Syracuse

When and where Syracuse was founded

Founded in Sicily in 734 or 733 BC

The Greeks who founded Syracuse

Greeks from Corinth and Tenea led by a man named Archias

Effect of the fertile land in Syracuse

Syracuse prospered and became the most powerful polis outside mainland Greece

Empire that the Syracusans defeated and the battle they defeated them in

the Carthaginian Empire in the battle of Himera

The temple the Syracusans constructe after victory in the Battle of Himera to give thanks

Temple of Athena

The people who governed Syracuse at first and the name they called themselves

The decendants of the first settlers, who called themselves the Gamoroi

The first political system of Syracuse

Oligarchy

The people who staged the revolt against the Gamoroi in Syracuse

The Greek lower classes and the Cyllirians (enslaved native Sicilians)

Person who helped restore the Gamoroi to power in Syracuse

Gelo, who ruled as a tyrant and established a dynasty

The two government systems Syracuse alternated between after the revolt

Tyranny and democracy

The tragidian who was invited to the court and the name of the tyrant who invited him

Aeschylus was invited to he court of the tyrant Hiero I

The plays Aeschylus staged when he was invited to court

The Women of Aetna and The Persians

Syracuse’s participation in fighting against the Persians

They were too far away from mainland Greece to have played a role in fighting the Persian invasions

People who launched an attack on Syracuse and when

Athens launched an attack on Syracuse in 415 BC

Why did they launch the attack on Syracuse

Peloponnesian War was happening and Athens was trying to get resources

What happened when they launched an attack on Syracuse

the Spartan helped the Syracusans win, and they destroyed 200 Athenian ships and captures thousands of Athenian prisoners who were mostly left to die of starvation

What some of the prisoners did

They bartered for their freedom by reciting lines of Euripides

What did the failiure of the expedition to Syracuse do

Weakened Athens significantly and contributed to their defeat in the Peloponnesian War