Editing Gelon (section)

== Tyrant of Syracuse ==
Gelon ruled over Gela and his other territories in eastern Sicily peacefully for the next five years. In 485 BC, the aristocracy of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] called the Gamori, who had been forced out of the city by the common people, came to Gelon seeking his aid. Seeing an opportunity for expansion, Gelon used his now large military force to capture the city of Syracuse with little or no resistance, reinstating the exiled Gamori.

Gelon now ruled as the new tyrant of Syracuse and left his brother Hiero to rule over Gela. According to Herodotus, he forced half the citizens of Gela to move to Syracuse. Similarly, he removed all the aristocracy from Camarina.

He continued this strategy as he conquered nearby Euboea and [[Megara Hyblaea]] (483 BC), forcibly removing the aristocracy from each city and placing the rest of the population in slavery. According to Herodotus, because he was raised as a noble and was constantly in the presence of nobility, Gelon did not care for the lower class, and "found the common people unpleasant to share a house with".

Under Gelon's rule, Syracuse soon became prosperous. Along with grand building program in Syracuse, Gelon sought also to create a powerful mercenary army. Most of the recruits for his army came from the native Sicel tribes. However, some were recruited from the Greek mainland, men who had most likely fought with Gelon at some point in the past, and their total number was said to be around 10,000. All of these men were granted citizenship of Syracuse.

Gelon found a powerful ally in [[Theron of Acragas|Theron]], tyrant of [[Agrigento|Acragas]], a city west of Gela, after he married Theron's daughter, Demareta. In 481 BC representatives of [[Athens]] came to him asking for his aid in the upcoming war against [[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes I]] and his [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] army. Gelon replied that he could supply 28,000 men as well as 200 ships if he was appointed commander of either the Greek navy or army. He was denied both positions and, therefore, refused to supply the Greeks with any supplies or men. In fact, he went so far as to prepare gifts for Xerxes in case the Persian king won his war against the Greek alliance.

Among Gelon's forces offered to the Athenians there was a large proportion of cavalry and light troops, including [[Bow and arrow|archers]] and [[Sling (weapon)|slingers]], which suggests military science had achieved a higher level under Gelon than in Athens and [[Sparta]].<ref name=Kend>{{cite book|last=Pritchett|first=W. Kendrick|title=The Greek State at War: Part V|date=1974|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520073746}}</ref>