Syracuse

(seer-ah-koo'zah,) a city and seaport of S. Italy, in Sicily, on the E. coast of that island, in N. Lat. 37° 3′, E. Lon. 15° 27′ 3". This place is of great antiquity and Corinthian origin, dating from 736 B. c. In 212 B. c. it was taken by the Romans, and in 878 A. D., by the Saracens; while in 1659 it nearly disappeared during an earthquake. S., among other eminent men, has given birth to Plato, Cicero, and Arch i me des. Pop. 20,176. Syracuse, in New York, a handsomely built and prosperous city, C. of Onondaga co.,near Onondaga Lake, 80 m. S.E. of Rochester. It contains a U. States arsenal, and a State asylum for idiots. Its manufacturing interests are of the most important character, embracing the fabrication of machinery, carriages, hardware, farm-implements, leather and woollen goods, . It is, besides, the depôt of the great salt-yielding region which immediately surrounds it. Pop. 43,081. [s. 874]