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Famous Tyrant of Syracuse, he was a political genius and a soldier. He was born in Reggio about the 360 B.C. here his father Carcino lived, before moving to Syracuse. When he was young, he had a liberal education and soon revealed himself as an able orator. In 316, with a bloody plot, he took the possession of the supreme power and so he became Tyrant of Syracuse. Some yars later, he also assumed the title of king and started a political activity in order to unite all Greek Sicily and so defendig the island from the Carthaginian threat and from Italics. The History of his astonishing ability as strategist would merit a longer study. It is sufficient to say that he succeded in defeating the Carthaginians many times on their own field anticipating the tactics followed by Scipione the African. He was able to establish his own rule all over Sicily, with the exception of Agrigento, and set up a wise and mild covernment. While he was about to face new external threats, he died for a serious illnes in 289 B.C. With his death, anarchy reigned again in all Sicily.
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