Definition of syracuse Syracuse

/sɪˈɹʌkjuˌz/ - [sirukyuz] - Syr•a•cuse

We found 8 definitions of syracuse from 5 different sources.

What does syracuse mean?

WordNet

Noun
syracuse - the Athenian siege of Syracuse (415-413 BC) was eventually won by Syracuse
		siege of Syracuse
syracuse - the Roman siege of Syracuse (214-212 BC) was eventually won by the Romans who sacked the city (killing Archimedes)
		siege of Syracuse
syracuse - a city in southeastern Sicily that was founded by Corinthians in the 8th century BC
		Siracusa
syracuse - a city in central New York

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

syracuse (n.)
A red wine of Italy.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

syracuse
A province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy.

Military DictionaryMilitary Dictionary and Gazetteer 💥

syracuse
(It. Siracusa). Anciently the most famous and powerful city of Sicily, situated on the southeast coast of the island, 80 miles south-southwest from Messina; was founded by a body of Corinthian settlers under Archias, one of the Bacchiadæ, 734 B.C. In 486 a revolution took place and the oligarchic families--Geomori, or Gamori, “land-owners”--were expelled, and the sovereign power was transferred to the citizens at large. Before a year passed, however, Gelon, “despot” of Gela, had restored the exiles, and at the same time made himself master of Syracuse. Hieron, brother of Gelon, raised Syracuse to an unexampled degree of prosperity. Hieron died in 467, and was succeeded by his brother Thrasybulus; but the rapacity and cruelty of the latter soon provoked a revolt among his subjects, which led to his deposition and the establishment of a democratical form of government. The next most important event in the history of Syracuse was the siege of the city by the Athenians, which ended in the total destruction of the great Athenian armament in 413; and Syracuse’s renown at once spread over the whole Greek world. Dionysius restored the “tyranny” of Gelon, and his fierce and victorious war with Carthage (397 B.C.) raised the renown of Syracuse still higher. On the death of Hieron II., his grandson Hieronymus, who succeeded him, espoused the side of the Carthaginians. A Roman army under Marcellus was sent against Syracuse, and after a siege of two years, during which Archimedes assisted his fellow-citizens by the construction of various engines of war, the city was taken by Marcellus in 212. Under the Romans, Syracuse slowly but surely declined. Captured, pillaged, and burned by the Saracens (878) it sunk into complete decay, so that very few traces of its ancient grandeur are now to be seen. It was taken by Count Roger, the Norman, 1088; in the insurrection, Syracuse surrendered to the Neapolitan troops, April 8, 1849.