Walls of Syracuse
In 402 BC Dionysius I began building the Circuit Walls of Syracuse. They were completed in 397 BC and had the following characteristics:
- Length: 27 kilometers
- Width at base: 3.3 m to 5.35 m
- Number of known towers on circuit: 14 (including Euryalos)
- Largest tower: 8.5 m x 8.5 m
- Deepest ditch (at Euryalos fortress): 9 m
Building so big a fortress would have involved installing well over 300 tons of stone every day for 5 years.
Read more about this topic: Dionysius I Of Syracuse
Famous quotes containing the words walls of, walls and/or syracuse:
“It is not the walls that make the city, but the people who live within them. The walls of London may be battered, but the spirit of the Londoner stands resolute and undismayed.”
—George VI (1895–1952)
“Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass,
Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron,
Can be retentive to the strength of spirit.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The Dada object reflected an ironic posture before the consecrated forms of art. The surrealist object differs significantly in this respect. It stands for a mysterious relationship with the outer world established by man’s sensibility in a way that involves concrete forms in projecting the artist’s inner model.”
—J.H. Matthews. “Object Lessons,” The Imagery of Surrealism, Syracuse University Press (1977)