 The successes of the Syracusians in repelling the Roman siege had made them overconfident.In 212 BC, the Romans received information that the city's inhabitants were to participate in the annual festival to their goddess Artemis.A small party of Roman soldiers approached the city under the cover of night and managed to scale the walls to get into the outer city and with reinforcements soon took control, killing Archimedes in the process, but the main fortress remained firm.