Syracuse, City of Legends: A Glory of Sicily

281 Pages·2010·6.27 MB·English

by  Jeremy Dummett

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SYRACUSE
CITY OF
LEGENDS
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JeremyDummettreadhistoryatTrinityCollege,Cambridge,where
he became interested in the history and culture of Italy. His profes-
sionalcareertookhimtoAthensandMilan,wherehelivedandworked
for over twelve years. Now retired, he is a frequent visitor to Sicily
(www.jeremydummett.com).
‘For newcomers exploring Sicily for the first time, as well as for
returningvisitors,JeremyDummett’sSyracuse,CityofLegendsisawel-
come travelling companion whose enthusiasm is catching. Dummett
offers a rich trove of information about its deep past, which he help-
fully links to the places that can be visited today, including the more
intimateplacesoffthebeatenpath.’
JudithHarris,authorofPompeiiAwakened
‘AtlastSyracuseisreceivingtheattentionitdeserves.Congratulations
toJeremyDummettforhiscelebrationofthisSiciliangem.Don’tleave
forSicilywithoutthisguide.’
JordanLancaster,authorofIntheShadowofVesuvius:
ACulturalHistoryofNaples
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SYRACUSE
CITY OF
LEGENDS
A GLORY OF SICILY
Jeremy Dummett
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Permissions
Wearegratefultothefollowingfortheirpermissiontoreprintmaterial:
Aris&PhillipsLtd
TheBatteryPress
BloomsburyPublishingplc
©TheBritishLibraryBoard
TheTrusteesoftheBritishMuseum
CarcanetPressLimited
Collector’sLibrary
ElibronClassics
HausPublishingLtd
TheTrusteesoftheLoebClassicalLibrary®,HarvardUniversityPress
OxfordUniversityPress
PenguinBooksLtd
SantuariodellaMadonnadelleLacrime,Siracusa
SellerioEditore
UNESCO,WorldHeritageCentre
Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders. Any errors or omissions
broughttotheattentionofthepublisherswillbemadegoodinfutureeditions.
Publishedin2010byI.B.Tauris&CoLtd
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Copyright©2010JeremyDummett
TherightofJeremyDummetttobeidentifiedastheauthorofthisworkhasbeenassertedby
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Allrightsreserved.Exceptforbriefquotationsinareview,thisbook,oranypartthereof,may
notbereproduced,storedinorintroducedintoaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyform
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ISBN:9781848853225
AfullCIPrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
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PrintedandboundinGreatBritainbyCPIAntonyRowe,Chippenham
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Contents
ListofIllustrations vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
Prologue xvi
PART I TheStoryofSyracuse
FromGreekCityStatetoModernTimes
1. FoundationandtheRuleofGelonandHieroI 3
2. TheAthenianExpeditiontoSicily 17
3. DionysiusI:TyrantandWarlord 39
4. FiveMoreTyrants 57
5. HieroIIandtheRomanSiege 73
6. CiceroandtheRiseofRome 89
7. SantaLuciaandtheEarlyChristians 105
8. ByzantiumandtheArabSiege 115
9. Outlineto1945 129
10. ModernSyracuse 147
PART II ThePrincipalMonuments
ACommentary
11. TheGreekEra 159
12. TheRomanEra 175
13. TheEarlyChristianEra 183
14. BaroqueSyracuse 191
15. OtherImportantMonuments 199
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vi SYRACUSE,CITYOFLEGENDS
Notes 205
FurtherReading 215
Bibliography 217
ChronologicalTable 223
Glossary 227
Index 237
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List of Illustrations
Black and white illustrations
1. Silverdecadrachm,possiblytheDemareteion.Bypermissionofthe
TrusteesoftheBritishMuseum. 13
2. HeadofZeus,bronzecoinc.340BC.Author’scollection. 62
3. Silvercoin,c.315BC,showingPegasusandtriskeles,thethree-legged
symbolofSicily.Author’scollection. 68
4. HieroIIwithheadband.Reverseshowsahorsemanwithspear,
inscriptionIERONOS.Bronzecoinc.250BC.Author’scollection. 75
5. TheSpanishFortifications.FromGMCapodieci’sAntichiMonumentidi
Siracusa.©TheBritishLibraryBoard(R.B23.a4147). 133
6. Syracusein1840.(Clarks&Stanfieldwatercolour).
Author’scollection. 139
7. TheLittleHarbour.CentoCittàd’Italia,1888. 142
8. CoatofArms.FromWikimediaCommons. 150
9. Silverdecadrachm,possiblytocommemoratevictoryoverthe
Athenians.BypermissionoftheTrusteesoftheBritishMuseum. 163
10. TempleofOlympianZeusin1806.AgostinoAglio.Author’scollection. 174
11. TheVenusLandolina.FromVincentCronin’sTheGoldenHoneycomb
(RupertHart-Davis,London,1954). 179
12. TheAdelfiaSarcophagus.KeanUniversity,NewJersey,USA
(www.kean.edu). 187
13. TheManiaceCastlein1630.FromWikimediaCommons. 200
14. TheLigneGate.CentoCittàd’Italia,1888. 202
Colour plate section
(locatedbetweenpages134and135)
1. Duomo(Cathedral),fromWikimediaCommons(http://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/Siracusa),photographbyEvanErickson,2004.
2. Duomo,interiorshowingGreekcolumns,fromWikimediaCommons,pho-
tographbyGiovanniDall’Orto,2008.
3. PiazzaDuomo.Author’scollection.
4. OrtygiaandtheGreatHarbour.Author’scollection.
5. OldPostOfficeandinlandwaterway.Author’scollection.
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viii SYRACUSE,CITYOFLEGENDS
6. Caravaggio’sSeppellimentodiSantaLucia(BurialofSantaLucia),1608,fromthe
Athenaeum(www.the-athenaeum.org).
7. BasilicaofSantaLucia.Author’scollection.
8. Greek theatre, from Wikimedia Commons, photograph by Jerzy Strzelecki,
2002.
9. FountainofArethusa,fromWikimediaCommons,photographbyJerzyStrz-
elecki,2002.
10. SilverstatueofSantaLucia.Author’scollection.
11. SepulchreofSantaLucia.Author’scollection.
12. ManiaceCastle.Author’scollection.
13. ChurchofSantaLuciaallaBadia,fromWikimediaCommons,photographby
GiovanniDall’Orto,2008.
14. Archimedes’ burning mirror. Stanza della Matematica, 1587–1609 (fresco)
attributedtoGiulioParigi(1571–1635)GalleriadegliUffizi,Florence.From
TheBridgemanArtLibrary.
15. Archimedes’ironarm.SixteenthcenturyfrescoesfromtheUffiziinFlorence,
StanzadellaMatematica,1587–1609,attributedtoGiulioParigi(1571–1635).
BridgemanArtGallery.
16. Ortygia’soutdoormarket.Author’scollection.
17. TempleofApollo.Author’scollection.
List of maps
1. TheMediterraneanSea xiii
2. AncientSicily xiv
3. ModernSicily xv
4. SyracuseinthefifthcenturyBC.ReprintedfromEdwardFreeman’s
HistoryofSicily(ClarendonPressOxford,1891edition),bypermission
ofElibronClassics. 9
5. SyracuseduringtheAtheniansiege.ReprintedfromEdwardFreeman’s
HistoryofSicily(ClarendonPressOxford,1892edition),bypermission
ofElibronClassics. 30
6. SyracuseunderDionysiusI.ReprintedfromEdwardFreeman’s
HistoryofSicily(ClarendonPressOxford,1894edition),by
permissionofElibronClassics. 44
7. AncientMotya.ReprintedfromEdwardFreeman’sHistoryofSicily
(ClarendonPressOxford,1894edition),bypermissionofElibron
Classics. 51
8. MonumentsoftheGreekEra 168
9. MonumentsoftheRomanEra 180
10. MonumentsoftheEarlyChristianEra 188
11. MonumentsoftheBaroqueEra 193
12. OtherImportantMonuments 203
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Preface
The idea for this book goes back to February 2005 when we were
staying in Ortygia, in an apartment overlooking the Great
Harbour.Exploringthecitywecouldseethatitwasafascinatingplace.
Ibecameinterestedinthehistoryandstartedtodosomeresearchand
discovered a mass of literature referring to Syracuse, but no recent
bookonherhistoryandmonuments.Aprojectbegantotakeshapeand
this book is the result, which is intended both for the general reader
interestedintheMediterraneanandforthevisitorlookingforspecific
guidanceonthecity.
The book is in two parts. Part I tells the story of Syracuse con-
centrating upon ancient times when the city was at the peak of her
power. There is an outline chapter bringing the story up to 1945 and
afinalchapteronthemoderncity.Itistoldinnarrativeform,making
fulluseofcontemporaryaccounts.Themanycolourfullegendswhich
accompany the story, some well known like the sword of Damocles,
make the task of disentangling fact from fiction more difficult but are
fullofinterestintheirownright.Aprologuesetsthesceneandgives
theviewsoftravellerstoSyracuseinthepast.
PartIIdescribesthemonumentsandworksofarttobeseentoday.
Theycomefromdifferenterasandforthesakeofclarityarepresented
intheirhistoricalcontext,togetherwithmapsshowingtheirlocations.
Because of this division into historical eras, certain sites such as the
Cathedral and the Archaeological Museum appear in more than one
chapter.
The story in Part I highlights the main, well-documented events
andoutstandingcharacters.Thefullhistory,astoldbythenineteenth-
century historians, is too complex and too full of twists and turns to
be included in a book of this kind. Likewise, in a place so filled with
relics of the past as to be almost impossible to catalogue, not every
monument gets a mention. In both cases, what appears in the book