the son of Hiero, was a noble and opulent citizen of Syracuse. Heraclius, before the praetorship of C. Verres, in B. C. 73-71, one of the wealthiest, became, through his exactions and oppression, one of the poorest men in Sicily. (Cic. in Verr. 2.14.) The family, at least the namesakes of Heraclius, suffered equally from Verres. Another Heraclius of Syracuse he stripped of his property (4.61). Heraclius of Segesta he put to death (5.43); and Heraclius of Amestratus (3.39), and another of Centuripini, appeared in evidence against him in B. C. 70 (2.27).
[W.B.D]A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology
Smith, William
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. William Smith, LLD, ed. 1890