Syracuse, the Fairest Greek City

Cicero said of ancient Syracuse in Sicily that it was the "largest and the loveliest of all cities." Over four thousand objects from excavations, displayed at the Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi, bear ample testimony to the city's status as perhaps the most powerful and cultured city in the Greek world. Still, many more exquisite objects remain in storerooms. This collection brings to light some of these stored ancient treasures, which together comprise an artistic portrait of Greek Syracuse.

The catalog includes eight scholarly essays that place the artifacts against the background of the social, political, economic, and religious framework of the polis.