Gelo - Tyrant of Syracuse

Tyrant of Syracuse

Gelo ruled over Gela and his other territories in eastern Sicily peacefully for the next five years. In 485 BC, the aristocracy of Syracuse called the Gamori, who had been forced out of the city by the common people, came to Gelo seeking his aid. Seeing an opportunity for expansion, Gelo used his now large military force to capture the city of Syracuse with little or no resistance, reinstating the exiled Gamori.

Gelo now ruled as the new tyrant of Syracuse and left his brother Hiero to rule over Gela. According to Herodotus, he forced half the citizens of Gela to move to Syracuse. Similarly, he removed all the aristocracy from Camarina.

He continued this strategy as he conquered nearby Euboea and Megara Hyblaea (483 BC), forcibly removing the aristocracy from each city and placing the rest of the population in slavery. According to Herodotus, because he was raised as a noble and was constantly in the presence of nobility, Gelo did not care for the lower class, and “found the common people unpleasant to share a house with”.

Under Gelo's rule, Syracuse soon became prosperous. Along with grand building program in Syracuse, Gelo sought also to create a powerful mercenary army. Most of the recruits for his army were came from the native Sicel tribes. However, some were recruited from the Greek mainland, men who had most likely fought with Gelo at some point in the past, and their total number was said to be around 10,000. All of these men were granted citizenship of Syracuse.

Gelo found a powerful ally in Theron, tyrant of Acragas, a city west of Gela, after he married Theron's daughter, Demareta. In 481 BC representatives of Athens came to him asking for his aid in the upcoming war against Xerxes I and his Persian army. Gelo replied that he could supply 28,000 men as well was 200 ships if he was appointed commander of either the Greek navy or army. He was denied both positions and, therefore, refused to supply the Greeks with any supplies or men. In fact, he went so far as to send gifts to Xerxes in the expectation that the Persian king would win his war against the Greek alliance.