The Siege of Syracuse

by Dan Armstrong

  Apollonides’ honest appraisal resonated with a good portion of the populace and seven of the magistrates on the city council. The following day the council agreed to send envoys to Lilybaeum to negotiate a long-term alliance with Rome before the end of the ten-day truce.

  After the council’s decision was made public, tensions in the city relaxed. In the kitchen, however, where there had been many changes, the atmosphere remained tense. The tunnel to the palace kitchen, thanks to Adranodorus, was filled with water and unusable. There would be no more slaves from the palace and no more special meals for Archimedes. In fact, there were no more palace slaves. The city council had freed them all after the murder of the royal family. The shortage of help meant Agathe was too busy to prepare a tray for Archimedes. Instead, I came to the kitchen before each meal and made a tray from whatever was available for the garrison. Not surprisingly, Archimedes didn’t comment on the change.

  On a positive note, Eurydice, like all the other slaves from the palace, was freed. Hektor immediately hired her to a full time position in the kitchen. Eurydice’s first day of employment began at the evening meal on the sixth day of the truce. She was there when I went out to the kitchen that afternoon.

  Eurydice had always seemed like an older sister to me, and I was very glad to see her. She had regained the glow that made her so lovely, but she still stuttered badly.

  With great difficulty, Eurydice told me that she and Gelo had moved in with Lavinia and Orestes. She had just spent her second night with Gelo and had brought him with her to work. He was asleep on the counter, swaddled in a basket like a batch of fresh dinner rolls.

  Hektor sidled up to me as I got a tray ready for Archimedes. “Used any of that advice I gave you?” he inquired with a grin, taking hold of himself through the folds of his tunic in a way that left far too little to the imagination.

  The mere suggestion of Moira brought back the memory of her grandfather’s dismissal.

  He read my face. “That good?” he deadpanned, dribbling a little wine into his cup from an amphora.

  I heard a chirp from the baby basket and crossed the kitchen for a closer look. Eurydice joined me. She pulled back the cover so I could see the infant.

  My first thought was that he resembled his grandfather.

  “Do—do—do you ever want a ch—child?” she asked.

  I almost said yes, but said, “I don’t know,” instead.

  “I think he’s afraid to get the thing wet,” called out Hektor across the kitchen.

  The comment embarrassed both of us. I stared at the baby and spoke softly so only Eurydice could hear. “I would only want a child if I were free.”

  Eurydice understood too well.

  Lavinia joined us and put an arm around Eurydice. She looked down at Gelo. “Just think, we’re all going home together tonight.”

  Eurydice smiled as I remembered her smiling.

  Agathe sidled up to the other side of the counter. The baby was starting to fuss. “And to think this tiny thing has the blood of Achilles running through him.” Her smile was cruel. “And two great kings as well. Let’s hope we can keep track of this young lad as he grows up. Maybe he’ll do those wonderful things that his father only dreamed of.”

  Hektor belched loudly. “Let’s hope he doesn’t take after his father at all.”

  “Hush,” hissed Lavinia.

  The infant began to cry. Eurydice lifted him out of the basket and held him close to her breast. “He—he—he’s hungry.”

  Lavinia stepped in right away. “Let’s give this young woman some privacy. Timon, take your master’s tray and get out of here. Hektor, there must be something in the pantry we need.”

  CHAPTER 53

  When the envoys from Syracuse reached Lilybaeum to discuss a long-term alliance with Appius Claudius, he sent them east to Messana to talk to Marcellus. While the envoys were in transit, five representatives from Leontini came to Syracuse requesting protection for their city. Hieronymus had driven the Roman garrison out of Leontini, leaving the city without any means of defense. The people of Leontini wanted to maintain the independence that Syracuse had given them, and yet they were worried that Rome, with her soldiers now in greater number in the region, would try to reclaim the city.

  This was a difficult issue for the city council and immediately became a topic of general discussion and rumor in the streets of Syracuse. How could the city-state sign an alliance with Rome and at the same time furnish one of her neighbors with a security force for protection against that same party? Hippocrates, who had said very little in his first few council meetings, suggested a solution. He would gather a small force from the collection of mercenary soldiers and Roman deserters who were currently within the city walls, many of whom had fought with him, and he would take them to Leontini to provide security.

  The city council jumped at this. Though Epicydes would remain in Syracuse, his more capable brother would be gone for a period of time. The hired soldiers and deserters, the riff-raff that populated the drinking establishments and caused the most civil disturbance, would be shipped off to Leontini. What could be better?

  Two days later, Hippocrates left the city with four thousand men, ostensibly headed north to Leontini. Instead, still operating on orders from Hannibal, he went west and raided two towns defended by Roman garrisons.

  Marcellus learned of this just as the Syracusan envoys arrived in Messana to talk peace. He immediately sent them back to Syracuse with a simple message. The ten-day truce had been broken. If Syracuse did not send Hippocrates and Epicydes, now known to the Romans as the key political agitators, out of Sicily, Rome would declare war on Syracuse. Marcellus then assembled his two legions and marched south from Messana to track down Hippocrates.

  By this time Hippocrates and his four thousand men were on their way to Leontini. Epicydes met his brother there with word from Syracuse. The city council was in communication with Marcellus and was giving every indication that they wanted nothing to do with either of the brothers.

  Within the week, Marcellus and his two legions met Appius, also with two legions, outside Leontini. They launched simultaneous attacks on the city from two sides. The city walls were breached on the first assault. The fighting raged into the night. Hippocrates and his brother, seeing that the cause was lost, slipped out of town under cover of dark and headed back to Syracuse on horseback.

  CHAPTER 54

  Riding hard the next morning Hippocrates and Epicydes were stopped by a column of eight thousand soldiers coming from Syracuse to support the Roman effort in Leontini. Sosis was the commanding officer. He immediately arrested the two brothers, planning to turn them over to Marcellus as proof of Syracuse’s loyalty to Rome.

  Hippocrates and Epicydes were put in restraints and moved to the rear of the column to walk with the pack animals and baggage carts. Also at the rear was a brigade of six hundred mercenary soldiers from Crete. Many of them had fought with the two brothers several months earlier in southern Sicily. Hippocrates struck up a conversation with the soldiers as they walked, and in no time was spreading lies and gathering conspirators. He told them that Marcellus had killed every last man, woman, and child in Leontini and that he intended to do the same to any city that resisted him—including Syracuse.

  After a while, word passed up the column that Hippocrates was conversing with the Cretans like old friends. The soldiers ahead of them, also mercenaries, called for an abrupt halt. They demanded that Hippocrates be treated like a prisoner and not be spoken to at all. At the height of these tense reprimands, Hippocrates produced a letter, which he had written, but that he claimed to have intercepted earlier in the day. The letter was purportedly from the magistrates in Syracuse to Marcellus. It said that they supported Marcellus’ takeover of Leontini and that his slaughtering of the populace had been appropriate. It went on to say that they felt the mercenary troops were a problem for Syracuse and that the sooner they were rid of them the better off the city would be. This generated con
siderable discussion and distrust among the mercenaries at the rear of the column. Suddenly more than half the eight thousand soldiers had stopped marching and were debating whether they wanted to go on to Leontini.

  This brought Sosis down the line on horseback to find out what was going on. When he ordered the soldiers to return to formation and continue marching, the mercenaries responded with indignation and then outright dissent. A fight broke out between the Syracusan militia and the mercenaries. The professional soldiers got the best of it. Sosis and a group of his most trusted men broke from the fight and headed back to Syracuse on horseback.

  This was the kind of situation—one verging on chaos—where Hippocrates was at his best. Using his oratory skills, he quickly won over the mob of mercenaries and deserters, including some Syracusan militia, and took command. Hippocrates had, almost magically, gone from captive to commander in less than half a day. His first order of business was to return to Syracuse. Late in the afternoon of the next day, he was within a mile of the Hexapylon with a force equal in number to that defending the city.

  Sosis and his small contingent had arrived in Syracuse that morning. He had already told the city council about the renegade troops headed to Syracuse. But Hippocrates had sent a messenger ahead of his men. The messenger got to Syracuse just after Sosis and wasted no time spreading the lie that Marcellus had butchered the entire populace of Leontini. The city was torn. Much of the populace felt certain that Marcellus was intent on the complete destruction of Syracuse and the murder of its citizens. Others, the military officers and the aristocrats, felt they could reason with Marcellus by pledging allegiance to Rome. As a compromise, the city council decided the city gates would be closed. Neither Marcellus nor the Carthaginian brothers would be allowed into the city.

  The city gates had just been secured when Hippocrates arrived with his troops at the Hexapylon. They were denied admittance. But again Hippocrates’ infiltration had been complete. Some of those operating the gate had shared drinks with him. Others were relatives of the Syracusan deserters who had just joined the Carthaginian general. Dissention on the inside led to a breach at the gate and a complete reversal. Hippocrates and his mob of mercenaries took possession of the Hexapylon, then headed across the plateau to the city council chambers.

  The pro-Roman cadre—Sosis, Theodotus, and Sopater—had gathered in Achradina with the city council. They were so certain Hippocrates could not get into the city that they had not secured Achradina. Hippocrate’s make-shift band of soldiers and misfits stormed through the gate and went straight to the city council chambers, where they slaughtered three hundred Syracusan militia, Sopater, Theodotus, and the entire city council. When the violence was over, Hippocrates stood at the Altar of Concord, and with all his eloquent deceit, addressed his soldiers and a steadily gathering crowd of city residents. He spoke of democracy, liberty, and the Roman menace. Then, with the full support of his men, he declared himself commander of all Syracusan forces. He named his brother as his second. Well-schooled by Hannibal, a determined and cunning Hippocrates had finally achieved his goal. Syracuse was his.

  CHAPTER 55

  Four legions of Roman soldiers were now assembled outside Leontini, two days march from Syracuse. Sixty quinqueremes were sitting off the coast being outfitted for a siege. Another one hundred smaller Roman warships were still anchored in the Trogyli Harbor. The Carthaginian fleet that had been on the south side of Cape Pachynum was now back in Carthage to procure more troops. A tumultuous year had passed since the death of Hiero. Syracuse had gone over fully to Carthage, and Marcellus intended to reverse that through any means necessary.

  The Roman consul sent a contingent of envoys ahead of his troops with one last offer of peace. Hippocrates and Epicydes met the envoys at the Hexapylon. The envoys said that Marcellus was not there to bring war, but to bring relief. He only sought the ringleaders of the revolt. The brothers laughed at this request and told the envoys to go away.

  Turning the envoys away without even letting them into the city added insult to injury. Marcellus sent three legions south to Syracuse under the command of Appius. Marcellus remained in Leontini with the fourth legion, waiting for the final preparation of his fleet.

  During the years I knew Marcellus, I heard him talk about this on several occasions. It infuriated him that Hippocrates had lied about the slaughtering of citizens in Leontini. A reputation for brutality spread fast. There were some advantages to it, but none that Marcellus valued. He knew the horror of war and accepted it, but as a man of sentiment and discipline, he didn’t kill the innocent for the sake of killing.

  CHAPTER 56

  I was copying a letter that Archimedes had written to Eratosthenes when I heard footsteps coming up the tower staircase. Archimedes was using his crystal lens, working on plans for a larger array of focusing mirrors. I alerted him that we may be having visitors. He quickly put away the lens and the drawing, then moved down the bench to his abacus. I went back to my copying.

  The footsteps grew louder, accompanied by the clank of swords and armor. Plato rose from the windowsill, stretched, and jumped to the floor. The door to the landing was halfway open. Plato considered his options, then disappeared behind the drapes on the south wall.

  Hippocrates appeared on the landing. Five soldiers trailed after him. They stood back as Hippocrates advanced to the door. He wore a black cuirass and black greaves with a black cape. A short sword hung from a baldric at his hip. He knocked heavily on the door then pushed it open. He strode across the room directly to Archimedes’ workbench. The soldiers remained outside.

  Archimedes did not look up from his work. Hippocrates stood there watching the old man twist his compass around in the sand for some time before he addressed him.

  “Archimedes,” he said.

  Archimedes continued with his work.

  “Archimedes,” Hippocrates said again, louder.

  Archimedes still made no acknowledgment of his visitor. Hippocrates slammed his fist on the workbench with enough force to make me jump.

  Archimedes lifted his head slowly and put a hand to his ear. “What was that?” he asked. In spite of the fear I felt from Hippocrates’ presence, it was hard not to smile. Archimedes was a man of rare courage. He could make himself quite inaccessible regardless of the situation.

  Hippocrates smiled slyly. “So good to see you, Archimedes.” His voice was raised. “I hope I’m not bothering you.”

  As an answer Archimedes returned to drawing in the sand.

  Hippocrates reached out with his right hand and tapped the side of Archimedes’ abacus three times with his index finger. “I would like your complete attention, Archimedes.”

  Archimedes reluctantly lifted his eyes.

  “There is a Roman army marching to Syracuse as we speak. They intend to attack the city. It’s my duty to organize the defenses.”

  Archimedes nodded as though he had been told the time of day.

  “I asked you several months ago for a tour of the battlements to inspect the weapons installations that you designed for Hiero. I would like to do that today.”

  Archimedes looked off toward the tower’s east window. I knew he hated being told to do anything—much less to be told to do it right away. “I will be available tomorrow,” he said softly.

  “You must have misunderstood me, Archimedes. We will be facing a very capable adversary in a matter of weeks or even days. It’s my responsibility to prepare for this, and I believe that preparation begins with a tour of the battlements. I would like to do this immediately—if at all possible.” Though his words were measured and polite, the man’s bearing suggested there was no other choice in the matter.

  I could see that Archimedes was trembling, probably more from anger than fear. He stared off at a spot on the workbench, trying to ignore what could not be ignored.

  Hippocrates looked over at me, then put both of his hands on the workbench, and leaned forward so that his face was very close to the scientist’s.
“I would be more than willing to wait until tomorrow, Archimedes,” he said, still respectful, “but it’s more than just a tour for me. My men need training in the operation of your machines and that simply cannot begin too soon.”

  Archimedes made no response.

  Hippocrates pressed on. “I have been told that the fortifications are more than twenty years old. I am wondering if perhaps you haven’t had some new ideas, some advances that you might add to what already exists. Neither money nor manpower is an issue.” His voice held no threat, and yet the gravity of the man belied his tone. “I would greatly appreciate seeing the weapons that are in place now.”

  Archimedes knew he could resist this man for only so long. “Very well,” he said. He stood slowly and looked over at me. “I will need the assistance of my slave to navigate the battlements.”

  Hippocrates smiled. “That will not be a problem. Thank you.”

  I went over to Archimedes’ side. He placed his hand on my shoulder as if he were infirm, and the two of us followed Hippocrates out to the landing where the other soldiers were waiting. These were the officers who would be supervising the men operating the machines.

  The tour began on the battlements of the Hexapylon. We walked east along the top of the wall toward the ocean. The group gathered beside one of the giant torsion catapults, arguably the most impressive of the weapons Archimedes had designed.

  Crude catapults had been around for several hundred years, but Archimedes had refined these catapults through the application of mathematics and geometry. He asked the soldiers to roll the catapult into position.