v20_0026 - SICILIA - SIRACUSA Hémilitron (GB, Æ 27)

SICILY - SYRACUSE

(274-216 BC)

Hieronymus, King of Syracuse

Around 270 BC, Hieron had married Philistis, a descendant of Dionysius the Elder (405-367 AC.), tyrant of Syracuse. Hieron claimed to have for ancestor Gelon himself (485-478 AC.), founder of the Syracusan power. An officer in Pyrrhus' army, he replaced the king after his departure in 274 BC and, during his very long reign, tried to maintain an uneasy balance between the Romans and the Carthaginians. After the First Punic War ended in 241 BC, Sicily became Roman and Syracuse's days were numbered.