Syracuse (redirected from Syracusans)

Syracuse, city, Italy

Syracuse (sĭr`əkys, –kyz), Ital. Siracusa, city (1991 pop. 125,941), capital of Syracuse prov., SE Sicily, Italy, on the Ionian Sea. It has a port and is a market and tourist center. Its manufactures include machinery and processed food. The old town, on the small island of Ortygia, is connected by a bridge with the mainland, where the more modern districts are situated.

Points of Interest

Numerous remains testify to the city's past greatness. On Ortygia are the cathedral, built (7th cent. A.D.) on the remains of a Greek temple, with 12 Doric columns; the remarkable archaeological museum; the fountain of Arethusa; ruins of a temple of Apollo; and a castle built (13th cent. A.D.) by emperor Frederick II. Among the remains on the mainland are a large, well-preserved Greek theater (5th cent. B.C.), still used for performances of classical works; a Roman amphitheater (2d cent. A.D.); the large Greek fortress of Euralus; and the extensive Catacombs of St. John (5th–6th cent. A.D.).

History

Founded (734 B.C.) by Greek colonists from Corinth, Syracuse grew rapidly and soon founded colonies of its own. Its democratic government was suppressed by Gelon, tyrant of Gela, who took possession of the city in 485 B.C. Under his rule, marked by a great victory (480 B.C.) over Carthage at Himera, Syracuse took the lead among the Greek cities of Sicily. Gelon's successor, Hiero I, made it one of the great centers of Greek culture; the poet Pindar and the dramatist Aeschylus lived at his court. Soon after Hiero's death a democracy was again established; it lasted from 466 B.C. to 406 B.C. During this period Syracuse extended its control over E Sicily and defeated an Athenian expedition (begun in 415 B.C. by Alcibiades) in a great land and sea battle (414 B.C.). In 406 B.C., Dionysius the Elder became tyrant. Under his long rule Syracuse reached the high point of its power and territorial expansion.

After the death of Dionysius there followed a period of bitter internal struggle in which Dionysius the Younger, Dion of Syracuse, and Timoleon were the chief protagonists. There were several decades of democratic government until tyranny was reestablished by Agathocles and Hiero II (4th–3d cent. B.C.). Hiero's reign was relatively peaceful and prosperous, but after his death Syracuse suffered catastrophically when it abandoned its traditional ally Rome in favor of Carthage, in the second of the Punic Wars. After a long siege by the Roman consul Marcellus, the city fell in 212 B.C. and was sacked; Syracuse thence was reduced to the status of a provincial town. The period from Dionysius the Elder to 212 B.C. was brilliant in terms of culture. The philosopher Plato visited Syracuse several times, and the poet Theocritus probably lived at the court of Hiero II. The mathematician and physicist Archimedes, born (287 B.C.) in Syracuse, directed the defense of the city against the Romans and was killed during the sack of the city. Syracuse suffered another major setback in the late 9th cent. A.D., when it was badly damaged by Arab conquerors. It was captured by the Normans in 1085.

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Syracuse, city, United States

Syracuse (sĭr`əkys, sĕr`–), city (1990 pop. 163,860), seat of Onondaga co., central N.Y., on Onondaga Lake and the Erie Canal; settled c.1788, inc. as a city 1848. It is a port of entry, and its many manufactures include electrical and electronic equipment, automobile and aircraft parts, chinaware, shoes, machinery, and pharmaceuticals. Salt springs were discovered there in 1654. Saltmaking, the city's chief industry until after the Civil War, declined under competition. However, Syracuse's location on the Erie Canal (opened there in 1819) and on rail lines stimulated industry. The city is the seat of Syracuse Univ., Le Moyne College, and the State Univ. of New York Upstate Medical Univ. Cultural facilities include the Everson Museum of Art, a salt museum, and an Erie Canal museum. An annual state fair has been held there since 1841. Nearby is Hancock International Airport, the Onondaga Reservation, and New York's first modern casino, run by the Oneidas. Recreational lakes and streams are abundant in the area.

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Syracuse

 Italian Siracusa ancient Syracusae

Seaport city (pop., 2001 prelim.: 121,000), eastern coast of Sicily, Italy. Founded in 734 BC by Greeks from Corinth, it was seized by Hippocrates of Gela in 485 BC and ruled by tyrants until a revolution established a democratic government c. 465 BC. In 413 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, Syracuse defeated an Athenian invasion force. Under the rule of Dionysius I the Elder (405–367 BC), it became the most powerful of the Greek cities, fighting three wars against rival Carthage. Syracuse fell to Rome in 211 BC. It was sacked by Frankish invaders in AD 280 and captured by Arabs in 878; its importance waned in medieval times. Now the commercial centre for an agricultural district, it also supports the fishing and tourist industries. It has many examples of medieval and Renaissance architecture as well as Greek and Roman ruins. It is the birthplace of Theocritus and Archimedes.

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Syracuse

City (pop., 2001: 147,306), central New York, U.S. The site, at the southern end of Lake Oneida, was once the territory of the Onondaga Indians and the headquarters of the Iroquois Confederacy. The area was visited by the French in the 17th century. Indian hostility and the swampy location precluded settlement until the establishment of a trading post in 1786. Soon a saltworks based on its brine springs began operation; it supplied most of the nation's salt until 1870. An important port on the Erie Canal, Syracuse serves as a distribution centre for the central New York agricultural region. It also manufactures pharmaceuticals and electronics. It is the site of Syracuse University (1870) and the Everson Museum of Art (founded 1896).