Syracuse

Syracuse was one of the Greek cities in Sicily. The city was found by the Corinthians in 734 BC, located on the east coast, partly on the island of Ortygia, flanked by the Lesser Harbour and Great Harbour.

Syracuse proper was on the island of Ortygia. It was the island itself, not the city, that was a source of myth about Alpheius and Arethusa, in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Alpheius was a son of Oceanus and Tethys, hence he was the river-god and the name of the river in the region of Elis. When one of Diana's nymphs, Arethusa, bathed in his river after hunting in the forest of Stymphalus, the river-god saw and fell in love with her. When he failed to seduce her, he tried to ravish her while he was in human form. She fled, naked, from his advances. Although she could run as fast as Alpheius, he was immortal, so she began to tire. In desperation, Arethusa called upon her goddess Diana (Artemis) to save her. The goddess sent a thick cloud to hide Arethusa. The nymph was being transformed into water. This didn't escape Alpheius' notice, and he tried to transform himself into water and mingle with Arethusa's watery form. But Diana foresaw this and split the river bed, so Arethusa drained into the earth. The water of Arethusa traveled underground, under the Ionian Sea, until it reached the island of Ortygia, where she resurfaced.

Historically, Syracuse was involved in a number of wars against Carthage, which occupied western Sicily. Gelon, king of Gela, another Greek city, captured Syracuse in 485 BC. Gelon moved into Syracuse, using its base as his capital. Gelon then conquered other Greek cities. When Carthage invaded west Sicily, Gelon defeated the Carthaginians at Himera in 480 BC.

During the Peloponnesian War, Syracuse was a democracy, like Athens, but Athens sent a large fleet to take Syracuse in 415 BC. Because the city was a former colony of Corinth, Athens besieged the city. Syracuse called Sparta and Corinth for aid, and they sent a small force under the leadership of the Spartan Gylippus. Gylippus managed to turn things around so that the Athenians then became besieged. Gylippus led the Syracusans to a decisive victory, and reversed Athens' fortunes in the Peloponnesian War.

Dionysius the Elder became the tyrant of Syracuse (405-367 BC). Dionysius was involved in three separate wars against Carthage. His first two wars were successful, which included the capture of Motya, a Carthaginian stronghold. He also invaded southern Italy.

Syracuse was also the home of Archimedes (c. 285-211 BC), the most famous of inventor and mathematician. Rome captured the city in 211 BC, and Syracuse lost its independence, but only after a long siege.