Tyrant of Syracuse (r. 491-c. 478 b. c.e.)
Born: c. 540 b. c.e.; place unknown Died: c. 478 b. c.e.; place unknown Category: Government and politics
Life Gelon (JEE-lahn) of Syracuse, son of Deinomenes, rose to prominence as bodyguard and then master of the cavalry for Hippocrates, ruler of the city of Gela on the island of Sicily roughly 498 to 491 b. c.e. Hippocrates steadily built a small empire, and when he died, Gelon snatched the monarchy from Hippocrates’ heirs. Gelon continued to build power through alliance and conquest, culminating in control of Sicily’s grand prize, the city of Syracuse in 485 b. c.e. Gelon governed Syracuse himself and handed over Gela to his brother Hieron. He maintained an alliance with another tyrant, Theron of Acragas, which included marrying Theron’s daughter Damarete. Gelon commanded the largest military force in Greece and therefore caught the attention of the Carthaginians. When Xerxes I led Persian troops against mainland Greece, Gelon could provide only limited assistance because the Carthaginian general Hamilcar attacked Sicily itself. In conjunction with Theron, Gelon repelled the Carthaginians at the Battle of Himera, reportedly at the same time as the Greeks overwhelmed the Persian attack at Salamis in 480 b. c.e. Upon Gelon’s death in about 478, his brother ruled Syracuse as Hieron I.
Influence Gelon increased the power and prestige of Sicily, and his reign was later considered a golden age. He especially enhanced the city of Syracuse with an increased population, public works, and prosperity.
Further Reading
Finley, M. I. A History of Sicily. Vol. 1. London: Chatto & Windus, 1968. Smith, Christopher, and John Serrati, eds. Sicily from Aeneas to Augustus:
New Approaches in Archaeology and History. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press, 2000.
Wilfred E. Major
See also: Greco-Persian Wars; Hieron I of Syracuse; Salamis, Battle of; Syracuse; Xerxes I.
World History
