Hiero II.

Hiero II., king of Syracuse (270–215 B.C.), was the son of a noble Syracusan named Hierocles. During the troubles which prevailed in Sicily after the retreat of Pyrrhus (275 B.C.) Hiero greatly distinguished himself, and was first appointed commander-in-chief and then elected king of the Syracusans. He joined the Carthaginians in besieging Messana, which had surrendered to the Romans; but he was beaten by Appius Claudius, the Roman consul, and compelled to return to Syracuse. In 263, however, he concluded a peace with the Romans for fifteen years, during which he proved so faithful to his engagements that in 248 peace was permanently established. In the second Punic war Hiero likewise proved himself the faithful ally of the Romans, and supported them with money and troops, especially after their defeat at the lake of Thrasymene. He died in 215, and was succeeded by his grandson Hieronymus. Hiero, by his clemency, wisdom, and simplicity, quite gained the affections of the Syracusans, and his financial arrangements were adopted by the Romans when they subsequently conquered Syracuse. He devoted great attention to the improvement of agriculture, and his laws respecting the tithes of corn, &c. (Leges Hieronicæ) were still in force in the country in Cicero's time. He was likewise a patron of the arts, particularly architecture; and Archimedes was his relative and friend.