It’s interesting to know about the history of a place like Siracusa in a chronological sense but reading the personal accounts that are provided through books such as Jeremy Drummett’s Book Syracuse City of Legends – A Glory of Sicjily bring the place truly to life. Visiting Sirucusa means walking the streets and places that Plato, Archimedes and Cicreo also visited. Its a way to see these ruins not just as large stones but to imagine what it would have been like when these icons of times past were in the very same spot.

The Altar of Heiron – dedicated to Zeus Eleutherios , built during the time of Heiron II

Our visit to the Parco Archelogico Della Neoplolis with our two adult daughters (who joined us for a few days) brought this home quite starkly in a most disturbing manner. As we looked at the excavations of the quarries (Latomie) my eldest daughter and I discussed how they were built and the numbers of slaves that would have been needed. Her comment that she would not have made much of a slave and the subsequent obvious realization that her role as slave would not have been in the quarries was a reality check – how lucky we are to be visiting some 2 plus thousand years later.

Upper terrace – Greek Theatre with my daughters

A walk through the quarries( Latomina del Paradiso) includes the Ear of Dionysis and a Grotto dedicated to the rope makers (seems so odd to honour rope makers in today’s world). The quarries provided the stone for the ancient city and extraction would have been back breaking work for the slaves, many of whom were vanquished soldiers from the seemingly endless battles over Siracusa. The perils of losing the war in these items didn’t bare thinking about!

Latomie – The Quarries

Ear of Dionysius

These quarries became prisons for the defeated soldiers. Continue reading →