Hiero II of Syracuse

Hello! My name is Hiero, and I was a king a very, very long time ago. I lived in a beautiful city by the sea called Syracuse, which is on a big island named Sicily. Before I was a king, I was a soldier. My job was to be brave and strong to protect my city and all the people who lived there. I worked very hard every single day. The people of Syracuse saw how much I cared about keeping them safe. They thought I would be a good leader. So, around the year 270 BCE, they chose me to be their king. It was a great honor to lead the city I loved so much.

I had a very clever friend who was also my relative. His name was Archimedes, and he was one of the smartest people who ever lived. He was brilliant at solving tricky problems. One day, I had a beautiful new crown made from pure gold. But I had a feeling that the person who made it might have sneakily mixed in a less valuable metal. I didn't know how to check without ruining the crown. I asked my wonderful friend Archimedes for help. He thought and thought about it. The answer came to him while he was taking a bath. He noticed the water level rose when he got in. He was so excited that he jumped right out of the tub and shouted, 'Eureka.' which means 'I found it.' in a language called Greek. He had figured out a way to test my crown. Archimedes helped me with many things, and he was a wonderful and loyal friend.

Not far from my island of Sicily was a very large and powerful place called Rome. At first, we were not sure if we would be friends or enemies. I wanted my people to be safe and live without fear of fighting. So, in the year 263 BCE, I made a special promise with the leaders of Rome. We agreed to be friends and help each other. This was a very important decision. Because of this friendship, my city of Syracuse was peaceful for a very, very long time. We did not have to worry about battles. Instead, we could focus on making our city even more beautiful by building new temples and theaters. Our farmers could grow lots of food, and everyone felt happy and secure.

I was the king of Syracuse for more than 50 years. I lived to be about 90 years old, which was a very long time back then. People remembered me as a wise and peaceful king who loved his city with all his heart. Because of the choices I made, Syracuse was a happy and wonderful place to live for many years. I was so proud to be its leader and to see my people thrive.