Syracuse in 218 B.C.

Syracuse — Spring 218 BC · The Golden Peace of Hieron II.

The Kingdom of Syracuse — the great Greek power of Sicily, mistress of the south-eastern corner of the island and one of the largest and most splendid cities of the Greek world. In 218 BC it is ruled by the aged and wise King Hieron II, who has reigned for more than fifty years and been the steadfast friend of Rome since he made his peace with the consuls in the First Punic War. Behind its mighty walls lie four quarters and the great plateau of Epipolai, crowned at its western point by the fortress of Euryelos; the island-citadel of Ortygia holds the royal seat and the sweet spring of Arethusa; and above the city rise the vast theatre and the enormous altar Hieron raised for the sacrifice of oxen. The realm is rich beyond most — its grain-tax law, the Lex Hieronica, gathers the harvest of the Sicilian fields, and its merchants trade across the whole Mediterranean. Here too works ARCHIMEDES, the geometer and engineer whom Hieron patronises — builder of the colossal grain-ship Syracusia, of the water-raising screw, and of engines of war. On the eve of a new war between Rome and Carthage, Syracuse is Rome’s loyal ally, sending grain and gifts to its friend across the strait.

While Rome and Carthage drift again toward war, Syracuse keeps the long peace that has made it the envy of the Greek world. For more than fifty years King Hieron II has held the throne without bloodshed, enriching his city and earning the goodwill of all the Greeks. He chose Rome’s side in the First Punic War and has never wavered from it: when the legions wanted for corn, Hieron supplied them; when Rome’s mercenaries rose in the great revolt against Carthage, he watched the balance of the two powers with a careful eye. Now, with Hannibal stirring in Spain, Syracuse stands once more as Rome’s most faithful friend in the west, its granaries open and its harbours ready. Within the walls the city glitters: the theatre and the altar of Hieron, the temples of Ortygia, the markets fed by Sicilian wheat — and the workshops of Archimedes, where the old king’s favourite turns geometry into machines that astonish the age.