Hiero II of Syracuse

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Coin of Hiero II of Syracuse
Zeus' sacrificial altar built by Hiëro II in Syracuse

Hiero II (

Greek Sicily, from 275 to 215 BC, and the illegitimate son of a Syracusan noble, Hierocles, who claimed descent from Gelon.[1] He was a former general of Pyrrhus of Epirus and an important figure of the First Punic War.[2]
He figures in the story of famed thinker Archimedes shouting "Eureka".

Rise to power

Image of Philistis (left), the wife of Hiero II, from a coin.

On the departure of Pyrrhus from

Mylae along the Longanus river by Hiero, who was only prevented from capturing Messina by Carthaginian interference. His grateful countrymen then made him king (275).[1]

First Punic War

In 264 BC he again returned to the attack, and the Mamertines called in the aid of

Appius Claudius Caudex, he withdrew to Syracuse.[4][1]

Pressed by the Roman forces, in 263 he concluded a treaty with Rome, by which he was to rule over the south-east of Sicily and the eastern coast as far as

Tauromenium.[1][4]

After the Punic War

From this time until his death in 215 BC he remained loyal to the Romans, and frequently assisted them with men and provisions during the Punic war.[5] He kept up a powerful fleet for defensive purposes, and employed his famous kinsman Archimedes in the construction of those engines that, at a later date, played so important a part during the siege of Syracuse by the Romans.[1]

Connection to the "eureka" story

According to a story told by Vitruvius,[6] Hiero suspected he was being cheated by the goldsmith to whom he had supplied the gold to make a votive crown for a temple. He asked Archimedes to find out if all the gold had been used, as had been agreed. Archimedes, on discovering the principle of displacement needed to measure the density of the crown is said to have shouted "eureka, eureka!" while running naked through Syracuse. Supposedly, it was while noticing the rise in water level when getting a bath tub that Archimedes realized he could use water-displacement to measure the crown's irregular shape, and in his excitement about the discovery he dashed outside cheering and forgot to dress himself first. Vitruvius concludes this story by stating that Archimedes' method successfully detected the goldsmith's fraud; the smith had indeed taken some of the gold and substituted silver instead.

Legacy and honors

A picture of the prosperity of Syracuse during his rule is given in the sixteenth idyll of Theocritus, his favourite poet.[1][7]

In the 16th century treatise

Machiavelli cites Hiero as an exceptionally virtuous man and a rare example of someone who rose to princely power from previously being a private individual, comparing him to Moses, Cyrus, Theseus, and Romulus
.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hiero s.v. Hiero II.". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 453.
  2. ^ "The Rise of Hiero" from Polybius, Histories at Perseus
  3. ^ "Hiero and Rome" from Polybius, Histories at Perseus
  4. ^ a b Polybius i. 8–16; Zonaras Viii. 9.
  5. ^ Livy xxi. 49–51, xxii. 37, xxiii. 21.
  6. ^ De architectura IX, Preface, 9-12.
  7. Justin
    xxiii. 4.

Further reading

Preceded by:
Controlled by Pyrrhus of Epirus
Tyrant of Syracuse

275 BC – 215 BC 		Succeeded by:
Hieronymus
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