Εμφανίζονται 6 τίτλοι με αναζήτηση: Πληροφορίες για τον τόπο για το τοπωνύμιο: "ΣΥΡΑΚΟΥΣΑΙ Αρχαία πόλη ΣΙΚΕΛΙΑ".
The site of the ancient city, now entirely covered by the modern one,
lies on the SE coast of Sicily and once comprised a small island, Ortygia, which
has yielded evidence of prehistoric life starting in the Early Paleolithic period.
The Corinthians, led by Archias of the family of the Bacchiads, routed the Sikels
and founded the colony in 734 B.C. The foundation of sub-colonies--Akrai in 664,
Kasmenai in 624, Kamarina in 559--indicate that the city flourished. Gelon brought
to the city a period of splendor and political power. In the battle of Himera
in 480 B.C., Gelon and Theron of Akragas won a great victory over the Carthaginians,
while the naval battle of Cumae in 474, which Hieron I won against the Etruscans,
ensured the city's control over the S basin of the Mediterranean. Arts and letters
flourished; philosophers and poets, among whom were Aeschylus, Simonides, and
Pindar, came here to live. In 466 B.C. with the expulsion of Thrasyboulos, the
successor of Hieron I, the city adopted a democratic government and for ca. 40
years enjoyed prosperity and power. Successes against the Etruscans and against
Ducetius greatly enlarged the city's sphere of influence and prestige throughout
Sicily.
In the last quarter of the 5th c., in answer to Segesta's request
for help by Leontinoi against Syracuse, Athens sent a fleet which was defeated
in the Great Harbor. About this time Dionysios, an extremely able politician who
had managed to concentrate all power into his own hands and who had negotiated
peace with Carthage, transformed Ortygia into a well-provided fortress, and began
the fortification of Syracuse, which included the large plateau of the Epipolai.
After his death, the city lived under the rule of mediocre men until the arrival
of Timoleon, who was sent from Corinth at the head of an expedition. He conquered
the city and began the reorganization and rebuilding not only of Syracuse but
of Greek cities that had been subject to Carthage. He was succeeded by Agathokles,
son of a potter, who defeated (310 B.C.) and laid siege to Syracuse. He was successful
also in Magna Graecia, thus securing for Syracuse a large territorial domain.
After his death, the Carthaginians were fended off by Pyrrhos, king of Epeiros
and Agathokles' father-in-law.
In 275 B.C. Hieron II seized control of the city and ruled for 54
years. He was succeeded by his grandson Hieronimos, under whose rule the city
became an ally of Carthage and fell to Rome.
The city declined under Roman rule until Augustus sent a colony there
in 21 B.C. The city's recovery lasted through the first centuries of the empire.
St. Paul stopped in Syracuse on his trip to Rome, staying with the Christian community,
which must have enjoyed considerable prestige in Sicily. Syracuse was served by
two excellent natural harbors: the Great Harbor, formed by a large bay closed
by Ortygia and the Plemmyrion (the modern peninsula of the Maddalena) into which
flow the Anapo and the Ciane rivers, and the Small Harbor or Lakkios, delimited
by Ortygia and the shoreline of Achradina. The five districts of the ancient city
were Ortygia, Achradina, Tyche, Neapolis, and Epipolai. In Ortygia, which was
supplied with fresh water (Arethusa fountain) and was easily defensible, the Corinthian
colonists created the first urban nucleus. This must have soon extended to the
mainland, in the area immediately beyond the isthmus, where another district was
formed, Achradina, containing the agora and surrounded by the earliest cemeteries
of the city (the necropolis of Fusco, of the former Spagna Garden, and of Via
Bainsizza) which thus gave us the approximate limits of the district. Achradina
early acquired a fortification wall. Tyche, the district which corresponds approximately
to the modern S. Lucia, must have clustered around the sanctuary of the deity
after whom it was named. Neapolis developed to the NW of Achradina, that is, to
the W of the modern highway to Catania and as far as the Greek theater; in the
Hellenistic period it received a complex of important public buildings of monumental
nature and expanded into the area formerly occupied by the archaic necropoleis.
Epipolai represents the vast plateau, triangular in shape, which extends to the
N and W of the city and culminates in the Euryalos Fort. In the closing years
of the 5th c. the plateau was encircled by a huge fortification wall that united
it with the urban area solely for defense.
Ortygia retains vestiges of the earliest sacred buildings erected
by the Greek colonists. The Temple of Apollo, at the point of access into Ortygia,
goes back to the beginning of the 6th c. B.C. and has considerable importance
for the history of Doric architecture in the West.
The temple, discovered in 1862 and completely excavated in 1943,
was repeatedly transformed through the centuries. It has an elongated plan, a
stereobate (crepidoma) with four steps and is hexastyle with 17 columns on the
flanks. In front of the cella there is a second row of six columns; the cella,
preceded by a distyle-in-antis pronaos, was divided into three naves by two rows
of columns in two levels; its W end contained the closed area of the adyton.
The columns of the peristyle, all set very close together, lack entasis,
and are marked by 16 very shallow flutes; they are surmounted by heavy capitals
with strongly compressed abaci, on which rests an unusually high epistyle. The
temple frieze had tall triglyphs and narrow metopes, which took no account whatever
of the spacing of the columns. Fragments of terracotta revetments with lively
polychrome decoration are also preserved. The lack of equilibrium among the temple
parts, the marked elongation of its forms, the depth of the front of the building,
the presence of the adyton, the lack of coordination among the spatial elements
of the peristyle, are the most obvious traits of the architecture of this temple.
An inscription on the stylobate of the E facade attests that the building was
dedicated to Apollo and was the work of Kleomenes son of Knidios.
Another temple, on a small elevation S of the city, was dedicated
to Zeus Olympios; it resembles the Apollonion but shows improved correlations
among its parts. A section of the crepidoma survives, together with two incomplete
shafts of the monolithic columns of the peristasis. The temple was divided into
pronaos, cella, and adyton, and had 6 columns on facade and 17 on the sides. There
are remains of two other impressive temples on the highest elevation of the island.
Of the earlier, which was begun in the second half of the 6th c., the structures
of the stereobate and several architectural members have recently been exposed.
It is the only Ionic temple known in Sicily. It must have had 6 columns on the
facade and 14 on the sides; it was left unfinished, presumably on the arrival
of the Deinomenids. At the beginning of the 5th c. B.C., a second temple was erected
parallel to the Ionic temple on the S. An Athenaion, it was probably built after
Gelon's victory over the Carthaginians at Himera in 480 B.C. It was constructed
within a large sacred area which already comprised sacred structures, altars and
votive deposits dating from the beginning of the 6th c. The temple, hexastyle
with 14 columns on the sides, contains cella, pronaos and opisthodomos, both distyle
in antis. The building, constructed of local limestone and surmounted by tiles
and sima in Greek marble, conforms fully with developed Doric.
The Athenaion was transformed into a Christian church and in the
8th c. Bishop Zosimo transferred to it the episcopal see; it is even now a cathedral.
The transformation of the temple into a church required the screening of the intercolumniations
and the opening of arches into the isodomic outer walls of the cella. Of the Greek
temple, the facades are no longer extant, but clearly visible are a good deal
of the peristyle (both from within and from without the cathedral), a segment
of the entablature on the N side and the general structure of the cella. No other
important ancient remains survive in Ortygia.
In Achradina, which must have been surrounded by a defensive system,
almost nothing is left of the important civic buildings, for instance the stoas,
the chrematisteria, the prytaneion, which are mentioned by the ancient sources.
The only monumental complex partly preserved is the so-called Roman gymnasium
S of the agora area. This architectural complex, comprising a small theater facing
a marble temple and set within a large quadriportico, is of the 1st c. A.D.
Neapolis is the district preserving the most conspicuous complex
of ancient monumental buildings, among which the theater is particularly well
known. The form of the existing theater may be 3d c. B.C., but probably there
was an earlier theater by Damokopos on the site (early 5th c. B.C.?) where Aeschylus
produced The Persians and The Women of Aetna, and where Epicharmos' comedies
were performed. What remains of the theater today is only what was cut into the
rock of the hill from which this impressive and unified structure was almost entirely
derived. The cavea, ca. 134 m in diameter, is divided vertically into nine cunei
separated by klimakes and horizontally by a diazoma that breaks it into summa
cavea and ima cavea. Each section, at the level of the diazoma, presents inscriptions,
partially preserved, which give the names of the divinities or of the members
of the ruling family to which the section was dedicated. The central cuneus was
dedicated to Zeus Olympios, two of the sections toward E to Demeter and Herakles,
and those toward W are inscribed to Hieron II, his wife Philistis, his daughter-in-law
Nereis, and his son Gelon II. These inscriptions, which must be dated between
238 and 215, are instrumental in establishing a precise chronology for the building
of the theater. As for the orchestra and the whole stage building, of which almost
nothing is preserved above ground level, innumerable cuttings and trenches are
preserved in the rocky scarp; they are variously interpreted by scholars and bear
witness to the many alterations, adaptations, and phases of this part of the theater.
The remains of the stage, belonging to the period of Hieron II, are
few and badly fragmented; it was probably of the type with paraskenia, as in the
theaters at Tyndaris and Segesta. The interpretation of some markings before the
stage of the Greek scene building (a long trench and a series of cuttings in the
rock) has suggested the use of a wooden stage which might have been employed to
perform phlyakes. More consistent evidence, especially the long foundation built
with limestone blocks, further suggests a major alteration in the stage building
in the Late Hellenistic period: the facade was probably provided with thyromata.
In the Roman period the whole monumental stage building was moved forward toward
the cavea. This move involved the covering over of the earlier parodoi, which
were replaced by passageways in cryptae above which were built tribunalia. The
theater was also adapted for ludi circenses and for variety shows during the Late
Empire. A vast terrace overlooks the cavea and in antiquity housed two stoas set
at right angle to each other.
To the W of the theater an altar, bases for stelai and votive offerings,
seem to provide evidence for the Sanctuary of Apollo Temenites whose area was
crossed by the last retaining wall of the theater cavea.
Not far from the sanctuary, a short distance to the SE of the theater,
lies the so-called Altar of Hieron II. It is 198 m long and retains only an enormous
rock-cut podium, with two large ramps leading to the central part of the structure
where public sacrifices were offered by the city. The whole area in front of the
monument was planned to impress: a vast square extended the length of the altar
and hal a rectangular pool in the center; it was bordered by porticos with propylaia
of the Augustan period.
The amphitheater, probably dating from the 3d c. A.D., is one of
the largest known (external dimensions 140 m and 199 m). The entire N half was
cut out of the rock, and the opposite half built on artificial fill. It had two
large entrances to the arena on the N and S, three corridors leading to the steps,
and a service passage around the arena. In the center of the arena is a large
pool serviced by two canals. In the area of the steps a podium is bordered by
a marble parapet inscribed with the names of the people for whom the seats were
reserved. Outside the amphitheater a large area was flanked by retaining walls
and provided with entrances, rooms of various types, and water tanks; it was connected
with the S entrance to the building.
These monumental structures of Neapolis are bordered on the N by
a series of quarries which provided the blocks for the ancient buildings. The
so-called Ear of Dionysios, the Grotto of the Ropemakers, the Grotto of Saltpeter
are famous for their acoustical properties and their picturesque appearance.
The Epipolai, the rocky plateau of roughly triangular shape which
dominates the immediate hinterland of Syracuse, was incorporated into the city
for defensive reasons at the end of the 5th c. B.C. At the time of the war against
Athens (416-413 B.C.), only Achradina was fortified. Dionysios fortified the Epipolai
between 402 and 397 B.C. against the threat of Carthage. He produced an immense
defensive system: 27 kms of fortification walls deployed at the edge of the limestone
terrace and culminating at its highest point in the Euryalos Fort, one of the
most grandiose defensive works in dimensions and conception to have survived from
antiquity. Three huge ditches were dug into the rock to prevent a massive frontal
attack against the keep of the fortress. Between the second and third ditch a
defensive apparatus was accessible by means of a stepped tunnel opening onto the
bottom of the third ditch; from this moat, the veritable nerve center of the entire
defensive system, a network of passageways and galleries branched off and connected
all the various parts of the fort. At the S end of this third ditch rose three
powerful piers which supported a drawbridge. In the space between the third ditch
and the main body of the fortress is a pointed bastion, S of which are the remains
of a structure linking the drawbridge with the fort proper. This latter is in
two parts; the first is almost rectangular in shape, defended by five towers connected
by wall curtains and protected on the S by a ditch; the second part, an irregular
trapezoid, contains three cisterns for the water supply of the castle; it had
the function of connecting the fortress to the main defensive system. To the NE
of this section of the fortress a town gate with two arches, built according to
the pincer system, was protected by towers and external cross walls which channeled
traffic into narrow passageways close to the wall curtains from which defense
was easy.
Not all the parts of this defensive system, brilliantly engineered
under Dionysios, were contemporary but were gradually perfected through the 4th
and 3d c. B.C. to conform with the changing requirements of the art of war. Transformations
and adaptations were also carried out in the Byzantine period, especially in the
rectangular section of the fortress.
The Archaeological Museum includes among its exhibits much material
of the Classical period.
G. Voza, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Sep 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 127 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
(Surakousai or Surakossai, Ion. Surekousai, also Surakousai, Surakouse). 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 (Surako), 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:
(1) Ortygia (Ortugia), frequently called simply the Island (Nasos or Nesos), an
island of an oblong shape, about two miles in circumference, lying between the
Great Harbour on the west and the Little Harbour on the east. It was, as has been
already remarked, the portion of the city first built, and it contained the citadel
or Acropolis, surrounded by double walls, which Timoleon caused to be destroyed.
In this island also was the celebrated fountain of Arethusa. It was originally
separated from the mainland by a narrow channel, which was subsequently filled
up by a causeway; but this causeway must at a still later time have been swept
away, since we find in the Roman period that the island was connected with the
mainland by means of a bridge.
(2) Achradina (Achradine) occupied originally the high ground of the peninsula
north of Ortygia, and was surrounded on the north and east by the sea. The lower
ground between Achradina and Ortygia was at first not included in the fortifications
of either, but was employed partly for religious processions and partly for the
burial of the dead. At the time of the siege of Syracuse by the Athenians in the
Peloponnesian War (415), the city censisted only of the two parts already mentioned,
Ortygia forming the inner and Achradina the outer city, but separated, as explained
above, by the low ground between the two.
(3) Tyche (Tuche), named after the temple of Tyche or Fortune, and situated northwest
of Achradina, in the direction of the port called Trogilus. At the time of the
Athenian siege of Syracuse it was only an unfortified suburb, but it afterwards
became the most populous part of the city. In this quarter stood the Gymnasium.
(4) Neapolis (Nea polis), nearly southwest of Achradina, was also, at the time
of the Athenian siege of Syracuse, merely a suburb, and called Temenites, from
having within it the statue and consecrated ground of Apollo Temenites. Neapolis
contained the chief theatre of Syracuse, which was the largest in all Sicily,
and many temples.
(5) Epipolae (hai Epipolai), a space of ground rising above the three quarters
of Achradina, Tyche, and Neapolis, which gradually diminished in breadth as it
rose higher, until it ended in a small conical mound. This rising ground was surrounded
with strong walls by the elder Dionysius, and was thus included in Syracuse, which
now became one of the most strongly fortified cities of the ancient world. The
highest point of Epipolae was called Euryelus (Euruelos), on which stood the fort
Labdalum (Labdalon).
After Epipolae had been added to the city, the circumference of Syracuse
was one hundred and eighty stadia, or upward of twenty-two English miles; and
the entire population of the city is supposed to have amounted to five hundred
thousand souls at the time of its greatest prosperity.
Syracuse had two harbours. The Great Harbour, still called Porto
Maggiore, is a splendid bay about five miles in circumference, formed by the island
Ortygia and the promontory Plemmyrium. The Small Harbour, also called Laccius
(Lakkios), lying between Ortygia and Achradina, was capacious enough to receive
a large fleet of ships of war. There were several stone quarries (lautumiae) in
Syracuse, which are frequently mentioned by ancient writers, and in which the
unfortunate Athenian prisoners were confined. These quarries were partly in Achradina,
on the descent from the higher ground to the lower level towards Ortygia, and
partly in Neapolis, under the southern cliff of Epipolae. From these was taken
the stone of which the city was built (Thucyd. vii. 86). The so-called "Ear
of Dionysius", in which the tyrant was supposed to overhear the conversation
of his captives, is probably an invention of a mediaeval writer. The city was
supplied with water from an aqueduct, which was constructed by Gelon and improved
by Hieron. It was brought through Epipolae and Neapolis to Achradina and Ortygia.
The modern city of Syracuse is confined to the island. The remaining quarters
of the ancient city are now uninhabited, and their position marked only by a few
ruins. Of these the most important are the remains of the great theatre, and of
an amphitheatre of the Roman period.
The government of Syracuse was originally an aristocracy; and the
political power was in the hands of the landed proprietors, called Geomori or
Gamori. In course of time the people, having increased in numbers and wealth,
expelled the Geomori and established a democracy. But this form of government
did not last long. Gelon espoused the cause of the aristocratic party, and proceeded
to restore them by force of arms; but on his approach the people opened the gates
to him, and he was acknowledged without opposition tyrant or sovereign of Syracuse,
B.C. 485. Under his rule and that of his brother Hieron, Syracuse was raised to
an unexampled degree of wealth and prosperity. Hieron died in 467, and was succeeded
by his brother Thrasybulus; but the rapacity and cruelty of the latter soon provoked
a revolt among his subjects, which led to his deposition and the establishment
of a democratic form of government. The next most important event in the history
of Syracuse was the siege of the city by the Athenians, which ended in the total
destruction of the great Athenian armament in 413. This affair, known in history
as the Sicilian Expedition, was the turning point in the Peloponnesian War. The
expedition set out from Athens in B.C. 415 under Alcibiades, Nicias, and Lamachus,
and at first won a number of successes, so that Nicias, in 414, had seized Epipolae
and begun the complete investment of Syracuse. The arrival of Gylippus, the Spartan
general, turned the tide. The Syracusans defeated the Athenians, annihilated the
invading army, and took Nicias and his later colleague Demosthenes prisoners.
The democracy continued to exist in Syracuse till B.C. 406, when the
elder Dionysius made himself tyrant of the city. After a long and prosperous reign,
he was succeeded in 367 by his son, the younger Dionysius, who was finally expelled
by Timoleon in 343. A republican form of government was again established; but
it did not last long; and in 317 Syracuse fell under the sway of Agathocles. This
tyrant died in 289; and the city being distracted by factions, the Syracusans
voluntarily conferred the supreme power upon Hieron II., with the title of king,
in 270. Hieron cultivated friendly relations with the Romans; but on his death
in 216, at the advanced age of ninetytwo, his grandson Hieronymus, who succeeded
him, espoused the side of the Carthaginians. A Roman army under Marcellus was
sent against Syracuse; and after a siege of two years, during which Archimedes
assisted his fellow-citizens by the construction of various engines of war, the
city was taken by Marcellus in 212. From this time Syracuse became a town of the
Roman province of Sicily.
This text is cited Sep 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Total results on 10/4/2001: 1000 Syracuse, 769 Syracusans
Syracusae (Surakousai: Eth. Surakousios, Steph. B.; but Thucydides,
Diodorus, &c. use the form Surakosios, 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.
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 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 Olympeium,
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
(Lusimeleia, Thuc. vii. 53; Theocr. Id. xvi. 84), though its more ancient appellation
would seem to have been Syraco (Surako), from whence the city itself was supposed
to derive its name. (Steph. B. s. v. Surakousai; 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. 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. Verr. v. 1. 0), an advantage which
it is said still to retain at the present day.
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. Verr. iv. 5. 2, 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. xxvi. 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 (pentapolis en to palaion, 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 (Ortugia, Pind., Diod., Strab., &c.), more commonly known
simply as the Island (he nesos, Thuc., &c., and in the Doric dialect Nasos:
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. vi. 3): probably, however, this was merely effected by an
artificial mole or causeway, [p. 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 (ta pentapula, 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. v. 3), whence Pindar terms it the couch of Artemis, and the sister
of Delos (demnion Artemidos, Dalou kasignata, Nem. i. 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. Verr. iv. 5. 5, 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. xi. p. 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 facade 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 (oikos ho Hexekontaklinos kaloumenos, Diod. xvi. 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. xxiv. 21); and the palace of king Hieron,
which was afterwards made the residence of the Roman praetors (Cic. Verr. iv.
5. 2). 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. xvi. 83); but no traces have been discovered
of the corresponding tower on the other side.
2. Achradina (Achradine, 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 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 heights 2 , 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. xi. 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.
xiii. 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. v. 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.
xiv. 7), which are obviously those alluded to by Cicero ( pulcherrimae porticus,
Verr. iv. 53). The temple of Jupiter Olympius, noticed by the orator, also adjoined
the Agora; it was built by Hieron II. (Diod. xvi. 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. Verr. iv. 5. 3, 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. Timol. 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. xv. 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 (xxv. 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. vi. 99, vii. 2.)
3. Tycha (Tuche), 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 [p. 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. xi. 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. xxv. 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), 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
akra Temenitis), 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. vi. 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. xiv. 63.) The name of Neapolis (he Nea
polis) is indeed already mentioned some years before (Id. xiv. 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 Gemenitidas and Menitidas), 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. iv. 53). Diodorus also alludes to it as the largest
in Sicily (xvi. 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 Nereis, both of them historically unknown, and of two deities,
the Olympian Zeus and Hercules, with the epithet of Euphron. 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. xiii. 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. xiv. 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. xiii.
49; Val. Max. i. 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 temenos. 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. Verr. v. 2. 7; Aelian, V. H. xii. 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 [p. 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. vii. 86, 87; Diod. xiii. 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. Verr. v. 2. 7) 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 (Epipolai), 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 (Euruelos, Thuc., but the Doric
form was Eurualos, 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 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.
xxv. 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. vi. 99, vii. 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 [p. 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 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. xx. 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 (xxiv. 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 Goller 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. xiv. 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.)
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 is the Olympeium, 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. xxiv. 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 (he Polichne, 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. vi. 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. (Daskon, Thuc. vi. 66; Diod. xiii. 13, xiv. 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. xi. 38, xiv. 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 (to tes Kuanes hieron, 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. xiv.
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. 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. iii. 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. vi. 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.
vi. 97), and where Marcellus established his winter quarters when he found himself
unable to carry the city by assault (Liv. xxiv. 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 (he Thapsos, 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. vi. 97.) It had been one
of the first points on the Sicilian coast occupied by Greek colonists, but these
speedily removed to Megara (Thuc. vi. 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. (Virg. Aen.
iii. 689; Ovid, Fast. iv. 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 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. iv. 1; Bonanni, Le Antiche
Siracuse, 2 vols. fol. Palermo, 1717; Mirabella, Dichiarazione della Pianta dell'
antiche Siracuse, reprinted with the preceding work; Cluver. Sicil. i. 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, Antichita della Sicilia, vol. iv;
Cavallari, Zur Topographie von Syrakus, 8vo. Gottingen, 1845.)
Syrastrene (Eurastrene, Peripl. M. E. c. 41; Ptol. vii. 1. § 2), a district
of ancient India, near and about the mouths of the Indus. There. can be no doubt
that it is represented by the modern Saurashtran, for a long time the seat of
a powerful nation. Surashtra means in Sanscrit the beautiful kingdom. Ptolemy
(l. c.) mentions a small village Syrastra, which may have once been its capital.
It is probable that the Syrieni of Pliny (vi. 20. s. 23) were inhabitants of the
same district.
2 These still abound in the wild pear-trees (achrades), 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.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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