Gelon

Latin > English (Lewis & Short)

Gĕlōn: ontis, m. γελῶν, laughing,
I a fountain in Phrygia whose water caused laughter, Plin. 31, 2, 16, § 19.

Latin > French (Gaffiot 2016)

Gĕlōn, ōntis, m., nom d’une fontaine de Phrygie : Plin. 31, 19.

Latin > German (Georges)

Gelōn, ōntis, m. (γελῶν, lachend), eine Quelle in Phrygien, deren Wasser Lachen erregte, Plin. 31, 19.

Wikipedia EN

Gelon also known as Gelo (Greek: Γέλων Gelon, gen.: Γέλωνος; died 478 BC), son of Deinomenes, was a Greek tyrant of the Sicilian cities Gela and Syracuse, and first of the Deinomenid rulers.

Gelon was the son of Deinomenes. According to Herodotus, Gelon's ancestors came from the island of Telos in the Aegean Sea and were the founders of the city of Gela in southern Sicily. One of his later ancestors, Telines, was said to have reconciled his people after a period of civil strife through the divine rites of the Earth Goddesses; Herodotus infers that all of Telines' descendants, including Gelon, were priests of this cult.

Gelon's three brothers were Hieron, Thrasybulus and Polyzalos. Deinomenes consulted an oracle about the fates of his children, and was told that Gelon, Hieron and Thrasybulus were all destined to become tyrants.

Gelon fought in a number of the conflicts between the various tyrant kings of Sicily and earned a reputation as a formidable soldier. His performance was so impressive that he was promoted to be commander of the cavalry for his uncle Hippocrates, tyrant of Gela. From this position he played a key role in a number of battles, including one against Syracuse, a city which he himself would later conquer.

But it was not until Hippocrates was killed in a battle with the native Sicel tribe of Sicily at Hybla that Gelon's rise to power began. Upon Hippocrates' death his sons retained the throne, but the common people were tired of this family's rule and revolted. Gelon quelled the revolt on the pretext of helping Hippocrates' sons gain power. Instead, he took power for himself with the help of the army in 491 BC. The territory now under his control as tyrant included that of Gela, Naxos in the east, Zancle in the northeast, and Camarina in the south.

Gelon ruled over Gela and his other territories in eastern Sicily peacefully for the next five years. In 485 BC, the aristocracy of 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, tyrant of 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 and his 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 archers and slingers, which suggests military science had achieved a higher level under Gelon than in Athens and Sparta.

Wikipedia EL

Ο Γέλων ο Συρακούσιος (γιος του Δεινομένη, 5ος αιώνας π.Χ., πέθανε το 478 π.Χ.), ήταν τύραννος της Γέλας (491 π.Χ. - 485 π.Χ.) και ο πρώτος Τύραννος των Συρακουσών (485 π.Χ. - 478 π.Χ.), ο πρώτος της δυναστείας των Δεινομενιδών. Υπήρξε ένας από τους διαχρονικά ισχυρότερους ηγεμόνες των ελληνικών αποικιών της Μεγάλης Ελλάδας με ιδιαίτερη οικονομική και στρατιωτική ισχύ, ο οποίος ανέδειξε την πόλη των Συρακουσών σε υπερδύναμη. Είναι επίσης γνωστός για την καθοριστική μάχη της Ιμέρας, το 480 π.Χ., όταν διέσωσε την ανεξαρτησία των ελληνικών πόλεων στη Σικελία από την ισχυρή εκστρατευτική δύναμη των Καρχηδονίων.