Hiero II, tyrant of Syracuse from 270 to 215 BC, was the illegitimate son of a Syracusan noble, Hierocles, who claimed descent from Gelo. He was an important figure of the First Punic War. Map of central Mediterranean Sea, showing location of Syracuse on the island of Sicily. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC - 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 275 BC 274 BC 273 BC 272 BC 271 BC - 270 BC - 269 BC 268 BC 267... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC - 210s BC - 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC Years: 220 BC 219 BC 218 BC 217 BC 216 BC - 215 BC - 214 BC 213 BC... Gelo, son of Deinomenes, was a 5th century BC ruler of Gela and Syracuse. ... History -- Military History -- War The First Punic War was fought between Carthage and the Roman Republic from 264 BC to 241 BC. It was the first of three major wars between these two ancient world super powers for supremacy in the Mediterranean Sea and control of Sicily. ...

On the departure of Pyrrhus from Sicily (275 BC) the Syracusan army and citizens appointed him commander of the troops. He materially strengthened his position by marrying the daughter of Leptines, the leading citizen. In the meantime, the Mamertines, a body of Campanian mercenaries who had been employed by Agathocles, had seized the stronghold of Messana, whence they harassed the Syracusans. They were finally defeated in a pitched battle near Mylae by Hiero, who was only prevented from capturing Messana by Carthaginian interference. His grateful countrymen then made him tyrant (270). Pyrrhus (318 BC - 272 BC) (Greek Πυρρος, the color of fire, reddish, red-blonde) was the king of Epirus from 306 - 301 BC and again from 297 - 272 BC. Pyrrhus of Epirus Prince of one of the Alexandrian successor states, Pyrrhus was dethroned at the age of 17 when he... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 sq. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC Years: 280 BC 279 BC 278 BC 277 BC 276 BC - 275 BC - 274 BC 273 BC... The Marmertines (Mamertini sons of Mars) were mercenaries of Italian origin who had been in the service of Agathocles, the king of Syracuse. ... Campania is a region of Southern Italy, bordering on Lazio to the north-west, Molise to the north, Puglia to the north-east, Basilicata to the east, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ... Agathocles (361 BC - 289 BC), tyrant of Syracuse (317 BC - 289 BC) and king of Sicily (304 BC - 289 BC). ... Map of Italy showing Messina in the northeast point of Sicily Messina is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, Italy and the capital of the province of Messina. ... A map of the central Mediterranean Sea, showing the location of Carthage (near modern Tunis). ... A tyrant (from Greek τυραννος) is a usurper of rightful power, possessing absolute power and ruling by tyranny. ...

In 264 BC he again returned to the attack, and the Mamertines called in the aid of Rome. Hiero at once joined the Punic leader Hanno, who had recently landed in Sicily; but being defeated by the consul Appius Claudius Caudex, he withdrew to Syracuse. Pressed by the Roman forces, in 263 he was compelled to conclude a treaty with Rome, by which he was to rule over the south-east of Sicily and the eastern coast as far as Tauromenium (Polybius i. 8-16; Zonaras Viii. 9). Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC - 260s BC - 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC Years: 269 BC 268 BC 267 BC 266 BC 265 BC - 264 BC - 263 BC 262 BC... Location within Italy The Roman Colosseum Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of its Latium region. ... Hanno is a name that can refer to the following entities: Hanno the elephant, Pope Leo Xs pet Hanno the Elder, Carthaginian general Hanno the Great, Carthaginian general Hanno the Navigator, Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Rab, Carthaginian politician Hanno von Sangerhausen, great master of the Teutonic Knights Hanno crater... For modern diplomatic consuls, see Consulate general. ... Appius Claudius Caudex was a patrician member of the Claudii. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC - 260s BC - 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC Years: 268 BC 267 BC 266 BC 265 BC 264 BC - 263 BC - 262 BC 261 BC... Greek Theater in Taormina Taormina is a town on the island of Sicily in Italy, and in ancient times was a Greek colony (Tauromenium), dating from about 400 BC, which submitted to Roman authority in 212 BC during the Second Punic War. ... Polybius (ca 203 BC - 120 BC) was a Greek historian of the Mediterranean world, especially the rise of the Roman Republic, which he attributed to Roman fitness and to the excellence of Roman civic and military institutions. ... Joannes (John) Zonaras, Byzantine chronicler and theologian, flourished at Constantinople in the 12th century. ...

From this time till his death in 215 BC he remained loyal to the Romans, and frequently assisted them with men and provisions during the Punic wars (Livy xxi. 49-51, xxii. 37, xxiii. 21). 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. Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC - 210s BC - 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC Years: 220 BC 219 BC 218 BC 217 BC 216 BC - 215 BC - 214 BC 213 BC... Titus Livius (around 59 BC - 17 AD), known as Livy in English, wrote a monumental history of Rome, Ab Urbe Condita, from its founding (traditionally dated to 753 BC). ... Archimedes of Syracuse (circa 287 BC - 212 BC), was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, physicist and engineer. ...

A picture of the prosperity of Syracuse during his rule is given in the sixteenth idyll of Theocritus, his favourite poet. See Diod. Sic. xxii. 24-xxvi. 24; Polybius i. 8-vu. 7; Justin xxiii. 4. Theocritus, the creator of bucolic poetry, flourished in the 3rd century BC. Little is known of him beyond what can be inferred from his writings. ... Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian, born at Agyrium in Sicily (now called Agira, in the Province of Enna). ... Justin or M. Junianus Justinus or Justinus Frontinus, 3rd century Roman historian. ...

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica ( 1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...