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"For what," he [the praetor Sopater] asked, "could a boy like Hieronymus, who was hardly in his teens, have done on his own initiative? His guardians and masters reigned unmolested because the odium fell on another; they ought to have perished before Hieronymus or at all events when he did. [...] But it was really the wives who were responsible and who, being of royal blood, had filled their husbands with a passion for royalty, for one of the men had married Hiero's daughter, the other a daughter of Gelo." At these words shouts rose from the whole assembly declaring that neither of these women ought to live, and that no single member of the royal family ought to survive.

Livy, History of Rome, book 24-24

The Women of the House of Hiero II of Syracuse (3rd century BC)

Philistis was the daughter of an influential Syracusan citizen, Leptines. Through her father, she descended from Siceliot historian Philistus. Around 275 BC Philistis married Hiero, who will become tyrant of Syracuse in 270 BC. This man was the illegitimate son of a Syracusan nobleman, Hierocles. Hiero served under Pyrrhus I of Epirus during the Sicilian campaign, and after the King of Epirus left the Island, Hiero was appointed arcontes together with another man, Artemidorus. While the latter, at some point, simply disappeared from the chronicles, Hiero managed to establish a personal rule resembling the contemporary Hellenistic reigns. Philistis would give birth to three children: Gelo, Demarata and Heraclia. Nothing more is known about her life or death, although she’s portrayed in various coins minted during the reign of her husband. In these coins Philistis appears veiled and with idealized traits, resembling the type of Demeter, but also in the style of the coins of the Ptolemaic queens of Egypt.

Demarata was daughter of Hiero II and Philistis. Her name was chosen to honor late queen Demarete of Syracuse and in an attempt to link Hiero’s dinasty to previous tyrant Gelon’s, from whom Hiero declared to descend. Demarata married Adranodoros, one of Hieronymus’ fifteen guardians and part of the pro-Carthaginian faction. Hieronymus was Hiero’s grandson and heir as well as Demarata’s nephew and became Syracuse’s tyrant after his grandfather’s death in 215 BC. Taking advantage of his nephew’s young age (he was 15 at that time), Adranodoros concluded an alliance between Syracuse and Carthage, thus betraying Rome. Moreover he dismissed the other guardians and became Hieronymus’ sole ward with the title of chief counsellor. Hieronymus was killed (stabbed to death) in 214 BC in Leontini by a band of conspirators led by the Syracusan Deinomenes. He had ruled for just 13 months. At first, Adranodoros attempted to seize the power and become the new tyrant. When he understood it was too difficult and risky, he surrendered the power to the Syracusan people and was appointed general. But soon the people became wary of Adranodoros, especially after Ariston, a comedian and friend of the general, declared that Adranodoros and Themistos (brother-in-law of the late Hieronymus) were plotting to massacre the other influential citizens to establish their personal tiranny. Syracusan senate then gave order to eliminate the threat and so Adronodoros and Themistus were killed as soon as they entered the Senate building in 214 BC. Not satisfied with just those two murders and with the intent to justify his decision, the other general Sopater (member of the pro-Roman faction) accused the two men’s wives. In particular, Demarata was depicted as ambitious and power-hungry. She was accused of being the real mastermind behind the idea to remove Hieronymus’ other guardians, as a matter of fact starting Adranodoros’ scramble for power. Demarata’s supposed (or not) aspiration to become Syracuse’s queen was shattered the moment she was killed by the angry mob incited by Sopater’s accusations.

Heraclia was daughter of Hiero II and Philistis, as well as sister of Demarata and Gelo. She married Zoippus, who together with Adranoros was one of his nephew Hieronymus’ guardians. Like his brother-in-law, Zoippus was part of the pro-Carthaginian faction and worked to distance Syracuse from Rome. He was sent to a diplomatic mission to Ptolemy (most certainly Ptolemy IV Philopator). When in 214 BC Zoippus was reached by the news of Hieronymus’ death, he decided to remain in Alexandria in a self-imposed exile and so he survived his family’s massacre. His wife, Heraclia, and his two unnamed daughters weren’t equally lucky. No importance was given to the fact they were extraneous of plots and political schemes, what mattered was they were members of the royal family. They seeked refuge in a temple, hoping the mob would have respected the sacrality of the place. Heraclia implored the crowd to at least spare the girls, who were so young and innocent and just kill her. She was dragged outside the temple and killed before her daughters’ eyes with her blood splattering them. The girls, at first, managed to resist, but in the end they fell lifeless to the ground with their bodies full of wounds and whole place was covered in their blood. Soon after a messenger arrived with the order they were not to be killed, but it was already too late.

Nereis was an Epirote princess and the daughter of Pyrrhus II of Epirus and an unnamed woman. Her sister Deidameia was the last Aeacid sovereign of Epirus. Nereis descended from both Pyrrhus I of Epirus (her great-grandfather) and the Syracusan tyrant Agathocles (her great-great-grandfather). Her marriage to Gelo, Hiero’s son, was part of her father-in-law’s policy to strenghten and validate his dynasty. A similar alliance had been established in the past, and Nereis was the result of it. The marriage pact was concluded just before the fall of the Aeacid dynasty. The princess bore at least two children to Gelo, a girl and a boy: Harmonia and Hieronymus. Nothing is known about her fate, but it’s implied she survived her sister, making Nereis the last surviving Aeacid royal member.

Harmonia was the only daughter of Gelo of Syracuse and Nereis of Epirus. This made her the granddaughter and then the sister of the last two Syracusan tyrants. She married Themistos, member of the pro-Carthaginian faction and possibly one of the 15 guardians of Hieronymus. Themistos was accused together with Adranodoros to aspire to a personal tyranny following the murder of his brother-in-law and then killed. Like her aunt Demarata, Harmonia was considered a schemer and a puppetmaster of both her husband and young brother. After the murders of her aunts and cousins, it was only a matter of time Harmonia would have followed them. Her nurse then found a girl of the same age and resembling her protegée. The girl accepted to pass off the princess and was dressed in royal attire by the nurse, then she proceded to draw all the attention to her. In the meantime, Harmonia went hiding, but seeing the murderous crowd killing the innocent girl was too much for the princess. Tradition says she killed herself, although according to Valerius Maximus she revealed herself in front of the killers, claiming to be the real Harmonia, and was instantly murdered.