History of Syracuse, Sicily
The history of Syracuse is exceptional for the events that took place and for the outstanding cast of characters. The city was important in several historical eras, in particular the ancient Greek, Roman, early Christian, Byzantine and Baroque. The history of Syracuse is thus made up of many different layers. It is also rich in legends, the place where Damocles endured the sword hanging over his head and where Archimedes experienced the original “eureka” moment. These legends make the history of Syracuse more difficult to evaluate but are of considerable interest in their own right.
Major military expeditions and epic sieges play an important part in the history of Syracuse, described by ancient writers such as Thucydides, Livy and Plutarch. After the Greek era Syracuse became the capital of the Roman province of Sicily, then an important centre for the early Christians, then capital of a Byzantine province. Capture by the Arabs in 878 AD was a turning point in the history of Syracuse after which the importance of the city declined and Palermo became the leading city in Sicily.
Find out more about the history of Syracuse
On this website, you will find information about the history of Syracuse, about what to see in the modern-day city of Siracusa and about other places in Sicily you can visit while staying in Syracuse.
Jeremy Dummett's book Syracuse, City of Legends is available from Amazon and all good bookshops, including the Libreria Gabò, 38 Corso Matteotti, Ortygia, Syracuse.