Greek Warfare in Sicily

Greek Warfare in Sicily Melanie Jonasch The historiography of Sicily between the eighth and third centuries recounts numerous violent conflicts over territorial control, political power, and social hierarchy. The expansion of Greek settlements on an inhabited island naturally led to war, just as city-state formation and consolidation led to competitive struggles and civil unrest. Because of the favorable position of Sicily and its natural resources, Sicilian Greeks confronted Mediterranean rivals, including Carthage and Athens, and later Rome. During the initial stages of colonization, the struggle for land and resources took the form of widespread raids. Women and other non-combatants were affected only when seized as booty by the winners. At the end of the sixth century, when rival ambitions for political domination arose, battles came to involve larger numbers, specialized forces, elaborate equipment, and greater devastation and casualties. Such conflicts could be calamitous for the populace, who might be killed or sold into slavery after their cities were besieged and devastated. Often, however, conquered cities were disenfranchised and made tributary, and the civilian population did not materially suffer under the change of authority. By the fifth century, warfare in Sicily depended mainly on mercenaries and allies from non-Greek Sicilian settlements, mainland Greece, and Italy. Although mercenaries featured in Classical and Hellenistic warfare throughout the Mediterranean, Sicilian cities in particular relied on them. This policy guaranteed troop allegiance and prevented military coups by citizen armies. Yet reliance on mercenaries had far-reaching consequences when they attempted to integrate themselves locally after their military service. Indeed, the average Greek Sicilian was likely affected less by combat than by preventive and preparatory military measures and by the social unrest caused by foreign troops. Warfare was costly, especially when mercenaries were involved. Even in times of peace, leaders resettled entire city populations to meet land or manpower requirements, and new settlers were A Companion to Greek Warfare, First Edition. Edited by Waldemar Heckel, F.S. Naiden, E. Edward Garvin, and John Vanderspoel. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License CHAPTER 5 59 imported to reinforce populations. Numerous domestic conflicts over political hegemony, property, and constitutional forms resulted from this social instability. While town defenses displayed the strength of the polis to outsiders and protected the citizenry, they also reflected social organization and stratification. Out of town, strategic requirements shaped the landscape through the construction of new towns, military outposts, and border sanctuaries in key positions. Warfare changed significantly between the eighth and third centuries. From at least the fifth century, cavalry, archers, and slingers commonly fought alongside hoplites. Because Sicily is an island with many harbors, naval warfare played as important a role as ground combat. Siege equipment such as ramps, towers, and artillery were used by the Carthaginians and Greeks by the late fifth century, and complex siege walls were built, as at Syracuse during the Athenian Expedition in 413. Dionysius the Elder later initiated a series of improvements such as increasing the size and power of warships. The late fifth and fourth centuries also witnessed a major evolution in fortification, of which Hermocrates’ fortress at Selinus and the Euryalus fortress of Syracuse are prime examples. When the Romans besieged Syracuse in 214, they faced not only formidable fortifications but also the military inventions of the Syracusan engineer Archimedes. The following account of violent conflicts in Sicily focuses on various Greek parties and their inter- and intracultural conflicts on the island, but includes the previously mentioned regional powers (Carthage, Athens, and Rome). The concluding section deals with social unrest and domestic conflicts. This artificial arrangement should not obscure the fact that several kinds of parties might participate in a given struggle. For example, Selinus and Carthage allied with one another against Syracuse and Acragas in 480 (Diod. Sic. 13.55.1), and in the mid-fifth century Hybla considered and then rejected an alliance with Sicels led by Ducetius (Diod. Sic. 11.88.6). Appeals to origin and ethnicity could justify military action or the creation of alliances and military support. The main sources for this reconstruction are Thucydides, Herodotus, Diodorus, Polyaenus, Polybius, Plutarch’s Lives, and various fragments of the Greek historians. Archaeological evidence is considered whenever possible.1 Greeks and Indigenous Peoples Upon arrival Scholars long depicted Greek occupation of Sicily as primarily offensive and unilateral, whereas recent research has emphasized the role of native communities. It remains that Greek colonization was accompanied by violence, forced evictions, and territorial appropriation. Thucydides (6.3) recounts the expulsion of local inhabitants during the foundations of Naxos (734), Syracuse (733), and Leontini (728), and excavations at these sites reveal IronAge structures summarily removed to create space for townscapes. Violent encounters likely occurred after the foundation of Gela in 688. Although Gela was not constructed upon an earlier settlement, the earliest Geloans apparently sacked the town of Omphace in the foothills of the Geloan chora (Paus. 8.46.2). 1 Further reading: Shipley 1993; De Vido 2016. 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Greek Warfare in Sicily Melanie Jonasch The non-Greek communities concurrently developing in the hinterland were soon drawn into the sphere of influence of their new neighbors, thanks to trade, treaties, and shared rituals. For example, Thucydides (6.4) describes an agreement between Greek settlers and a local potentate during the foundation of Megara Hyblaea in 729. A group of men from Megara had suffered several misfortunes while searching for a permanent settlement area, when the Sicel leader Hyblon offered them a site on the eastern shore of Sicily, where they founded their city with the approval of the local people. Although this story points to varied relations between Greek settlers and their neighbors, it also demonstrates that Greek enterprises in Sicily were not automatically successful. In 580, the expedition of Pentathlus of Cnidus to Lilybaeum utterly failed after the settlers became involved in a local power struggle (Diod. Sic. 5.9). At the end of the century, when the Carthaginians had already staked their claim in western Sicily, the Spartan Dorieus and his men also met fierce resistance while settling this area.2 Colonization was risky as well as complex. Nevertheless, many of these early conflicts can be interpreted as raids or skirmishes—false starts with few casualties.3 Colonial expansion and neighborhood conflicts During the seventh and sixth centuries, Greeks seemingly spread along the northern and southern coasts of Sicily without major violence against indigenous populations. Yet the foundation of Acrae (663), Casmenae (644), and Camarina (599) by Syracuse curtailed the autonomy of non-Greek neighbors, as did the foundation of Acragas 50 miles west of Gela in 580. The tyranny of Phalaris of Acragas in the first half of the sixth century featured aggressive expansion. Diodorus (19.108) details the construction of several military outposts by the tyrant, and Polyaenus (5.1.4) refers to the submission of the unknown local settlement of Vessa to Phalaris. In the last decades of the sixth century, Acragas expanded across the hinterland of Sicily toward the northern shore. During the sixth century, increasing territorial competition inspired new or rebuilt town defenses and numerous new hilltop strongholds in many locales. Then, in the early fifth century, many hilltop sites in the hinterland were abandoned, perhaps because of two political developments: the centralization of political power in Greek Sicily and the territorial hegemony exercised by the rising tyrannies. In western Sicily, territorial competition had far-reaching consequences. Selinus, founded as an apoikia of Megara Hyblaea in 628, experienced uneasy relations with her Elymian neighbor Egesta from the early sixth century onward. Diodorus (5.9) mentions strife between the two cities beginning with the failed colonization attempt of Pentathlus. Since Selinus undoubtedly had expanding territorial interests, these affrays likely occurred over border issues. Despite the tension, thriving trade appears in the archaeological record, and Thucydides (6.6) names Selinus and Egesta as parties to the the only known agreement concerning intermarriage between a Greek and an Elymian settlement. In the last quarter of the fifth century, relations deteriorated so much that Egesta sought aid from more powerful 2 Hdt. 5.46; Antiochus FGrH 555 F1. 3 Further reading: Graham 1982; Albanese Procelli 1996; Leighton 2000; Lentini 2012; De Angelis 2016; Tréziny 2016. 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 60 61 cities.4 While the resulting Athenian Expedition had a major impact on Sicily, intervention by Carthage in 409 led to the destruction of Selinus and Himera and to a significant shift in the balance of power (see the subsection on Carthage). During the colonial period, then, relations between Greek poleis and their non-Greek neighbors were in flux. No evidence exists for a united front among the local populations. Instead, politically independent communities continually acted as both allies and adversaries of the Greeks. During wars with Athens and Carthage, Sicel communities are repeatedly listed as participants on either side. Meanwhile, recognizable native elements were vanishing from the material culture by the mid-fifth century.5 Indigenous ambitions for power A significant moment in indigenous history was the uprising of Ducetius, an autocrat of native origin, in the mid-fifth century. Conflicts with Catane led to his alliance with Syracuse and to a joint victory over Catane (Diod. Sic. 11.76.3). Encouraged by this success, Ducetius turned against the city of Morgantina and organized a federation of independent Sicel communities challenging Greek supremacy. Next to a sanctuary for the indigenous Palici, he founded the city of Paliké as capital of the federation (Diod. Sic. 11.88.6). After various minor successes, the tide turned when he attacked the so far unidentified hilltop site of Motyon, manned by a garrison from Acragas (Diod. Sic. 11.91). After the combined forces of Syracuse and Acragas destabilized the federation, the Sicels turned against Ducetius, who fled to Syracuse and surrendered all land under his rule (Diod. Sic. 11.92). While the rhetoric attributed to Ducetius regarding the sanctuary of the Palici suggests a certain ethnic self-awareness and “pan-Sicel” aspirations, his strategy resembled those carried out by the Syracusan tyrants, the expansionist Deinomenids. Ducetius aimed to create a stable power in the hinterland, as proved by his early moves against Morgantina and Motyon, and sought allies among independent communities for this purpose. The synteleia of communities, however, did not act cohesively under one leader, as some communities remained independent and most Sicel allies disagreed with his decisions in the wake of his assault on Motyon. Ducetius found refuge and forgiveness, not in his Sicel hometown, but in Syracuse, which exiled him to Corinth. Upon his return to Sicily in 446, Ducetius founded the city of Kale Akte, on the northern shore of Sicily, with the consent of Corinth and Syracuse (Diod. Sic. 12.8), but died soon after in 440. Syracuse consequently regained control over all insurgent communities and perhaps destroyed the Sicel center of Trinacria, sometimes identified with the Ducetian foundation Paliké (Diod. Sic. 12.29). In sum, Ducetius was not a freedom fighter for the indigenous Sicilian cause, but an opportunist who became a major figure in Greek historiography. His attempt to gain political power is nevertheless the sole instance when non-Greeks cooperated in order to claim hegemony in Sicily.6 4 Thuc. 6.6; Diod. Sic. 12.82.3–7, 13.43. 5 Further reading: Graham 1982; Tréziny 2006; De Vido 2009; Adornato 2011; De Angelis 2016. 6 Further reading: Asheri 1992; Jackman 2006; Evans 2016. 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Greek Warfare in Sicily Melanie Jonasch Colonial Rivalries and Regional Power Struggles Just as no common spirit existed among native populations, no ethnic solidarity appeared among Greek settlers vying for the two prizes of territory and power. The following subsections will analyze these motives for violent conflicts among Greeks. Territorial conflicts Although we know of only one early armed border conflict, one between Leontini and Megara Hyblaea in the sixth century (Polyaen. 5.47), violent disputes over boundaries certainly occurred regularly during the foundation of colonies. For example, the war between Syracuse and Camarina in the mid-sixth century was a border dispute in a broad sense, as the causa belli was the lack of loyalty by Camarina, founded by Syracuse as a buffer against the potential ambitions of neighboring Gela. Camarina revolted only a few decades after her foundation, with the support of Gela and her local non-Greek neighbors (Philistus, FGrH 556 Fr5). After a coalition of Syracuse, Megara Hyblaea, and Enna quelled the revolt, all inhabitants were apparently deported to Syracuse, as noted by Thucydides (6.5.3). Since archaeological evidence proves continuous settlement through the sixth and early fifth centuries, we must assume that Syracuse merely asserted its hegemony. Because of her position, Camarina remained a plaything of outside powers throughout her history. In the early fifth century, she was given as payment to Hippocrates of Gela after he defeated Syracuse in the battle of Helorus (Hdt. 7.154.3). When Gelon became tyrant of Syracuse in 485, he destroyed Camarina and transferred her inhabitants to Syracuse (Hdt. 7.156). The city was later repopulated by the Geloans and continued to mark the border between the Greek and Carthaginian spheres of influence from the fourth century onward. Heraclea Minoa, built in the sixth century to secure the border of Selinus (Hdt. 5.46.2), shares this story. Clashes with the neighboring polis of Acragas likely had occurred in the late sixth century, after which Acragas donated spoils from Minoa to Athena Lindia in Rhodes (FGrH 240 F16). Furthermore, Herodotus recounts that the remainder of the unlucky Spartan expedition to western Sicily turned their attention to Heraclea and freed the city from Selinuntine dominion (Hdt. 5.46.2). By 500, however, it had been seized by Acragas and was subsequently occupied by unemployed mercenaries soon after the fall of the Deinomenids (FGrH 577 F1). Like Camarina, the city of Heraclea came under the authority of Carthage in the fourth century. The ambitious apoikia of Acragas previously had expanded both west and east, to the detriment of her mother city, Gela. Although no evidence for violent encounters between the two cities remains, the initial expansion of Acragas likely incorporated Sicilian hilltop sites formerly within the sphere of influence of Gela. As proven by literary sources and archaeological evidence, Acragas’ area of control stretched to Himera on the northern shore of Sicily by the first quarter of the fifth century, when Theron from the Emmenid family was tyrant in Acragas and Terillus was ruler in Himera.7 The surrender of Himera to Theron of Acragas in 483 certainly prompted the issue of a series of coins struck in Himera with the Acragantine crab on the reverse. 7 Hdt. 7.165. Further reading: Luraghi 1994; Hansen and Nielsen 2004; De Luna 2009; Adornato 2011. 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 62 63 Tyrannies and imperialist aspirations The conquest of Himera formed part of Acragantine strategy to gain regional dominion by expanding along the prominent river valleys toward the northern coast of the island. Gela conversely turned to the east, as the tyrant Hippocrates conquered Zancle, Naxos, and Leontini and then defeated Syracuse in the early fifth century (Hdt. 7.154). No evidence of major destruction remains from these cities, although the main gate of the fortified walls at Leontini was likely rendered unusable during this period. Hippocrates installed clientkings, as suggested by a reference in Pausanias (5.22.7) to a tyrant Aenesidemus of Leontini, who previously was in Hippocrates’ bodyguard (Hdt. 7.154.1). The Geloan tyrant also installed Scythes of Cos as king in Zancle. Scythes’ subordinate position became evident when Anaxilas, the tyrant of Rhegium, captured Zancle around 490 (Hdt. 6.23.1–3). Hippocrates, summoned for help by Scythes, did not assist his ally, but instead punished the king for losing his city and put him in chains. Hippocrates did nothing to help Zancle (Hdt. 6.23.4–5). Hippocrates’ rise to power in eastern Sicily required a military consisting of far more than the citizen soldiers of Gela, and so the tyrant increased his troop strength and his budget by spending the funds in the coffers of every captured city. The presence of Sicel mercenaries in his army is attested by Polyaenus (5.6.), but the relationship between Gela and her military personnel of native origin remains unclear. Very likely, alliances between Greeks and nonGreek locals allowed the former to pursue power while the latter profited by cooperating. After the death of Hippocrates in 491, his former cavalry commander, Gelon, continued the expansionist program of Gela by seizing power in Syracuse. Having taken advantage of the Syracusan stasis that led to the expulsion of the Gamoroi (Hdt. 7.155.2), Gelon reinstated the exiles in Syracuse and installed himself as a ruler in 485. These measures did not involve much bloodshed, for the sheer military might of Gela forestalled any Syracusan resistance. As part of his takeover, Gelon transferred the inhabitants of Camarina and part of Gela to Syracuse (Hdt. 7.156.2) and granted citizenship to 10,000 mercenaries of unknown origin (Diod. Sic. 11.72.3). The rapid growth of Syracuse worried the neighboring city of Megara Hyblaea, which tried to oppose Syracusan expansion (Hdt. 7.156.2). Gelon therefore besieged Megara, transported all its elite citizens to Syracuse, and sold the demos into slavery (Thuc. 6.94.1). Archaeological evidence confirms the temporary abandonment of the city in the first half of the fifth century. Through these massive population transfers, Gelon reshaped Syracusan society and its environment and economy. Elsewhere in Sicily, he and his army played a decisive role in the crucial battle at Himera against the Carthaginians in 480 (see the subsection on Carthage). After returning to Syracuse, he advertised the political and financial implications of this victory by building a series of commemorative temples (Diod. Sic. 11.25). After Gelon moved his center of power to Syracuse in 485, he left his hometown in the hands of his brother Hieron, who succeeded Gelon as tyrant of Syracuse after his death in 478 (Diod. Sic. 11.38.2). During his reign of nearly 12 years, Hieron consolidated his power by forging alliances with Polyzalus, tyrant of Gela, and Theron, tyrant of Acragas. He, too, reorganized parts of the population, evicting the inhabitants of Catane in 476 and then refounding the settlement (which he gave the new name of Aetna) with settlers from the Peloponnese and Syracuse. The inhabitants of Naxos and Catane were transferred to Leontini (Diod. Sic. 11.49.1). In 472, he subdued Thrasydaeus, son of Theron of Acragas, who had raised an army to challenge Syracusan hegemony (Diod. Sic. 11.53.3–5). After Thrasydaeus 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Greek Warfare in Sicily Melanie Jonasch was sent into exile, the demos of Acragas took control, and their city became the first in the region to abandon one-man rule, followed by Gela, Himera, and finally Syracuse in 466. The period after the fall of tyranny in eastern Sicily did not witness large-scale territorial expansion, since the first years were devoted to restoring the exiled populations to their hometowns and to establishing peaceful coexistence. Sicily’s mercenaries, who had challenged the formation of these young democracies, were expelled. This time of detente was disturbed only by Ducetius and his attempt to fill the power vacuum left in the hinterland by the former tyrants. The rivalry between Syracuse and Acragas reemerged when Acragas blamed Syracuse for lax supervision of the exiled leader and declared war (Diod. Sic. 12.8). The subsequent battle at the river Himera, won by Syracuse and her allies, resulted in a peace treaty. In the last third of the fifth century, the power struggles between eastern Sicilian Greek poleis and Syracuse regained momentum. This time, Leontini led a rebellion against Syracusan hegemony with the support of Camarina, Rhegium, and Athens (Thuc. 3.86), a conflict that quickly involved many neighboring cities of Greek and native origin. In 424, a general Sicilian congress at Gela brought temporary peace through the efforts of Gela and Camarina, two traditional allies who happened to be on different sides in this conflict (Thuc. 4.58, 4.65). The last quarter of the fifth century and the fourth century featured external threats from Athens and Carthage. Nevertheless, Sicily did not unite. Syracuse continued to strive for control and to secure neighboring agricultural lands for funding her mercenaries. Even after the catastrophic triumph of Carthage in the years between 409 and 406, and the subsequent peace treaty of 405, the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius the Elder tried to reclaim his authority in eastern Sicily. He regained control of Etna, raided the territory of Leontini, and transferred their inhabitants once again to Syracuse (Diod. Sic. 14.14–17). The populations of Catane and Naxos were sold into slavery and their territories distributed among his Sicel and Campanian allies. Dionysius also established mercenary garrisons at Adranon on the slope of Mount Etna (Diod. Sic. 14.37.5) and at Monte Turcisi on the edge of the plain of Catania. After returning from his campaign to Motya in 396, he gave the territory of Leontini to disgruntled mercenaries, transferred new settlers from southern Italy to Messana, and installed Greeks from the Peloponnese in Tyndaris, a new foundation on the northern shore of Sicily (Diod. Sic. 14.68). In subsequent decades, Sicily fell prey to adventurers of various stripes. Hicetas, a former general of the Syracusan army, conquered Leontini in 341 and used it as a base to wage war against Dionysius the Younger, the successor to the Elder (Plut. Tim. 2.3). He then allied himself with the Carthaginians and besieged Dionysius on the island of Ortygia. The statesman Timoleon from Corinth, summoned by the demos of Syracuse, drove both Hicetas and Dionysius from the city and seized control of their territories (Diod. Sic. 16.68). He then transferred the inhabitants of Leontini to Syracuse and invited new settlers from mainland Greece, who immigrated in considerable numbers (Diod. Sic. 16.82). In the final decades of the fourth century, the politician and commander Agathocles seized power in Syracuse by a coup. Several thousand aristocratic opponents who were not killed on the spot had to flee, and sought refuge in Messana and Acragas (Diod. Sic. 19.8). This banishment of political opponents spurred two revolutionary movements under the leadership of Dinocrates of Syracuse and Xenodicus of Acragas. Dinocrates, an exiled aristocrat from Syracuse, recruited his own army and aligned with the Carthaginians against Syracuse (Diod. Sic. 19.103). Xenodicus, a general elected by the Acragantines, proclaimed the freedom of Sicilian cities from Syracusan and Carthaginian dominion while secretly promoting his own 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 64 65 interests (Diod. Sic. 20.31). Since Xenodicus quickly gained support in Gela, Enna, Herbessus, Leontini, Camarina, and Heraclea Minoa, Agathocles was forced to return from his African campaign against Carthage in 308 (see the subsection on Carthage). He defeated Xenodicus and his allies and regained numerous cities in western and northern Sicily, before returning to Africa (Diod. Sic. 20.56). Dinocrates still held several hilltop sites and recruited an ever-increasing number of soldiers. Only after the peace treaty with Carthage in 306 was Agathocles able to address this threat. Although superior in numbers, Dinocrates and his allies were defeated, and then surrendered on terms, Dinocrates being appointed general in Syracuse (Diod. Sic. 20.89–90). The death of Agathocles in 289 and the quarrel over his succession led to the emergence of autonomous local powers that included new tyrannical regimes in Syracuse, Acragas, Leontini, and Tauromenium (Diod. Sic. 22.2, 22.8). Some violent conflicts were initiated by Acragas and Syracuse, who attempted in vain to replicate past success. More significant was the occupation of Messana by a group of Campanian mercenaries left unemployed after the death of Agathocles. A constant source of unrest and concern for Syracuse and her neighbors, these mercenaries were essentially responsible for the first intervention of Rome in 264 (see the subsection on Rome).8 Foreign Wars Sicily and the Greek world outside Italy Culturally, the Sicilian poleis formed part of the Greek world, as illustrated by their regular participation in the Olympic Games and their votive dedications at Panhellenic sanctuaries on the Greek mainland. Alliances and collaboration with mainland Greek powers were nevertheless rare, even as late as the early fifth century, when envoys of a Greek confederation asked Gelon for help in the war against the Persian Empire. Gelon offered generous support only on the condition that he become the leading commander of the Greek forces. After the Spartans and Athenians categorically denied his request, he remained uninvolved, but sent to Delphi a delegation with gifts for Xerxes, in case of a Persian victory (Hdt. 7.158–163). During the Peloponnesian War, a Syracusan fleet under Hermocrates fought as a Spartan ally against the Athenians in Asia Minor (Thuc. 8.26), in recompense for Spartan aid under the general Gylippus during the Athenian siege of Syracuse several years earlier (see the subsection on Athens). Since the fleet participated in several battles on the Hellespont with limited success, then was destroyed in the Battle of Cyzicus in 410, Hermocrates was relieved of his command and sent into exile (Xen. Hell. 1.1.18). More than a century later, Agathocles assisted the inhabitants of Corcyra against the Macedonian King Cassander (Diod. Sic. 21.2). The ulterior motive of his intervention, however, was the offer of the island as dowry to King Pyrrhus of Epirus, who married Agathocles’ daughter, Lanassa (Plut. Pyrrh. 9). 8 Further reading: Meister 1984; Caven 1990; Asheri 1992; Lewis 1994; Luraghi 1994; Westlake 1994; Frasca 2009; De Vido 2013; De Angelis 2016; Evans 2016. 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Greek Warfare in Sicily Melanie Jonasch Southern Italy More important than mainland Greece was southern Italy. The territories across the Strait of Messina naturally played a decisive role in Sicilian territorial expansion, especially the Chalcidian foundation of Rhegium, frequently annexed to the Syracusan sphere of influence. Such interaction began in the early fifth century, when Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium, seized power in Zancle, and renamed it Messana (Thuc. 6.4.6). As Anaxilas controlled both sides of the strait from the 490s, he gave his daughter as wife to Hiero I to prevent confrontation with Syracuse. He himself married a daughter of Terillus, tyrant of Himera, and therefore took the side of Carthage in the battle of 480 (Hdt. 7.165). The other major polis on the Bruttian peninsula, Locri Epizephyrii, was a stable ally of Syracuse and an enemy of Rhegium since her foundation. During the Athenian advance on Sicily in 427, Locri allied herself to Syracuse, while Rhegium hosted the Athenian fleet (Thuc. 3.86). As Dionysius the Elder obviously would not leave this strategic tip of the Italian peninsula in hostile hands, he attacked Rhegium several times, but unsuccessfully, and also rebuilt Messana as a Syracusan outpost (Diod. Sic. 14.100). He also allied himself with local Lucanians, who were fighting Greek cities of Southern Italy. These poleis had united as the Italiote League (Polyb. 2.39.1–7). Together with the Lucanians, Dionysius gained a decisive victory over the League in the battle at the Eleporus River (Diod. Sic. 14.104). After the conquest of Rhegium, which at last fell to him in 386, and the destruction of Caulonia and Hipponium, Dionysius controlled the entire Bruttian peninsula. Alliances with the Lucanians and the defeated Italiotes extended his hegemony beyond Italy into the Adriatic Sea. Long after the death of Dionysius the Elder Agathocles reestablished Syracusan hegemony over the Bruttians. In 295, after besieging and conquering Croton, he secured substantial (but not absolute) Syracusan supremacy in the region (Diod. Sic. 21.4). Another Italian power, the Etruscans, traded with Sicily from the eighth century onward. Although the Etruscans and the Greeks never competed over the colonization of Sicily, several violent clashes occurred, the most famous of which was the triumph of Hieron’s fleet over the Etruscans in the naval battle at Cumae in 474 (Diod. Sic. 11.51). Illustrating the importance of this victory is the Etruscan helmet dedicated at the Panhellenic sanctuary of Olympia with an inscription of Hiero I as a votive from the spoils of Cumae (CIG 16). In the mid-fifth century, a Syracusan expedition to Elba and Corsica resulted in a victory over the resident Etruscans (Diod. Sic. 11.88.4–5). In 384, Dionysius the Elder attacked the Etruscan city of Pyrgi and looted a sanctuary to procure funds for his war against Carthage (Diod. Sic. 15.14.3). Apart from these conflicts, the Etruscans appear in Sicilian history as mercenaries. They joined the Athenians in their expedition against Syracuse and served the Carthaginians against Agathocles, although a fleet from Etruria assisted Agathocles in defeating Carthaginian naval forces in 307.9 Athens Because of its fertile soils and its position as a trading hub in the western Mediterranean, Sicily was of interest for the Athenians also. Alliances with Sicilian cities, including the 9 Athens against Syracuse: Thuc. 6.103.2). Carthage against Agathocles: Diod. Sic. 19.106.2. Etrurian aid: Diod. Sic. 20.61.6. Further reading: Purcell 1994; Torelli 1996; Musti 2005; Funke 2006. 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 66 67 Elymian town of Egesta and the polis of Leontini (Thuc. 6.6.2), date back to 454. Athens became a significant force in southern Italy with the Panhellenic foundation of Thurii in 443 under its Athenian oikistes Lampon, who also aided Catane against an expanding Syracuse during the late 430s (Justin 4.3). These early interventions on Sicilian soil were undertaken to secure a position on the island and to discourage an alliance between Syracuse and Sparta. Several years later, Athens was again summoned by her ally Leontini (Thuc. 3.86). The expedition of 427 followed. The Athenian fleet established a base in Rhegium and conducted several campaigns to the Aeolian Islands and Mylae (Thuc. 3.90). No battles against Syracuse are attested, and the peace of Gela in 424 prevented further interference in Sicilian politics (Thuc. 4.65). A new opportunity presented itself in 415, when Egesta and Leontini asked for assistance against the expansionist policies of Selinus and Syracuse (Thuc. 6.6). Despite cautionary voices, the Athenians agreed on a military campaign against Syracuse and assembled an army of considerable size under the leadership of Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus. The enterprise was ill fated, as the Athenians could not find allies in Magna Graecia and Egesta defaulted on promised money (Thuc. 6.46). After skirmishes against secondary settlements on the coastline, the Athenians set up base in Catane and prepared for battle. The first military encounter, near the extra-urban Olympieum, proved victorious for the Athenians, who were superior in tactics and military skill (Thuc. 6.65–72). During the following winter, however, Hermocrates reformed the military leadership in Syracuse, reinforced the fortifications, and sent envoys for help to Corinth and Sparta (Thuc. 6.72–73, 6.75). In the summer of 414, the Athenians attacked again and occupied the high plateau of the Epipolae to the north of Syracuse (Thuc. 6.97). While the Athenians quickly built a semicircular wall from the Epipolae to the Great Harbor to cut off the supply routes of Syracuse, the besieged polis erected a counter wall to the north of the high plateau and prevented the Athenians from reaching the coastline. The Syracusans thus secured vital supplies. During the following winter, Syracuse supplemented and improved their fleet with support from Corinth and nearly all Sicilian cities (Thuc. 7.36). While Athens also received reinforcements, they suffered setbacks and disease due to the unfavorable position of their camp near marshland (Thuc. 7.46–47). They failed to retreat to Catane and reassemble their forces, since the Syracusans blocked the harbor and any escape by sea. A desperate attempt to break free failed, and a retreat overland succumbed to an attack by the Syracusan coalition. The Sicilian Expedition ended in a crushing defeat for the Athenians, most of whom were killed or sold into slavery (Thuc. 7.75–86). Athens made no further Athenian attempt to influence Sicilian affairs.10 Carthage The Phoenicians frequented Sicily as early as the ninth century, and from the eighth century on they maintained settlements at Panormos, Motya, and Soloeis in cooperation with their Elymian neighbors. The first violent conflict attested by the sources dates to 510, during the futile attempt of the Spartan Dorieus to settle the western coast of Sicily. Not long afterward, in the first quarter of the fifth century, Carthage became more interested in political influence and territorial holdings on the island. When Terillus, the former tyrant of Himera who had 10 Further reading: Andrewes 1992; Brice 2013. 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Greek Warfare in Sicily Melanie Jonasch been defeated and exiled by Theron of Acragas, asked Carthage for help, Carthage tried to restore Terillus as tyrant by forming an alliance with Anaxilas of Rhegium and Greeks from Selinus. Hamilcar sailed to Sicily in 480, with many citizen soldiers and with mercenaries from all parts of the Mediterranean. Diodorus (11.20–21) provides a detailed description of the Carthaginian forces. The first attack on Himera caused Theron, who led the resistance in the city, to call for reinforcements from Syracuse. Gelon willingly accepted the mission and came with a considerable number of soldiers to Himera. After capturing a messenger carrying a letter from Hamilcar, Gelon was able to attack Hamilcar by surprise, kill him, and wreck his naval base. A peace agreement was then negotiated on comparatively favorable terms for the Carthaginians. The victory at Himera was nevertheless of vital importance for the stability of Greek Sicily, for the Carthaginians confined themselves to the Western Sicilian towns of Panormus, Motya, and Soloeis for the next 70 years. Partly because Himera occurred around the same time as the Battle of Salamis, it became an important topos in the self-representation of the Deinomenids and a prominent event in the Greek collective memory.11 Like the Persians, the Carrthaginians played the role of a defeated foreign threat. A longer and more complex series of confrontations began in 410, when Egesta called again for aid against the threats of neighboring Selinus (Diod. Sic. 13.43.4–5). With a considerable army of citizen soldiers, mercenaries, and allies, Hannibal Mago, Hamilcar’s grandson, besieged Selinus. After several days of fierce fighting, the city fell. The reinforcements sent by Syracuse and Acragas did not arrive in time (Diod. Sic. 13.55–56). While the delayed allies collected the surviving inhabitants, Hannibal raided Himera, where the Himerans were supported by 4,000 soldiers from Syracuse under the command of Diocles (Diod. Sic. 13.59.9). After a battle outside the city walls, Diocles evacuated Himera. He had heard rumors that Hannibal was deploying ships from Motya in an attack on Syracuse. In the course of the evacuation of Himera, the Carthaginians attacked and razed the city to the ground, and tortured and killed many of the fleeing inhabitants (Diod. Sic. 13.62). Archaeological evidence confirms the destruction of Himera and its subsequent abandonment in the late fifth century. Hannibal sailed back to Africa without further operations on Sicily. Only some years later, in 406, did the Carthaginians vote for a new military expedition to Sicily (Diod. Sic. 13.80.1). Hannibal and Himilco, another member of the Magonid family, recruited an army of allies and mercenaries from across the Mediterranean. The Sicilian Greeks, having prepared for this attack, defeated a Carthaginian contingent of warships near the Elymian city of Eryx. The Carthaginians sent reinforcements and continued their expedition with an eight-month siege of Acragas, where Hannibal perished from illness (Diod. Sic. 13.85). A Geloan army, mercenaries, and a Syracusan force supported the Acragantines. After several battles, mostly favorable for the Greeks, Himilco sent warships from Motya and cut off the food supply of Acragas by sea. Facing starvation, the Greek generals evacuated the inhabitants of Acragas to Gela and left the city to be looted by Himilco and his troops (Diod. Sic. 13.88.6–89). Afterward, the Carthaginians established their winter camp within the city walls. These events distressed the Syracusans, who elected new generals including Dionysius the Elder, who became strategos autokrator, or sole commander, in the following turmoil. 11 Pind. Pyth. 1.72–80; Hdt. 7.166; Diod. Sic. 11.24.1. 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 68 69 In the summer of 405, Himilco departed Acragas to wage war against the neighboring city of Gela and her territory (Diod. Sic. 13.108.2–3). Despite a highly motivated Geloan army and generous reinforcements from Syracuse, the counterattack on the Carthaginians failed and Dionysius abandoned both Gela and Camarina. Thwarted by the outbreak of an epidemic, Himilco proposed a peace treaty that Dionysius willingly accepted, despite the harsh terms it imposed on the Sicilian Greeks. The Carthaginians gained dominion over all of western Sicily, and collected tribute from Selinus, Acragas, Gela, Camarina, and Thermae, where the survivors of the battle at Himera in 409 had relocated. Leontini, Messene, and the Sicels remained autonomous, with Syracuse being left to Dionysius. Several years later, having established his rule and prepared Syracuse and eastern Sicily for war, Dionysius challenged the Carthaginians by attacking Motya, their most important trading base. Many Greek cities, including Selinus and Thermae, joined forces with his large army of Syracusan citizens, allies, and mercenaries. They quickly took Eryx, and besieged Motya using new weapons such as catapaults and quinqueremes financed by Dionysius (Diod. Sic. 14.47.4–48, 14.42.1–2, 14.41.3–6). Both proved very effective after Himilco arrived with his warships and counterattacked (Diod. Sic. 14.50). After a fierce battle, the Greek attackers forced their way into Motya, looted it, and took the inhabitants captive. Despite this success, Dionysius could not secure the western part of Sicily, and Himilco managed to regain Motya and Eryx during the winter (Diod. Sic. 14.55.4). For lack of reinforcements from inland communities, Dionysius had to retreat, and the Carthaginians advanced once more into eastern Sicily, taking Messana and establishing alliances with the neighboring Sicels. Dionysius meanwhile fortified inland settlements and enlarged his army with freed slaves and mercenaries (Diod. Sic. 14.57). The ensuing battle, at sea near Catane, saw the Carthaginians overcome the Syracusan fleet despite the technical superiority of the Greek ships (Diod. Sic. 14.60). Dionysius retreated inside the walls of Syracuse, while Himilco invested the city by land and sea. During the siege, the Carthaginians again suffered from diseases that weakened their forces. Dionysius took this opportunity to attack their camps and burn their ships in the harbor (Diod. Sic. 14.72–74). Himilco fled with his citizen soldiers to Africa, while the Sicels returned to their home towns; the remainder of the Carthaginian allies were sold into slavery (Diod. Sic. 14.75). Not warmly welcomed at home, Himilco and his soldiers later faced a major uprising against the hegemony of Carthage in Africa. Only in 393 did Carthage attempt once more to strengthen its position in Sicily, when Mago fought a series of battles with Syracuse (Diod. Sic. 14.90). In 392, a new peace treaty confirmed the conditions of 405, with the difference that the Sicels were now subject to Dionysius (Diod. Sic. 14.96). According to Diodorus (15.15), hostilities between Carthaginians and Greeks resumed in the 370s, when Dionysius convinced some cities paying tribute to Carthage to defect. Mago then entered a pact with Greeks from Southern Italy and challenged Syracuse from both sides of the strait. A battle at an unknown site called Cabala resulted in a striking victory for Dionysius, who rejected a peace request and demanded the Carthaginians evacuate Sicily. Carthage replied by defeating the Syracusan army at another unknown site called Cronium (Diod. Sic. 15.16–17). After a peace treaty reestablished Carthaginian hegemony over western Sicily, the death of Dionysius in 367 temporarily ended hostilities between the two major powers on the island. In 345, the Carthaginians involved themselves in Syracusan politics by supporting Hicetas, the tyrant of Leontini, in his efforts to gain control of Syracuse. During his campaign, Hicetas 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Greek Warfare in Sicily Melanie Jonasch invited the Carthaginians to take over Syracuse, although Plutarch (Tim. 17) notes that they preferred to avoid battle with Timoleon, who had been sent from Corinth to help the demos end the ongoing political infighting. Timoleon, however, needing money to pay his mercenaries, invaded Carthaginian territory and convinced many Greek and native communities in western Sicily to change sides (Diod. Sic. 16.73). The Carthaginians then recruited a large army and crossed over to Sicily (Diod. Sic. 16.77.4). They confronted Timoleon and his troops in the territory of Acragas, near the river Crimisus. Despite the numerical superiority of the Carthaginians, Timoleon gained another victory after severe weather hampered his opponents (Diod. Sic. 16.80). Afraid of further military operations, the Carthaginians requested a new peace treaty that established the river Halycus as the border between the Syracusan and the Carthaginian spheres of influence (Diod. Sic. 16.82.3). This agreement led to nearly three decades without major conflicts between the two parties. Hostilities resumed only under the rule of the Syracusan tyrant Agathocles. He attempted to gain control of eastern Sicily by subduing both autonomous settlements and Greek cities granted freedom in the treaty of 338, and upset the balance of power on the island. Diplomacy having failed, Carthage made war on behalf of the Syracusan exiles who had fled to Acragas during Agathocles’ military coup in 316 (Diod. Sic. 19.103.1). Agathocles had renewed the peace with Carthage two years after that, in 314, but responded by besieging Acragas, a startling act of war. The Carthaginian fleet thereupon sailed into the harbor of Syracuse and set up camp on Mount Ecnomus, on the western banks of the river Himera (Diod. Sic. 19.108.1). In a counter-maneuver, Agathocles occupied Gela and pitched camp in a stronghold on the opposite side of the river. He attacked the Carthaginian camp and inflicted severe losses, but was forced to retreat to Gela after Carthaginian reinforcements arrived from Africa (Diod. Sic. 19.109). Hamilcar menaced Syracuse and convinced many cities, including Camarina, Leontini, and Messana, to come over to his side. In desperation, Agathocles sailed to Africa and attacked Carthage, a first for the Greeks, while Hamilcar and his troops were besieging Syracuse (Diod. Sic. 20.13.4). With the element of surprise on his side, Agathocles raided the African countryside and camped near Carthage. Internal conflict and the absence of Hamilcar, enfeebled the city’s defenses. Agathocles thus conquered numerous cities within the Carthaginian sphere of influence, or convinced them to change sides. Hamilcar, still besieging Syracuse, died in an ambush in 309. In the second year of his campaign, Agathocles returned to Sicily to fight his political enemies (see the subsection on Tyrannies and imperialist aspirations) and left his son Archagathus in charge of the African campaign (Diod. Sic. 20.55.5). The Carthaginians exploited this shift and launched an attack on the inexperienced general, who suffered a disastrous defeat. Agathocles returned to Africa in 307, but failed to retrieve the situation and fled, abandoning most of his troops and even his sons (Diod. Sic. 20.69). Upon his return to Sicily, he concluded a peace mostly reinstating the terms of the 314 treaty. When he was planning to violate this treaty in 288 with a new attack on Carthage, he fell ill and died at the age of 72. Fighting between Syracuse and Carthage continued, as the Carthaginians haunted the Sicilian coast and even raided Syracusan territory a decade later. The Sicilian Greeks appealed to the Epirot King Pyrrhus, who at that time was waging war against the Romans in southern Italy.12 During his short intervention in Sicily, he won a victory at Messana and nearly succeeded in driving the Carthaginians out of Sicily. His refusal to negotiate peace, however, and his injurious behavior toward the Sicilian Greeks, quickly alienated them (Plut. Pyrrh. 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 70 71 23.5). Pyrrhus gladly left the island in 275, and the status quo ante supervened. The Carthaginians continued to roam the island and even collaborated with King Hiero II of Syracuse when Rome came to the aid of the Mamertines (Polyb. 1.11). The resulting First Punic War between Rome and Carthage was fought nearly exclusively on Sicily. In the treaty of 241, Carthage agreed to evacuate Sicily and to refrain from further action against Syracuse and its allies.13 Like Athens before it, Carthage had dropped out of Sicilian politics. Rome Rome came to Sicily in 264 when the Mamertines asked for help in fending off the attacks of Syracuse and Carthage against Messana, which they controlled. After liberating Messana, the commander Appius Claudius Caudex planned to besiege Syracuse, but King Hiero II agreed to pay a fine and to supply the Roman army during their following confrontation with Carthage. Although no literary source speaks of Sicilian participation during this, the First Punic War, allied locals certainly provided Rome manpower, logistics, and technical support. In western Sicily, many Greek foundations under Carthaginian hegemony were sacked and destroyed by the Romans, including Acragas, Selinus, and Heraclea Minoa. The treaty ending the First Punic War made them Roman subjects and left Syracuse autonomous (Polyb. 1.62.8). In 227, Roman praetor Gaius Flaminius was entrusted with the administration of Sicily. A pro-Carthaginian faction in Syracuse, however, convinced the new king, Hieronymus, to ally himself with Carthage, at war with Rome since 218 (Polyb. 7.3.9). Although King Hieronymus and his allies fell victim to a palace intrigue (Diod. Sic. 26.15), the Romans prepared to conquer this last independent piece of Sicily. In 214, they attacked by sea and land. The powerful fortifications of Syracuse withstood this onslaught and the new battle equipment developed by Archimedes bolstered the defenders. The siege lasted two years before the Romans gained the upper hand (Polyb. 8.3–7). After they received news concerning a Syracusan festival to Artemis, they climbed the outer walls during the celebrations and thus improved their position.14 Seizing the rest of the city took several months more, and ended in the partial destruction of its buildings, the murder or enslavement of its citizens, and the transfer of its treasures to Rome (Polyb. 9.10). Under praetor Lucius Cincius Alimentus, Syracuse was incorporated into the Roman province of Sicilia.15 Internecine Conflicts Our sources attest to much domestic upheaval and civil unrest in Sicily from the Archaic period onward. Syracuse alone suffered at least 27 episodes of social strife between the midseventh and the mid-third century. Several sources mention the expulsion of citizen groups, without giving the reasons that led to their removal. Thucydides, for example, says the Syracusan clan of the Myletidae took part in the foundation of Himera, without noting the 12 13 14 15 Plut. Pyrrh. 22; Diod. Sic. 22.8. Polyb. 1.62.8. Further reading: Meister 1984; Asheri 1988; Bondi 2006. Polyb. 8.37; Liv. 25.24. Further reading: Lomas 1993; Hoyos 2015. 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Greek Warfare in Sicily Melanie Jonasch context of their departure (6.5.1). Tyranny began on Sicily with the coup of the general Panaetius against the aristocrats of Leontini in 608 (Polyaen. 5.47). The rise to power of the infamous Phalaris of Acragas three decades later involved the killing of many citizens and the abduction of women and children (Polyaen. 5.1). These and other struggles for or against one-man rule were a leitmotif of the pre-Roman, Greek period in Sicily. Sieges and masskillings were frequent. Agathocles, with his private army of allies and mercenaries and his massacre of leading aristocrats, was the last of this breed (Polyaen. 5.3). Factions and civil groups conducted violent actions, too. The demos expelled the landowning elite, or Gamoroi, from Syracuse around 490 (Hdt. 7.155). They achieved this goal only by mobilizing the landowners’ slaves in revolt against their masters (FGrH 566 F8a), so the struggle for a democratic regime became linked to economic and social emancipation. Economic motives often caused discontent and upheaval, especially rivalries over land. The dispute between the demos and aristocracy of Leontini concerning land distribution after the peace of Gela in 424 can serve as an example (Thuc. 5.4). Civil unrest also resulted from diverging loyalties, as evidenced by Acragas, where proSyracusan factions were expelled both in 413, during the Athenian expedition (Thuc. 7.50), and in 394, after a defeat of Dionysius at Tauromenium (Diod. Sic. 14.88.5). Policies of displacement also led to conflicts, as evident after the fall of the Deinomenids in the mid-fifth century, when old and new citizens of Syracuse argued over the right to hold public office (Diod. Sic. 11.72). Foreign mercenaries, especially those who helped tyrants win and retain power, played a major role in these conflicts. In Syracuse, mercenaries to whom Gelon had granted civil rights battled Syracusan citizens. After a series of violent confrontations in Syracuse and the hinterlands of Gela and Acragas, the Greek cities allowed the mercenaries to retain their possessions and to settle in the city of Messana (Diod. Sic. 11.76.5–6). Bands of mercenaries also occupied sites of native origin, including the cities of Omphace and Cacyrum in the hinterland of Gela (FGrH 577 F1). Nearly two centuries after mercenaries settled in Messana, this city again played a decisive role in the conflict between unemployed mercenaries and Greek Sicilians. Campanian mercenaries demanded political rights in Syracuse after the death of Agathocles in 289, but were rebuffed by the Syracusans. After leaving Syracuse, the mercenaries seized the city of Messana, renamed it Mamertina after the war-god Mamers, and prospered by raiding the surrounding countryside (Diod. Sic. 21.18). As already noted, the attempts of Hiero II and the Carthaginians to rid themselves of their troublesome neighbors resulted in the First Punic War.16 The role of mercenaries, along with the frequent displacement of populations, made the history of Greek Sicily peculiarly turbulent. So did colonization and the role played by outside powers. Rome put an end to this era of wars and upheavals, but introduced a new era, marked by revolts and slave rebellions. 16 Further reading: Lintott 1982; Berger 1992; Tagliamonte 1994; Hansen and Nielsen 2004, 124–129; Trundle 2004. 10.1002/9781119438847.ch5, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119438847.ch5 by University of California - Los Ange, Wiley Online Library on [07/03/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 72