Tom Holland

And even the very oldest part of the city, which is an island called Ortigia, so just off the mainland.

This is where the first colonists from Corinth had settled, who founded Carthage.

This now boasts a really sumptuous, magnificent palace, a palace that can rival the palace in Alexandria.

Well, yes.

So by the time that Hannibal launches his invasion of Italy, Huron is in his late 80s.

And he has been in charge of the city since the 270s.

So, I mean, that is a very, very long period of office.

And it reflects the fact that he is a very, very wily, astute man who is able to capitalize on two tremendous advantages.

And the first of these is the alliance with Rome.

It's Hieron who kind of says, we are sticking to Rome through thick and thin.

Although he was a mercenary, and although it's kind of, you know, for centuries been the national sport of the Greeks in Sicily to fight each other, Hieron actually isn't a great man for war.

He's a man of peace.

And the Roman alliance enables him to enjoy decades of peace.

And so the money that previous leaders of Syracuse would have squandered on pointless wars, with Carthage or with other Greek cities or whatever, Heron is able to spend this wealth on beautifying Syracuse and on growing the economy.

So, you know, by expanding the harbours or whatever, he makes Syracuse richer and more productive.

And even the defeats of Rome at first late Trasimene and then Cannae cannot persuade him to budge in his loyalty to Rome.

So in the wake of Cannae, he sends the Romans grain, he sends them troops, he sends them financial subsidies.

The special relationship holds rock solid.

So that's the first advantage that Hieron feels he has.

There is another advantage, and that is the fact that he has in Syracuse one of the great geniuses of history.