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That city immediately grew and became great, as not only did Gelon bring all the citizens of Kamarina to Syrakousai and give them its citizenship instead, having destroyed the township of Kamarina, but he then did the same thing to more than half of the citizens of Gela, and when the Megarians in Sikelia surrendered to Gelon after a siege he took the wealthiest part of the citizen body, who had warred against him and had expected to be put to death for this, and brought them to Syrakousai to be citizens there instead. As for the common people of Megara, who had had part in the war and expected that no harm would befall them, these he also brought to Syrakousai and then sold them for slaves to be taken abroad.​

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He dealt with the Euboians of Sikelia in almost exactly the same way, making the same distinction both times. The reason for his treating the commoners of both places in this way was that he held the common people to be horrendous to live with.​

Siracuse, known to the ancient Hellenes as Syrakousai, Pentaple, Thusa, and Surcusa to the Brontosards, and Phenda to the Ligurians, is a city of antiquity and grandeur. Sited on the southeastern coast of Sicana, it is estimated to have been founded in *732 BCE by a combination of colonists from Korinthos and Tenea, though it is also commonly said that this was a refoundation of a town peopled by the Murgi, particularly among those people who identify Sicana by the name of Morga. The ancient heart of the city was the Ortygian isle, upon which stood its original citadel and dwellings, but even in ancient times it had spread across to the coast of Sicana proper to the district of Acradine, and further spread into the districts of Neapoli, Tici, and Epipoli. The city now additionally encompasses the district of Pantali, a site of equal antiquity, and its centre is now Tici and its port, more commonly known in my time as Adupoli. Even through the many years and adventures of the city, its successes and its sorrows, its streets still follow the same ordered layout as originally set out by the oikists, a fact that is much admired throughout Hesperia. It is a city much loved by its citizens, and greatly envied for its many illustrious achievements elsewhere. Piety, industry, and a desire to excel are all to be found here in great measure.​

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The metropolis houses a number of splendid buildings and apartments. The theatre of Siracuse, the tombs of Pantali, and its sanctuary of Arithuse are all survivals from the city’s original, ancient foundation, which to this day have been kept in scrupulous condition. The theatre of Siracuse in particular has rarely been bettered in aesthetic or acoustic quality in the many centuries since it was first constructed, and is one of the largest surviving examples of an ancient Hellenic theatron. Until the sack of *882 CE the city’s original Temple to Apollo was also still standing, and its loss still bitterly remembered by its citizens. The holy site for the Redeemer was refounded by *920 CE during the city’s period of recovery, and it is quietly believed that the more modern refoundation is even more sumptuous than the original, though many consider such notions impious. Another foundation not quite as venerable, but with an antiquity of its own, is the Pantheon of Laron, believed to have been founded by the eponymous king in *390 CE, a splendid example of the early Hesperian style of Olican foundation. None of the ancient palaces of the kings of Syrakousai have survived to the present day, though many fine elements from those grand houses and chambers have found their way into the homes of prominent citizens, and indeed the palaces of many latter rulers over the city. The oldest such set of apartments are the Houses of Tolunuro, which once belonged to the Tolumuridai family of nobles until their disgrace, and are now the official quarters of the Kosmarkis. They are likely to date to *661 CE or thereabouts, as Heracle Alaliu Tolumuro is first said to have wandered to Brontosardi Sicana in that year. They incorporate a mosaic from the late *4th century BCE (a particularly fine piece on the Titanomachia) and a painted fresco of the 1st century CE believed to be the first representation of a citrus tree in Hesperian art. Should the office of the Kosmarkis be amenable, it is an excellent place to visit.​

Grain was the foundation of the city’s initial prosperity and remains one of its most vital industries. However, its modern prosperity is strong precisely because of its multiple sources of wealth. In terms of commercial enterprise the export of Siracusan wine and olive oil from the nearby fertile lands is a prosperous venture, both being highly reputed abroad for their quality. The port is also key to the wider distribution of Idonian and African wares into Hesperia and beyond past the Alphes, though it competes most vigorously with Catania and other Sicani ports in this matter, this all having been caused by the abolition of the Zankeli Grant. The city’s great size (having an estimated population of 50,000 in the city proper and an additional 200,000 in its hinterland), antiquity, and tranquility also guarantees a large and regular tax revenue, and a great deal of its income and duties remains in the hands of its local magistrates, rather than making its way to a distant army and an even more distant ruler. The holy site of Arithuse also attracts many pilgrims from across the Great Sea, come to pay homage to the breath of the goddess and seat of Apollo. The city is particularly blessed with the kind of pilgrim generous enough to leave a small foundation and endowment behind, and the foundation pillars of Siracuse are some of the most numerous outside of Elefsi, Memfi, and Micenai that I have witnessed.​

The city’s history is one of turbulence, ambition, and brilliance. Even a jaundiced, partial account of the city would describe it as one of the most important protagonists of ancient times, and even in our own times the city retains rank and importance, given that it is considered the second city of Sicana after Catania, and the title of Siracusan Kosmarki thought of as desirable and prestigious. Perhaps it would no longer be called the Queen of Cities, but the end of a dynasty is not the end of glory or legacy, as indeed the history of Siracuse illustrates perfectly, and we must credit it as formerly possessing this title with more than ample justification. In both ancient and present times Siracuse has always been defined by the industry and will of its inhabitants, and also the struggle to define where this mighty assembled force would be most effectively used.​

Ancient Syrakousai is one of the most enigmatic nations found in our history. Demokratic in one moment then ruled by kings in another, at times a leader among equals and at others the head of a mighty Empire, friendly towards fellow Hellenes in one generation and utterly hostile towards them in another. Many have struggled to conclude to Syrakousai’s true character as a result, being confounded by its many changes across even short periods, and among some the city in its ancient form has come to be associated with impiety and moral degeneracy. I have come to think of these shifts as the Ortygian Sigh, and the vastness of these changes as being themselves attached to the grandeur and power of the city in these times. For anyone with ambitions to change the world, even for specious reasons, Syrakousai was an ideal launching point for these goals, its commercial and military reach being beyond nearly any other of the ancient Hellenic poleis. When it was not the subject of such adventures and gambits it was often at war with itself over its mode of government and general objectives in the theatre of politics, so it is not surprising that between generations it experienced volcanic shifts in temperament and desire. It was also a city of enormous pride, particularly after the Akhaimenids came to conquer Hellas proper, and with that came a gnawing instinct that it should be leading and not led.​

Syrakousai had three periods of imperial status. The first was immediately after the defeat of the forces of Karkedon and its allies in the early *5th century BCE, where its Deinomidai rulers expanded their already mighty domains to encompass the entire island, aided by the swell of Hellenic exiles come to escape the Persians. This came to an end with War of Akrai in *458-455 BCE, fought between Deinomidai claimants, which led to the establishment of the first demokratic regime in Syrakousai. It is in this period that the polis was a faithful ally to the First Italiote League, even after the abortive tyranny of Phylakes in *402 BCE. The second Empire was formed under the Second Demokratic Constitution of the *4th century BCE, where Syrakousai and her citizens maintained control over cities in Italia and even colonies as far away as the coast of Dalmatia, having taken advantage of the First Italiote League’s collapse. This came to an end with the seizure of the throne by the Heraklids in *282 BCE, and a series of wars between rival dynasties seeking to claim the entire island, eventually resulting in the complete conquest of Sikelia by the Second Italiote League in 90 BCE. The third and last was under the Deinarkhids of the *1st and 2nd centuries CE, who having recovered the independence of the Sikelian cities from the Italiote League in *17 CE once again expanded a Siracusan royal dynasty to cover much of the island. This final empire of Syrakousai came to a slow decay from *112 CE onwards with the slide into civil war between rival dynastic claimants, and from *170 BCE men of Cursici and Sardinia used this opportunity to gain a foothold in the prosperous island.​

I would not consider myself partial or unsupported in declaring Syrakousai the greatest of the ancient Hellenic polis in strength and majesty when taken as a whole across this era. Even in those periods where it did not possess an imperial sway Syrakousai remained one of the most populous of all the Hellenic cities, and was never one to be trifled with, even as a possession of such a mighty assembly of powers as the Second Italiote League. One could simply never count Syrakousai out of the equation; the Second Italiote League had thought the city finally tamed under its rule, only to find the ancient metropolis throw off their garrison and authority with newfound strength. Time and time again the city and its people would reassert their strength and courage in the face of adversity, and this is a quality that should be admired and recognised. Syrakousai was responsible for the foundation of Akrai, Kasmeni, Akrille, Elor, Kamarine, Ish, Ancon, Aphroditia, Zephyrian Philadelphia, Tormenio, and indirectly that of Poseidonia-on-Cinyps. Under the dynasty of Gelon the city could reliably equip an army of 10,000 men at arms and as many again armed in light order, and possessed hundreds of warships. It adapted to the shift from push to maneuver warfare haphazardly, and retained a traditional phalanx as late as the Third Italia-Syrakousai war in the early 3rd century BCE, but maintained its top rate military strength in this period with judicious use of foreign mercenaries, from Italia, further Hesperia, Africa, Illyria, and even from Celtica. These mercenaries were also the means by which successive rulers overthrew demokratic regimes and maintained their supreme power.​

This, however, was the weakness by which the Second Italiote League slowly overcame their dominion over Sikelia, and then the city itself, across the 2nd-1st centuries BCE, culminating in the *91 BCE Siege of Syrakousai in which the city’s defenders, shorn of the mercenaries by lack of coin, proved insufficient to defend the length of the city’s walls against the assembled Italiotes. The Deinarkhids, having thrown out the Italiotes, and determined to resist any incursions of the Tyrsenoi under the expansionist Third Golden Generation, conducted a wholesale reform of the military of Syrakousai, and by extension Sikelia. Exiles and malcontents from the Tyrsenoi were brought in to the kingdom to drill men-at-arms and cavaliers in the modern forms of warfare, and the Deinarkhids possessed the wealth to maintain a standing army of considerable size, with their contribution to the Battle of Poseidonia stated at 30,000 strong. The battalions of this army were named for kings of Syrakousai across the ages, with the Men of Gelon considered the most skilled and prestigious. It was not force of arms which would break the Deinarkhids, in the end, but the dynasty’s own civil wars.​

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Massalia began as a city under siege. The ancient Hellenes planted many scions across the Great Sea, some in less or more friendly territory as we have seen, but Massalia was in perhaps the most unfriendly landscape of all of the many places in which Hellenes came to live. When they first arrived in the *7th century BCE they were hotly beset by the Ligirienes, an ancient people with no love for incursions into their perceived territory, which once extended across all of what is now Aohnia, Masselia, and the upper parts of Iperissa, possibly extending past the Alfin peaks into Foia. The Farfarines of the region were not welcoming for the most part either, though they were most often concerned with their own wars between themselves. The end result was that Massalia planted fortresses on their borders and trade routes in order to protect themselves and secure their fortunes, and through this slowly expanded the territory that they controlled. Despite the hostility faced by the Massaliotes they managed to accrue wealth by their trade inland, even founding colonies in Iberia, but until the Parsine conquest of the Hellene homelands they were always struggling to maintain their garrisons and fortresses properly, relying on it being the second line of defence which would actually repel determined invaders. With the Parsine Conquest of *479 BCE a flood of Hellenic refugees headed straight for Massalia, some of them being the adventurous type, others simply being willing to help in any way they could. This newfound surge of power allowed the Massaliotes to express their will over the surrounding peoples, but also made them more attractive as an ally to the Farfarine tribes, who were constantly calculating everyone’s relative strength and advantages.​

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This resulted in the Cauan and Wocont tribes allying to the banner of the Massaliote cause, and an infusion of both peoples into Massalia proper as they were planted in important garrisons. Of course many of them brought families with them, and needed lands in which to settle. Being considered barbarians but needing them close to hand, a segregated part of Massalia was constructed for a large portion of these allies and their need for abode. The Etekhronikos of Massalia consistently refers to such peoples as ‘allies’ rather than anything more, but there are indications that many of the Farfarines of smaller towns and garrisons were already being treated as de facto citizens by the *440s BCE. The Farfarine district of Massalia proper steadily grew across this period, and as the largest concentration of the Farfarines next to the actual hub of political life were more actively kept from the echelons of full citizen life. However, from the moment the alliances were drawn up eventualities were being set in motion to bring these two parts of Massalia together. A number of prominent Farfarine allies soon gave great service to Massalia, the most famous among these being Atecnatos across the *470s-450s BCE, also known as Diodoros, and Wocontorix from *456-439 BCE, also known as Ocontos. Their deeds set their families on the path to becoming full citizens of Massalia through their loyalty, dedicated service, and courageous deeds, and where prominent leaders gained citizenship this set the example that other Farfarines might be able to achieve the same thing. It was the hostility of the Ligirienes that allowed all of this to happen, granting the Cauan and Wocont warriors many opportunities to render needful service alongside smaller bands and individuals from other Farfarine tribes attracted to Massalia. These were usually extended raids or attacks on particular forts and towns, sometimes in concert with Farfarine allies, but following a reasonably predictable pattern. Slowly, but surely, attitudes were softening towards the ‘barbarians’ in the Hellenes’ midst.​

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The moment that changed everything was the attack of King Ligirix in *419 BCE. This represented the most potent and viable threat to Massalia in the city’s nearly 200-year history. Tens of thousands of Ligirienes and Farfarine allies marched directly against the city, aiming to rid Ligirix of the threat against his kingdom for all time, but also to strengthen Ligirix’s kingdom against the continuing migrations of unfriendly Farfarines to the lands surrounding his territories. The Massaliot army had already been out on campaign, and had to hurriedly return in order to confront this enormous assembly of arms. The army that ultimately confronted King Ligirix in the field was led by one Phoxinos, grandson of Atecnatos, and the second generation of Atecnatids to possess full citizenship. He had already gained enough reputation and good opinion so as to head the intended expedition, but this was the first time he had been tested in a battle of such immense proportions. He and the Massaliot army caught up to and confronted the Ligirienes in the Battle of Afenio, a chaotic affair where both sides charged in confused order due to ill-discipline and long running intertribal feuds. Through ingenuity and sharpness, Phoxinos had the day, mostly by reacting far quicker to this unplanned charge than his opponent. But the threat to Massalia was not ended yet. Whilst many of his allies had deserted him most of Ligirix’s faithful Ligirienes had survived the battle, and would in short order be able to attack Massalia once again, maybe even in that same campaign season. Realising that it was necessary for Massalia to try end this threat in finality, and that this was a golden opportunity to expand her power, Phoxinos gave chase to Ligirix all the way to Ligiris proper. There the armies met at the battle of the Rodano, which was the fiercer and more closely fought battle, the Ligirienes fighting bravely to defend their homeland where the Massaliotes fought for their future. It was bloody day for all concerned, but with the death of Ligirix by spear the battle was decided, and the Ligirienes overwhelmed.​

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It was this battle that confirmed to all Massaliots the value of their Farfarine allies, and not only that but their rightful place as equal partners in all things going forward. Whilst the Farfarine districts of Massalia remained, their walls separating them from the rest of the city were thrown down, and their residents granted citizenship, being added to the existing genoi in a manner of equal distribution. When, accordingly, Phoxinos planted garrisons of Farfarines in the newly conquered parts of Ligiris, these were not foreign mercenaries but fellow and loyal citizens, and Phoxinos was sewing the seeds for Massalia’s growth into new territories as much as he was securing its borders. This new Massalia, as a joint enterprise between Hellenes and Farfarines, was not unprecedented in the Hellenic world but it was the first time such an enterprise had been conducted on such a large scale, in such a powerful polis. Though many other Hellenes at the time responded with derision or predictions of dire consequences for Massalia, this political compact would prove to be durable, winning Massalia valour through arms and surviving first Tursene, then Aohni conquest. and indeed coming to culturally dominate Aohnia from the *1st-4th centuries CE.​

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But what forms did this synthesis take, how did the two cultures begin to blend together? As with many other places, it began with the simple fact of sharing daily life together as equals, but swiftly became more complex as participation in civic life escalated, and complicated further once civic life began to alter to accomodate the new nature of the citizen body. The most visible early signs of the emerging Farfari-Hellene culture in Massalia are the increasing reference to Hellenic deities with Farfari epithets, which themselves often refer to what had previously been distinct Farfari deities. The two most popular deities in Massalia were Aplu Maponu and Artimi Dinna, combining aspects of both cultures by aligning the city’s most important traditional deities with Farfarine deities of popularity and similar qualities. This represents an understanding of one another’s most intimate beliefs, and a recognition of their equality. We also find material indications of the cultural synthesis even as early as the *420s BCE, with the adoption of Farfari weaponry as visible on illustrations and arcaiteric remains. Not long afterwards a more Farfari strain of material design becoming visible in jewelry and pottery from Massalia, mainly as an incorporation of curviform fascination into decoration and the replacement of some traditional Hellenic imagery with Farfarine imagery in a Hellenic style.​

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As the city grew greater still, the synthesis deepened. Hellenic literacy extended into the Farfarine population by this period, as demonstrated by references to Massaliot authors with Farfarine names, grave inscriptions of Farfarines written in Hellenic letters and signed by fellow Farfarines. Tellingly, Hellene letters are also used to render Farfari words and sentences from the early *3rd century BCE onwards, reflecting an increased relevance and acceptance of Farfarine language and a use for rendering it in writing. But this was also the period in which this cultural mixing began to extend outside the city’s walls, or those of its other towns and fortresses. Hellenic architectural styles and practices become more widely adopted throughout the Massaliot territories and indeed in parts of the Aohni lands. These are often found in locations associated with emerging Farfarine cities, where Massalia was acting as a model, or attached to chieftains attempting to enhance their status by the construction of monumental structures. The presence of the Tursene occupiers from 238 CE onwards, their own culture a product of a synthesis with Hellene culture, provided a new element in the environment of Massalia, though the wealth and population of Massalia restricted their settlement compared to other border provinces of their Empire. The connection to the Tursene military system and commercial network, however, enabled the Farfari-Hellene culture to spread further and faster than previously, whether by the movements of Massaliot troops in Tursene armies, the passage of Massaliot traders through cities, or the occasional settlement of Massaliots in other Tursene border regions. By the time the Aohni occupied and conquered Massalia in *29 CE, a precursor to the massive conquest of the Tursene not much later, the synthesis between Farfarine and Hellene in Massalia was almost complete; festivals were held in common, a Farfari-Hellene dialect had become the everyday language and was in the process of developing its own literary corpus, names of Farfari and Hellene origin were used freely by the population with equal weight. It is this that has been termed the Hellenistic culture.​

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The city was an important asset to the Aohni kings, and its power was relatively preserved despite the massive impact of the Aohni invasion on other former Tursene lands, along with its power structures, though of course a confederate chieftain was given nominal control over the city to secure it for the Aohnix. Instead it was the Massaliots that began to radically alter the culture of their invaders. The land of the Massaliots was itself transforming Aohnia forever, through being the largest and oldest city under its control, through its immense commercial impact and continued cultural prestige, and through the importation of its skilled artisans by Aohni kings and chieftains. When the Aohni Confederacy crumbled one of the most important splinters was based on the city of Massalia as ruled by one Roudorix, Roudorix having himself assimilated into Massaliot culture in order to gain control over the city properly. Roudorix was seen as a legitimate ruler of Massalia according to its laws and constitution, albeit its first monarch. The Roudanidai dynasty built on their forefather’s legacy, and the small chiefdom of Massalia expanded to become the Kingdom of Rodano across the 2nd-4th centuries CE. By the foundation of the kingdom the Massaliots were now considered Farfarine, but they had already transformed wider Farfarine culture into something vastly more Hellenic than previous, creating the wider Hellenistic culture of the High Farfarines. They were the originators and propagators of the more complex, bureaucratic Farfarine culture of Aohnia and Aticania that weathered the Germani invasions where many other Farfarines were swept up. Not only was Massalia itself a showcase of the triumph of synthesis, it was also itself an engine of synthesis across entire neighbouring regions.​