Hippocrates ( el, Ἱπποκράτης; died 491 BC) was the second tyrant of
Gela,
Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; these re ...
, and ruled from 498 BC to 491 BC. He was the brother of
Cleander and succeeded him to the throne after his death in 498. With him, Gela began its expansion phase; Hippocrates aimed to conquer all of southeastern Sicily in order to build a great state with Gela as its capital. He formed an alliance with
Agrigento
Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...
and conquered
Zancle,
Camarina,
Catana
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
,
Naxos and
Leontini. He also managed to besiege
Syracuse
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
*Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
*Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
**North Syracuse, New York
*Syracuse, Indiana
* Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, Miss ...
, but had to withdraw, due to
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...
ian and
Corcyran involvement in the war. During his government, his city became the most powerful and flourishing among the Greek colonies in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
. Hippocrates died in battle against the
Sicels
The Sicels (; la, Siculi; grc, Σικελοί ''Sikeloi'') were an Italic tribe who inhabited eastern Sicily during the Iron Age. Their neighbours to the west were the Sicani. The Sicels gave Sicily the name it has held since antiquity, bu ...
. He designated his sons, Euclides and Cleander, as his successors, but they were soon replaced by the commander of the cavalry,
Gelo who became the new tyrant of Gela.
[Herodotus, ''The Histories'']
7.155
/ref>
References
*
, width=25% align=center, Preceded by:
Cleander
, width=25% align=center, Tyrant
A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to rep ...
of Gela
498 BC – 491 BC
, width=25% align=center, Succeeded by:
Gelo
{{authority control
491 BC deaths
Ancient Geloans
Sicilian tyrants
5th-century BC Greek people
Year of birth unknown