The Fortress of Euryalus

The Fortress of Euryalus was considered a marvel when it was built in the fourth century BCE by the tyrant Dionysius I to protect Syracuse from Carthaginian invasion. Supposedly built in only 20 days, this fortress overlooked all of Syracuse from its location on the Epipolae Plateau North of the city and protected them from invasion by outside forces. It was known as the most advanced defensive system in the Greek world for its innovative design, and despite Syracuse’s ultimate demise, the fortress was in continuous use for centuries after due to its practicality.

The Fortress of Euryalus served military functions in protecting Syracuse and acted as a boundary demarcating Syracusan territory. It was a symbol that, when seen, could either spell disaster for an invading force or hope for those seeking refuge. This fortress ensured that Syracuse was never invaded by the Epipolae Plateau after Athens had done so between 415 BCE and 413 BCE.

Building Plans

The original fortress, as laid out by Dionysius I, the tyrant of Syracuse in the early fourth century, is hard to know as our ancient sources only mention him building the massive walls that encircled the Epipolae along with towers for defense, but what has survived to today shows that at least over time, the fortress was expanded upon. This is also intriguing because it means that even if Dionysius I did not build all of the fortress, what he did build was still considered a marvel at the time and the best defensive system for a Greek city.

The fortress boasted four ditches, with the largest one being 51 feet long and 29 feet deep. These ditches would have had to draw bridges to make it easy for Syracusans to travel over while also allowing them to remove them quickly when an enemy approached. The fortress also had multiple fortified areas between the ditches that had staircases to access the underground portion of the fortress. These underground passageways stored artillery and served other purposes that will be expanded upon below. The scale of this project cannot be understated, and pictured above is a recreation of what it would have looked like fully completed.

Unique Features

Since the fortress was mainly used in practical ways for protecting Syracuse, it was not highly decorated. That being said, it does have a few unique features. One of these, already mentioned, was a tunnel system underneath the fortress. This tunnel system, pictured above, was used to travel through the fortress with ease. They were also connected to the dug-out ditches so that if enemies tried to fill the ditches in with rubble, the soldiers could remove it, and presumably if an enemy fell in, they could finish them off.

The fortress also has a relief of a catapult to capture the warfare tactics used when it was built. Finally, pictured above are two uniquely carved lion heads that served as water drainage for the fortress when it rained. The water would travel down and be spit out through the lion’s heads.

The area was originally used from 415 BCE – 413 BCE by the Athenians during the Peloponnesian War. Athens captured the Epipolae Plataeu and used the area in order to siege Syracusans, building their own walls on the plateau in an unsuccessful attempt to trap Syracuse within their city. Furthermore, this area was used as a way to attack another Syracusan fort and capture that fort during the war. The next time the fort is mentioned is when Dionysius I constructed the first iteration of the Fortress; this fortress was constructed in the period between 402 BCE and 397 BCE. The reason for this fortress was that Dionysius I feared Carthage, who had recently invaded other Sicilian cities and fully sacked them, so by building this fortress, he could protect Syracuse from the same fate and avoid the plateau being used against them as it once was by Athens.

Further alternations were made during the reign of other tyrants, most notably Agathocles and Hieron II. It is not known exactly when the alterations were made under Agathocles, however, his reign was between 317 BCE and 289 BCE, so it can be reasonably assumed that the alterations took place at some point during that time. The next alterations were made under Hieron II, and again, just like Agathocles, it is uncertain exactly when the alterations and renovations were made. What we do know is that Hieron II reigned during the First Punic War, so it is likely the renovations and alterations were made then to better protect Syracuse.

The final main alterations were made before 212 BCE before the Siege of Syracuse by Marcellus. During this time, it is likely that Archimedes was put in charge of the alterations and renovations of the fortress; this theory is mainly postulated due to the fact that Archimedes led the defenses of Syracuse. After this point, it is tremendously difficult to pinpoint when the fortress was next used. We have some references that state the fortress was in use in the Byzantine period by Arabs, but we lack any documentation past that to know exactly when and how it was used.

Interestingly enough, it seems that the fortress was not destroyed through attack but was instead spoliated, which means to take apart parts to use in other buildings, which is also why dating the fortress is difficult due to the removal of its original stones and additions by later rulers.

Thucydides

The Epipolae itself and the fortress are mentioned in literary sources, although only sparingly. The area of the future fortress is first mentioned in book 6, chapter 97 of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War: “but the land-force advanced at once at a run to Epipolae, and got up by way of Euryelus before the Syracusans.” This is where the name of the fortress comes from.

Again the area is mentioned later on in book 7, chapter 43: “When they had reached Epipolae, taking the route by Euryelus, which had been followed by the former army in the first ascent, they got by the Syracusan guards without being observed, and advancing to the Syracusan fort at that point captured it and killed some of the guards”. This excerpt regarding how the Athenians took over the Epipolae shows that while the fortress as we now know it did not exist yet, the land was considered even by outsiders adventageous.

Diodorus

Finally, the fortress itself is mentioned by Diodorus in book 14: “He [Dionysius I] shut this off from the rest of the city with a wall and built tall towers.” Diodorus also mentions that the fortress was built in only 20 days and Dionysius I helped to build it himself.

In more recent history, the fortress was used to house artifacts to protect them from aerial bombing during the Second World War. In 1941, they were taken from the Museum of Syracuse and placed in the tunnels below the fortress in order to best protect them. Finally, the site was closed between 2009 and 2013 due to damage that had occurred after the Saint Lucia earthquake in 1990. However, after 500,000 euros and 3 years of work, the fortress was reopened to the public in 2016. At this point in time, the fortress only exists for us in fragmentary ruins.

• Fortress Official Website: https://parchiarcheologici.regione.sicilia.it/siracusa-eloro-villa-tellaro-akrai/en/siti-archeologici/castello-di-eurialo/
• Holloway, R. Ross. 1991. The Archaeology of Ancient Sicily. London: Routledge.
• Lawrence, A. W. 1946. “Archimedes and the Design of Euryalus Fort.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies 66:99–107. 
• Mignosa, Valentina. 2020. “When War Changes a City: Fortifications and Urban Landscapes in Tyrant-Ruled Syracuse,” in Melanie Jonasch (ed.), The Fight for Greek Sicily: Society, Politics, and Landscape (Oxbow Books), 242–70.
• Winter, F. E. 1963. “The Chronology of the Euryalos Fortress at Syracuse.” American Journal of Archaeology 67:363–87.