Epilogue

Much of Syracuse fell to the Romans on that bloody day in 212 BC, including the entire Epipolae district. When the commander of the mighty Euryalus fort heard that the suburbs of Neapolis and Tyche had surrendered, he gave up his bastion without a blow being struck. This meant that all of the western city had been lost. While the areas of Achradina and Ortygia continued to hold out under the command of Epicydes, the respite Hanno and Aurelia had sought proved to be brief. The arrival of Hippocrates with Himilco and his army did not provide the much-hoped-for relief of the siege. Nor did the strengthening of the Carthaginian fleet in the Great Harbour. There was some inconsequential skirmishing, during which the Romans reinforced their positions in the city, and renewed their blockade of Achradina and Ortygia. Quintus, Urceus and their comrades took an active role in this, but Pera continued to elude them.

The autumn brought with it outbreaks of plague. Both sides suffered, within and without the city, but the Carthaginian camps’ situation on marshy land to the south, and their poor sanitation, ensured that they lost far more men. Among the tens of thousands who died were Himilco and Hippocrates. Despite this huge setback, the remaining Syracusan forces advanced once more on the city to try and break the Roman siege. They were encouraged by news of a large Carthaginian fleet off the southern coast. However, a violent storm and a robust response by Marcellus, who sailed to meet the enemy head-on, ensured that the reinforcements broke away from their course and made for the Italian city of Tarentum, which had recently fallen to Hannibal.

When the Syracusans heard of their abandonment by the Carthaginian fleet, they tried to seek terms from Marcellus. It wasn’t surprising that the Roman deserters within their ranks, of whom there were many, were unhappy with this development. A wave of tit-for-tat killings resulted, and the balance of power between those who wanted to continue fighting and those who wanted to surrender changed more than once. Increasingly dismayed by the levels of distrust and barbarity, Hanno prepared to flee with Aurelia.

Marcellus’ opportunity to seize complete control came after he’d made secret overtures to one of the commanders of Achradina, a disgruntled Iberian mercenary called Moericus. Soon after they’d come to an agreement, the Romans launched a simultaneous dawn attack on Ortygia and Achradina. Quintus and Urceus eagerly played their part in this. When Moericus and his soldiers joined the Romans as agreed, the remaining defenders on Ortygia were soon overrun. Wishing to preserve the riches of the royal treasury for himself, Marcellus had his troops withdraw from Ortygia for a time. This allowed the Roman deserters, and also Hanno and Aurelia, to escape. A terrible fate awaited the last defenders in Achradina. When they opened their gates, wishing only to surrender, Marcellus’ soldiers launched a savage assault on the suburb that left few people living. Famously, Archimedes was one of the casualties, slain by a legionary who interrupted him as he drew a geometric design in the dirt. Outraged, Marcellus executed or banished the culprit, and had Archimedes buried in his family tomb.

After more than five centuries of independence, Syracuse had fallen to an invader. Reputedly the largest and most beautiful of Greek cities, it had been stripped bare during the siege. Although the inhabitants of several suburbs had suffered grievously, the rest had escaped relatively lightly according to the standards of the time. Normally, when a city was taken by force, every male inhabitant was killed and all women and children were sold as slaves.

Despite all that had happened, there were some who still wished to continue fighting the Romans. Somehow Epicydes managed to escape the sack of Syracuse. Along with Hanno, Aurelia and a small number of soldiers, he travelled to Akragas. There, they soon received unexpected reinforcements from both Hannibal and Carthage, which allowed them some successes against Marcellus’ legions in the months that followed.

And so the struggle for Sicily dragged on.


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