Person

Agathocles of Syracuse

361–289 BCE · 4th century BCE

Agathocles of Syracuse seized power as tyrant of Syracuse in 317 BCE and later took the title of king. Fighting Carthage for control of Sicily, he boldly invaded North Africa in 310 BCE. He extended his power over much of Sicily, raided southern Italy and held Corcyra. His Campanian mercenaries, the Mamertines, seized Messana after his death.

Agathocles of Syracuse
Image: Stella · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 7 state histories

SyracuseCorcyraCrotonSegestaHipponionTauromeniumMamertine Messana

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Agathocles of Syracuse. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/agathocles-of-syracuse
MLA
“Agathocles of Syracuse.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/agathocles-of-syracuse. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Agathocles of Syracuse.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/agathocles-of-syracuse.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Agathocles of Syracuse’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/agathocles-of-syracuse (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻