What do you think?
Rate this book
The Tyrants of Syracuse #2
The Tyrants of Syracuse: Volume II, 367 - 211 BC
This is the story of one of the most important classical cities, Syracuse, and its struggles for freedom and survival. Situated at the heart of the Mediterranean, Syracuse was caught in the middle as Carthage, Pyrrhus of Epirus, Athens and then Rome battled to gain control of Sicily. The threat of expansionist enemies on all sides made for a tumultuous situation within the city, resulting in repeated coups that threw up a series of remarkable tyrants, such as Gelon, Timoleon and Dionysius. In this first volume Jeff Champion traces the course of Syracuse's wars under the tyrants from the Battle of Himera against the Carthaginians down to the death of Dionysius I, whose reign proved to be the high tide of the city's power and influence. One of the highlights along the way is the city's heroic resistance to, and eventual decisive defeat of, the Athenian expeditionary force that besieged them for over two years, an event with massive ramifications for the Greek world.
- GenresHistoryAncient History
272 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2012
10 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 7, 2017
The second half of Jeff Champion's history of Syracuse picks up right where the the first left off: The death of Dionysius the Elder and the ascension of his son, Dionysius the Younger as Tyrant of Syracuse. He uses this split as a convenient excuse to avoid using 'the Elder' and 'the Younger' while each is actually in office, since the change in 'default' occurs across the books. And it actually works.
From there, the book details the next two decades in Syracuse dealing trying to get rid of Dionysius the Younger. The careers of Timoleon and Agathocles are also well covered, as well as Pyrrhus' campaigns in Sicily, Hiero II, and the fighting in Sicily during the first two Punic Wars. Champion points out the shift in Syracuse's fortunes when the expansion of Rome into southern Italy and Sicily puts the city between two much larger powers. Until that point, Syracuse consistently held sway over most of Sicily, and could successfully fight off Carthage, even though neither side could ever truly conquer the other. Once Rome was on the scene, Syracuse became distant third to the two major powers in Sicily. The book's epilogue wraps up with a quick overview of Syracuse's history since being conquered by Rome, including the shift of power in Sicily from Syracuse to Palermo.
For some reason, the editing in this volume broke up for a few chapters in the final third of the book, with some missing words, and sentences that had been incompletely rewritten. But then the problems went away again at the end, and I didn't see any problems for the bulk of the book. Other than those hiccups, it's a good book on an interesting subject that doesn't get a lot of attention, just like the first volume of the series.
From there, the book details the next two decades in Syracuse dealing trying to get rid of Dionysius the Younger. The careers of Timoleon and Agathocles are also well covered, as well as Pyrrhus' campaigns in Sicily, Hiero II, and the fighting in Sicily during the first two Punic Wars. Champion points out the shift in Syracuse's fortunes when the expansion of Rome into southern Italy and Sicily puts the city between two much larger powers. Until that point, Syracuse consistently held sway over most of Sicily, and could successfully fight off Carthage, even though neither side could ever truly conquer the other. Once Rome was on the scene, Syracuse became distant third to the two major powers in Sicily. The book's epilogue wraps up with a quick overview of Syracuse's history since being conquered by Rome, including the shift of power in Sicily from Syracuse to Palermo.
For some reason, the editing in this volume broke up for a few chapters in the final third of the book, with some missing words, and sentences that had been incompletely rewritten. But then the problems went away again at the end, and I didn't see any problems for the bulk of the book. Other than those hiccups, it's a good book on an interesting subject that doesn't get a lot of attention, just like the first volume of the series.
May 25, 2019
The second part of a two part series, but my comments go for both books combined here.
Having read Champion's biography of Pyrrhus of Epirus and having enjoyed it, I find 'Tyrants of Syracuse' to be even better, as if the biography of a city is even more in his talent range than that of an individual. While the primary focus of the narrative is, as the title suggests, the tyrants of the city, its still impossible not to give the full picture of the political cycles of the city from democracy, oligarchy, tyranny, and back again. While this is happening you get as much of an economic, political, and military history of the city as possible in a way that really makes the most dynamic and, in my opinion, interesting Greek city state really come alive. Most impressive is how the city used its far inferior manpower and resource base to basically stand toe to toe with pre Punic War Carthage, which was then the dominant power west of the Hellenic successor states.
Having read Champion's biography of Pyrrhus of Epirus and having enjoyed it, I find 'Tyrants of Syracuse' to be even better, as if the biography of a city is even more in his talent range than that of an individual. While the primary focus of the narrative is, as the title suggests, the tyrants of the city, its still impossible not to give the full picture of the political cycles of the city from democracy, oligarchy, tyranny, and back again. While this is happening you get as much of an economic, political, and military history of the city as possible in a way that really makes the most dynamic and, in my opinion, interesting Greek city state really come alive. Most impressive is how the city used its far inferior manpower and resource base to basically stand toe to toe with pre Punic War Carthage, which was then the dominant power west of the Hellenic successor states.
December 6, 2023
A fine, fine book. And a fine city as well! In this tale of Syracuse and the Island of Sicily exist stories of many men, some good, more bad, and the interactions of the great powers of the western Mediterranean.
September 13, 2015
these where 2 very good books in this series enjoyed them immensely learned a lot of Syracuse tyrants and history of one of the great cities in ancient times
December 8, 2023
While I haven’t read the first volume I still got into this book fairly well.
It goes from the tyrant of Dionysius the Younger to the last real tyrant/king of Syracuse named Hieron II. Truly fascinating characters but also all are paranoid against the least amount of suspicion because intrigue was normal within their politics.
The book ends with the conquest of Sicily by Rome.
A solid 4 star review for this informative book.
It goes from the tyrant of Dionysius the Younger to the last real tyrant/king of Syracuse named Hieron II. Truly fascinating characters but also all are paranoid against the least amount of suspicion because intrigue was normal within their politics.
The book ends with the conquest of Sicily by Rome.
A solid 4 star review for this informative book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews