Gela

A city on the southern coast of the island of Sicily; originally founded circa 688 BCE by colonists from the islands of Rhodes and Crete.

Circa 788, the tyrant who became known as Hippokrates (Hippocrates) of Gela assumed control of the entire island of Sicily; Gela was nearly abandoned circa 482 BCE when another tyrant, Gelon, moved half the population of Gela to the more promising port city of Syracuse.

In 405 BCE the Carthaginians destroyed Gela and Dionysius I of Syracuse ordered that the city be abandoned.

The city was rebuilt circa 337 BCE after Dionysius II was expelled from the island by the Greek commander, Timoleon, who made Syracuse his capital and, with the aid of Greek mercenaries, secured the eastern portion of Sicily as a Greek enclave.

After Timoleon’s death, the rule of Syracuse was entrusted to an oligarchy of six hundred citizens; in 311 BCE, after twenty five years of oligarchic government, the tyrant, Agathokles (Agathocles), came to power and, as revenge for assisting the oligarchy in his oppression, Agathokles had thousands of the inhabitants of Gela put to death.

Circa 281 BCE Gela was razed by pirates and the surviving citizens moved to the city of Phintias (modern Licata); Gela remained mostly uninhabited until 1233 CE when it was renamed by Frederick II as Terranova di Sicilia; the city again became Gela in 1928.

Approximate east longitude 14.15 and north latitude 37.04.