC, invaded Asia in order to attack Lysimachus's Asian domains, Lysimachus requested that Pyrrhus invade Thessaly and from there attack Demetrius' garrisons in Greece. Pyrrhus agreed, probably in order to keep his fractious Macedonian troops busy and less likely to rebel and also to gain an easy victory over
7738-403: The soldier's old mother, who was watching from a rooftop, threw a tile which knocked him from his horse and broke part of his spine, paralyzing him. Whether he was alive or not after the blow is unknown, but his death was assured when a Macedonian soldier named Zopyrus, though frightened by the look on the face of the unconscious king, hesitantly and ineptly beheaded his motionless body. This story
7844-594: The south-east corner the Corinthians founded Syracuse and the Megareans Megara Hyblaea , while on the western coast the Cretans and Rhodians founded Gela in 689 BC, with which the first Greek colonisation of Sicily ended. The Greek cities of Sicily were apoikìai (newly founded cities detached from their cities of origin and led by an oikistes ). The native inhabitants of the island were
7950-620: The still underaged Neoptolemus. Epirus in effect became a puppet kingdom of Cassander. Pyrrhus' family fled north and took refuge with Glaucias of the Taulantians , one of the largest Illyrian tribes. Pyrrhus was raised by Beroea , Glaucias' wife, a Molossian of the Aeacidae dynasty. Cassander marched against Glaucias, defeated his army and captured Apollonia . Glaucias had to promise not to act against Cassander, but he refused to give up Pyrrhus and his family. By 313 BC, Cassander
8056-402: The surrounding hills of Centuripe and Inessa (now Etna). Catania therefore re-assumed its former name and was repopulated again, this time with those exiled under Hiero and with Syracusan and Siculi colonists. Messina was freed from the tyranny of Anaxilas' sons around the same time. In 452 BC a Hellenised Siculan called Ducetius , who had fought in the siege of Etna beside the Syracusans, led
8162-432: The throne. This time Glaucias was unable to help him. Pyrrhus travelled to the Peloponnese and served his brother-in-law Demetrius Poliorcetes who had married his sister Deidamia, and who was campaigning against Cassander in southern Greece. In 302 BC, Demetrius took his army to Asia Minor to support his father Antigonus Monophthalmus. Pyrrhus impressed Antigonus for he is reputed to have said that Pyrrhus would become
8268-422: The tombs of the Macedonian kings at Aegae. In 272 BC, Cleonymus , a Spartan of royal blood who was hated among fellow Spartans, asked Pyrrhus to attack Sparta and place him in power. Pyrrhus agreed to the plan, intending to win control of the Peloponnese for himself, but unexpected strong resistance thwarted his assault on Sparta . On the retreat he lost his firstborn son Ptolemy , who had been in command of
8374-529: The troops he had brought back from Italy and marched east into Macedon. He won an easy victory at the Battle of the Aous and took most of Macedon. Antigonus managed to hold on to a number of coastal cities. He then waited for an opportunity to reclaim his kingdom while Pyrrhus was already looking for another war to fight. Furthermore, Pyrrhus made himself very unpopular in Macedon by allowing his Gauls to plunder
8480-613: The tyrant of Acragas ( Agrigentum ), and espoused the cause of the Locrians against Anaxilas , tyrant of Rhegium . His most important military achievement was the defeat of the Etruscans at the Battle of Cumae (474 BC), by which he saved the Greeks of Campania from Etruscan domination. A bronze helmet (now in the British Museum ), with an inscription commemorating the event, was dedicated at Olympia . Hieron's reign
8586-488: The weakened Antigonids. He quickly defeated Antigonus Gonatas , Demetrius's son, who ceded Thessaly to him in order to make peace. Pyrrhus's Greek Empire was now at its zenith: he ruled an enlarged Epirus, half of Macedonia, and Thessaly. In 285 BC, Demetrius was defeated by Seleucus. This freed the hands of Lysimachus who decided to get rid of his co-ruler in Macedonia. He first isolated Pyrrhus from his traditional ally
8692-509: The word Pyr ( / ˈ p ɪr / ; Greek : Πύρ ) meaning fire and the suffix -ros ( / ˈ r ə s / ; Greek : ρος ) meaning -able or "pertaining to". According to others, the name's actual meaning is "fiery, red-coloured", and was especially used to denote red hair. Pyrrhos was also used as an alternate name for Neoptolemus , son of Achilles and the princess Deidamia in Homeric Greek mythology . In c. 319 BC, Pyrrhus
8798-599: Was Lanassa, daughter of King Agathocles of Syracuse (r. 317–289 BC), whom he married in about 295 BC; the couple had a son, Alexander . His third wife was the daughter of Audoleon , King of Paeonia . His fourth wife was the Illyrian princess Bircenna , who was the daughter of King Bardylis II ,(r. c. 295–290 BC) who bore Pyrrhus' youngest son, Helenus. His fifth wife was the daughter of Ptolemy Keraunos , whom he married in 281/280 BC. Hiero I of Syracuse Hieron I ( Greek : Ἱέρων Α΄ ; usually Latinized Hiero )
8904-534: Was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period . He was king of the Molossians , of the royal Aeacid house, and later he became king ( Malalas also called him toparch ) of Epirus . He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome , and had been regarded as one of the greatest generals of antiquity. Several of his victorious battles caused him unacceptably heavy losses, from which
9010-481: Was at this point that Agathocles adopted the Hellenistic-style title of king of Sicily, though this was mainly for a foreign audience, with his style of rule on Sicily remaining unchanged. He turned his ambitions east towards Italy and the outlying Greek islands, conquering Lefkada and Corcyra , the latter given as a dowry when he married off his daughter to Pyrrhus of Epirus . Agathocles then married for
9116-692: Was based in Catania, Nicodemus in Centuripe , Apolloniadas in Agirio , Hippon in Zancle and Andromacus in Taormina . Political disorder led to a precarious balance. Exiled to Leontini, Iceta sought assistance from Corinth, which sent a small army under Timoleon , landing at Taormina in 344 BC and in six years taking the whole of Sicily and removing all the tyrants, almost all of whom were killed, except his friend Andromacus of Taormina. In 339 BC he routed
9222-569: Was born to prince Aeacides of Epirus , and Phthia , a Thessalian noblewoman, the daughter of the Thessalian general Menon . Aeacides was a cousin of Olympias , making Pyrrhus a second cousin to Alexander the Great . He had two sisters: Deidamia and Troias. In 319/318 BC, Arrybas, Aeacides' father and the regent of Epirus, died leaving Epirus to the joint kings Aeacides and Neoptolemus . Aeacides supported Olympias in her fight against Cassander and marched on Macedon. In 317 BC, when Pyrrhus
9328-610: Was dangerously ill, invaded Macedonia. His original intention was merely to raid and pillage, but with Demetrius unable to lead his forces he met almost no opposition. Pyrrhus penetrated as far as the old Macedonian capital of Aegae before Demetrius was well enough to take the field. Since Demetrius commanded a superior force, Pyrrhus had no choice but to retreat. Demetrius, just as restless as Pyrrhus, planned to invade Asia and reclaim his father's old domains. He first made peace with Pyrrhus granting him his holdings in Macedonia while holding on to Corcyra and Leucas, then he started to raise
9434-508: Was designed as a measure against the Italian peoples of Lucania , the Tarentines grew nervous and attacked the Romans in Thurii, driving the Roman garrison from the city and sinking several Roman warships. Tarentum was now faced with a Roman attack and certain defeat, unless they could enlist the aid of greater powers. Rome had already made itself into a major power, and was poised to subdue all
9540-416: Was dissolved and Rome took formal possession of the territoires which constitute modern day Greece, re-organising these territories into province of Macedonia . Finally, in 63 BC, Pompey Magnus delivered the final coup de grace to the already much reduced Seleucid Empire, deposing its last ruler and absorbing its territories into the new Roman province of Syria . Pyrrhus wrote memoirs and several books on
9646-514: Was distracted by his war against Antigonus Monophthalmus , one of the most powerful of the Diadochi . Fearing an invasion from Asia Minor , where Antigonus was building up his forces, he shifted his attention from west to the east. Aeacides took advantage of the situation and returned to Epirus. He appears to have regained popularity and raised a large army. Cassander sent an army under his brother Philip who defeated Aeacides in two battles. Aeacides
9752-421: Was exiled and Hermocrates was killed trying to resettle. In spring 406 BC the Carthaginians returned with a large force, razing Akragas and looting its artworks. A young man named Dionysius was appointed supreme commander of Syracuse, which held out for seven months. Gela and then Kamarina fell, at which point Dionysius was able to sign a peace treaty delimiting Syracuse's and Carthage's spheres of influence on
9858-485: Was led by one of its generals, Diocles of Syracuse , who put in place a series of reforms on the Athenian model and a code of laws. Such a policy was helped by Hermocrates' absence commanding a fleet sent to help Sparta. In 410 BC Selinunte attacked Segesta. A small force of Carthaginian mercenaries came to help Segesta and the following year Hannibal Mago landed with another army, obliterating Selinunte and massacring its inhabitants. He then marched on Himera, where he met
9964-415: Was left to deal with. He set out at night in order to reach his enemy secretly. However, the dense vegetation of the area caused problems for his men, who finally arrived at daylight, when they were tired and impossible to pass unnoticed. As a result the attack was repulsed, with Pyrrhus losing half of his elephants. The next day the Romans took the initiative of the attack. Their initial attack, thanks to
10070-418: Was marked by the creation of what is believed to be the first secret police in Greek history, yet he was a liberal patron of literature and culture. The poets Simonides , Pindar , Bacchylides , Aeschylus , and Epicharmus were active at his court, as well the philosopher Xenophanes . He was an active participant in pan-hellenic athletic contests, winning several victories in the single horse race and also in
10176-619: Was one of the two great powers of the Western Mediterranean . At the same time, the Macedonians , whose King Ptolemy Keraunos had been killed by invading Gauls , asked Pyrrhus to ascend the throne of Macedon. Pyrrhus decided that Sicily offered him a greater opportunity, and sailed his army there. In 278 BC, soon after disembarking his army in Sicily, he lifted the Carthaginian Siege of Syracuse . Pyrrhus
10282-452: Was only two, Olympias requested Aeacides' support yet again and he marched on Macedon a second time. Many of his soldiers did not like their service and mutinied. Aeacides released these soldiers from his army, but as a result his army was too small to achieve anything. When the mutineers arrived in Epirus they caused a rebellion against their absent king and Aeacides was dethroned. Cassander sent one of his generals, Lyciscus, to act as regent to
10388-666: Was probably fighting a war in Illyria to the north. According to Pausanius, "Pyrrhus was roaming around as usual". The Greek city of Tarentum , in southern Italy , fell out with Rome due to a violation of an old treaty that specified Rome was not to send warships into the Tarentine Gulf . In 282 BC, the Romans installed garrisons in the Greek cities of Thurii (on the western end of the Tarentine Gulf), Locri , and Rhegium , and sent warships to Thurii. Although this
10494-650: Was proclaimed king of Sicily. He was already making plans for his son Helenus to inherit the kingdom of Sicily and his other son Alexander to be given Italy. In 277 BC, Pyrrhus captured Eryx , the strongest Carthaginian fortress in Sicily. This prompted the rest of the Carthaginian-controlled cities to defect to Pyrrhus. In 276 BC, Pyrrhus negotiated with the Carthaginians. Although they were inclined to come to terms with Pyrrhus, supply him money and send him ships once friendly relations were established, he demanded that Carthage abandon all of Sicily and make
10600-600: Was soon driven out, and lost all his gains in Italy after the Battle of Beneventum in 275 BC. Pyrrhus seized the Macedonian throne from Antigonus II Gonatas in 274 BC and invaded the Peloponnese in 272 BC. The Epirote assault on Sparta was thwarted, however, and Pyrrhus was killed during a street battle at Argos . The Latinized Pyrrhus derives from the Greek Pyrrhos ( / ˈ p ɪr ə s / ; Greek : Πύρρος ), meaning flame-like or flammable, derived from
10706-724: Was succeeded by his brother Hiero , who in the same year conquered Catania and Naxos, deported their inhabitants to Leontini and refounded Catania as 'Aitna', entrusting it to his son Deinomenes and repopulating it with settlers from the Peloponnesus . In 474 BC his fleet defeated an Etruscan one-off Cumae, possibly to counter Etruscan expansion or possibly in response to a request from Cumae for assistance. According to Diodorus Siculus , Trasibulus (Hiero's successor in Syracuse) and Thrasydaeus of Akragas were "violent murderers". Their cruelty seems to have provoked revolts which ended
10812-508: Was taken hostage to Alexandria , under the terms of a peace treaty made between Demetrius and Ptolemy I Soter . There, he married Ptolemy I's stepdaughter Antigone (a daughter of Berenice I of Egypt from her first husband Philip —respectively, Ptolemy I's wife and a Macedonian noble). In 297 BC, Cassander died and Ptolemy, always looking for allies, decided to help restore Pyrrhus to his kingdom. He provided Pyrrhus with men and funds and sent him back to Epirus. Pyrrhus returned to Epirus at
10918-409: Was the son of Deinomenes , the brother of Gelon and tyrant of Syracuse in Sicily , from 478 to 467 BC. In succeeding Gelon, he conspired against a third brother, Polyzelos. During his reign, he greatly increased the power of Syracuse. He removed the inhabitants of Naxos and Catania to Leontini , peopled Catania (which he renamed Aetna ) with Dorians , concluded an alliance with Theron ,
11024-529: Was to proclaim himself king and he remained so until his death in 215 BC. He built a fortified palace on Ortygia and governed differently from previous sovereigns. From then on he pursued a non-expansionist policy, eschewing military adventures in favour of a focus on trade in the Mediterranean , especially with Ptolemaic Egypt . Concluding the Roman Republic would soon eclipse Carthage, he made
11130-508: Was wounded in the last battle and died soon after. In 307 BC, Glaucias invaded Epirus and put Pyrrhus on the throne. Pyrrhus was only eleven years old, so his guardians ruled in his stead until he came of age. When he was seventeen he travelled to the court of Glaucias in Illyria to attend the wedding of one of Glaucias' sons. While he was in Illyria the Molossians rose in rebellion, drove out Pyrrhus' supporters, and returned Neoptolemus to
11236-508: Was wounded, but in return wounded his opponent twice, in the thigh and in the neck. Pantauchus' bodyguards had to carry him away. Emboldened by their king's victory, the Epirotes resumed their attack and broke Pantauchus' army, and took 5,000 prisoners. The army then honoured Pyrrhus by bestowing the surname of 'Eagle' upon him. Demetrius, upon hearing of Pyrrhus's victory, marched back to Macedon. Pyrrhus released his prisoners and marched back to Epirus. In 289 BC, Pyrrhus, learning that Demetrius
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