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XX.19‑44

This webpage reproduces a portion of
The Library of History

of
Diodorus Siculus

published in Vol. X
of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1954

The text is in the public domain.

This page has been carefully proofread
and I believe it to be free of errors.
If you find a mistake though,
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XX.73‑90

(Vol. X) Diodorus Siculus
Library of History

(Book XX, continued)

 p265  45 1 When that year had come to an end, Anaxicrates was archon in Athens and in Rome Appius Claudius and Lucius Volumnius became consuls.​1 While these held office, Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, having received from his father strong land and sea forces, also a suitable supply of missiles and of the other things requisite for carrying on a siege, set sail from Ephesus. He had instructions to free all the cities throughout Greece, but first of all Athens, which was held by a garrison of Cassander.​2 2 Sailing into the Peiraeus with his forces, he at once made an attack on all sides and issued a proclamation.​3 Dionysius, who had been placed in command of the garrison on Munychia, and Demetrius of Phalerum, who had been made military governor of the city​4 by Cassander, resisted him from the walls with many soldiers. 3 Some of Antigonus' men, attacking with violence and effecting an entrance along the coast, admitted many of their fellow soldiers within the wall. The result was that in this way the Peiraeus was taken; and, of those within it, Dionysius the commander fled to Munychia and Demetrius of Phalerum withdrew into the city. 4 On the next day, when he had been sent with others as envoys by the people to Demetrius and had discussed the independence of the city and his own security, he obtained a safe-conduct for himself and, giving  p267 up the direction of Athens, fled to Thebes and later into Egypt to Ptolemy.​5 5 And so this man, after he had been director of the city for ten years, was driven from his fatherland in the way described. The Athenian people, having recovered their freedom, decreed honours to those responsible for their liberation.

Demetrius, however, bringing up ballistae and the other engines of war and missiles, assaulted Munychia both by land and by sea. 6 When those within defended themselves stoutly from the walls, it turned out that Dionysius had the advantage of the difficult terrain and the greater height of his position, for Munychia was strong both by nature and by the fortifications which had been constructed, but that Demetrius was many times superior in the number of his soldiers and had a great advantage in his equipment. 7 Finally, after the attack had continued unremittingly for two days, the defenders, severely wounded by the catapults and the ballistae and not having any men to relieve them, had the worst of it; and the men of Demetrius, who were fighting in relays and were continually relieved, after the wall had been cleared by the ballistae, broke into Munychia, forced the garrison to lay down its arms, and took the commander Dionysius alive.6

46 1 After gaining these successes in a few days and razing Munychia completely, Demetrius restored to the people their freedom and established friendship and an alliance with them. 2 The Athenians, Stratocles  p269 writing the decree,​7 voted to set up golden statues of Antigonus and Demetrius in a chariot near the statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, to give them both honorary crowns at a cost of two hundred talents, to consecrate an altar to them and call it the altar of the Saviours, to add to the ten tribes two more, Demetrias and Antigonis, to hold annual games in their honour with a procession and a sacrifice, and to weave their portraits in the peplos of Athena. 3 Thus the common people, deprived of power in the Lamian War by Antipater,​8 fifteen years afterwards unexpectedly recovered the constitution of the fathers. Although Megara was held by a garrison, Demetrius took it by siege, restored their autonomy to its people, and received noteworthy honours from those whom he had served.9

4 When an embassy had come to Antigonus from Athens and had delivered to him the decree concerning the honours conferred upon him and discussed with him the problem of grain and of timber for ships, he gave to them one hundred and fifty thousand medimni​10 of grain and timber sufficient for one hundred ships; he also withdrew his garrison from Imbros and gave the city back to the Athenians. 5 He wrote to his son Demetrius ordering him to call together counsellors from the allied cities who should consider in common what was advantageous for Greece, and to sail himself with his army to Cyprus and finish the war with  p271 the generals of Ptolemy as soon as possible.​11 6 Demetrius, promptly doing all according to his father's orders, moved toward Caria and summoned the Rhodians for the war against Ptolemy. They did not obey, preferring to maintain a common peace with all, and this was the beginning of the hostility between that people and Antigonus.

47 1 Demetrius, after coasting along to Cilicia and there assembling additional ships and soldiers, sailed to Cyprus with fifteen thousand foot-soldiers and four hundred horsemen, more than one hundred and ten swift triremes, fifty-three heavier transports,​12 and freighters of every kind sufficient for the strength of his cavalry and infantry. 2 First he went into camp on the coast of Carpasia,​13 and after beaching his ships, strengthened his encampment with a palisade and a deep moat; then, making raids on the peoples who lived near by, he took by storm Urania​14 and Carpasia; then leaving an adequate guard for the ships, he moved with his forces against Salamis. 3 Menelaüs,​15 who had been made general of the island by Ptolemy, had gathered his soldiers from the outposts and was waiting in Salamis; but when the enemy was at a  p273 distance of forty stades,​16 he came out with twelve thousand foot and about eight hundred horse. In a battle of short duration which occurred, the forces of Menelaüs were overwhelmed and routed; and Demetrius, pursuing the enemy into the city, took prisoners numbering not much less than three thousand and killed about a thousand. 4 At first he freed the captives of all charges and distributed them among the units of his own soldiers; but when they ran off to Menelaüs because their baggage had been left behind in Egypt with Ptolemy, recognizing that they would not change sides, he forced them to embark on his ships and sent them off to Antigonus in Syria.

5 At this time Antigonus was tarrying in upper Syria, founding a city on the Orontes River, which he called Antigonia after himself. He laid it out on a lavish scale, making its perimeter seventy stades;​17 for the location was naturally well adapted for watching over Babylon and the upper satrapies, and again for keeping an eye upon lower Syria and the satrapies near Egypt.​18 6 It happened, however, that the city did not survive very long, for Seleucus dismantled it and transported it to the city which he founded and called Seleucia after himself.​19 But we shall make these matters clear in detail when we  p275 come to the proper time.​20 7 As to affairs in Cyprus, Menelaüs, after having been defeated in the battle, had missiles and engines brought to the walls, assigned positions on the battlements to his soldiers, and made ready for the fight; and since he saw that Demetrius was also making preparations for siege, 8 he sent messengers into Egypt to Ptolemy to inform him about the defeat and to ask him to send aid as his interests on the island were in danger.

48 1 Since Demetrius saw that the city of the Salaminians was not to be despised and that a large force was in the city defending it, he determined to prepare siege engines of very great size, catapults for shooting bolts and ballistae of all kinds, and the other equipment that would strike terror.​21 He sent for skilled workmen from Asia, and for iron, likewise for a large amount of wood and for the proper complement of other supplies. 2 When everything was made ready for him, he constructed a device called the "helepolis,"​22 which had a length of forty-five cubits on each side and a height of ninety cubits. It was divided into nine storeys, and the whole was mounted on four solid wheels each eight cubits high. 3 He also constructed very large battering rams and two penthouses to carry them. On the lower levels of the helepolis he mounted all sorts of ballistae, the largest of them capable of hurling missiles weighing three talents;​23 on the middle levels he placed the largest  p277 catapults, and on the highest his lightest catapults and a large number of ballistae; and he also stationed on the helepolis more than two hundred men to operate these engines in the proper manner.

4 Bringing the engines up to the city and hurling a shower of missiles, he cleared the battlements with the ballistae and shattered the walls with the rams. 5 Since those within resisted boldly and opposed his engines of war with other devices, for some days the battle was doubtful, both sides suffering hardships and severe wounds; and when finally the wall was falling and the city was in danger of being taken by storm, the assault was interrupted by the coming of night. 6 Menelaüs, seeing clearly that the city would be taken unless he tried something new, gathered a large amount of dry wood, at about midnight threw this upon the siege engines of the enemy, and at the same time all shot down fire-bearing arrows from the walls and set on fire the largest of the siege engines. 7 As the flames suddenly blazed high, Demetrius tried to come to the rescue; but the flames got the start of him, with the result that the engines were completely destroyed and many of those who manned them were lost. 8 Demetrius, although disappointed in his expectations, did not stop but pushed the siege persistently by both land and sea, believing that he would overcome the enemy in time.

49 1 When Ptolemy heard of the defeat of his men,​24 he sailed from Egypt with considerable land and sea forces. Reaching Cyprus at Paphos, he received  p279 ships from the cities and coasted along to Citium, which was distant from Salamis two hundred stades.​25 2 He had in all one hundred and forty​26 ships of war, of which the largest were quinqueremes and the smallest quadriremes; more than two hundred transports followed, which carried at least ten thousand foot-soldiers. 3 Ptolemy sent certain men to Menelaüs by land, directing him, if possible, to send him quickly the ships from Salamis, which numbered sixty; for he hoped that, if he received these as reinforcement, he would easily be superior in the naval engagement since he would have two hundred ships in the battle. 4 Learning of his intention, Demetrius left a part of his forces for the siege; and, manning all his ships and embarking upon them the best of his soldiers, he equipped them with missiles and ballistae and mounted on the prows a sufficient number of catapults for throwing bolts three spans​27 in length. 5 After making the fleet ready in every way for a naval battle, he sailed around the city and, anchoring at the mouth of the harbour just out of range, spent the night, preventing the ships from the city from joining the others, and at the same time watching for the coming of the enemy and occupying a position ready for battle. 6 When Ptolemy sailed up toward Salamis, the service vessels following at a distance, his fleet was awe-inspiring to behold because of the multitude of its ships.

50 1 When Demetrius observed Ptolemy's approach, he left the admiral Antisthenes with ten of the  p281 quinqueremes to prevent the ships in the city from going forth for the battle, since the harbour had a narrow exit; and he ordered the cavalry to patrol the shore so that, if any wreck should occur, they might rescue those who should swim across to the land. 2 He himself drew up the fleet and moved against the enemy with one hundred and eight ships in all,​28 including those that had been provided with crews from the captured towns. The largest of the ships were sevens and most of them were quinqueremes.​29 3 The left wing was composed of seven Phoenician sevens and thirty Athenian quadriremes, Medius the admiral having the command. Sailing behind these he placed ten sixes and as many quinqueremes, for he had decided to make strong this wing where he himself was going to fight the decisive battle. 4 In the middle of the line he stationed the lightest of his ships, which Themison of Samos and Marsyas,​30 who compiled the history of Macedonia, commanded. The right wing was commanded by Hegesippus of Halicarnassus and Pleistias of Cos, who was the chief pilot of the whole fleet.

5 At first, while it was still night, Ptolemy made for Salamis at top speed, believing that he could gain an entrance before the enemy was ready; but as day broke, the fleet of the enemy in battle array was  p283 visible at no great distance, and Ptolemy also prepared for the battle. 6 Ordering the supply ships to follow at a distance and effecting a suitable formation of the other ships, he himself took command of the left wing with the largest of his warships fighting under him. After the fleet had been disposed in this way, both sides prayed to the gods as was the custom, the signalmen​31 leading and the crews joining in the response.

51 1 The princes, since they were about to fight for their lives and their all, were in much anxiety. When Demetrius was about three stades​32 distant from the enemy, he raised the battle signal that had been agreed upon, a gilded shield, and this sign was made known to all by being repeated in relays. 2 Since Ptolemy also gave a similar signal, the distance between the fleets was rapidly reduced. When the trumpets gave the signal for battle and both forces raised the battle cry, all the ships rushed to the encounter in a terrifying manner; using their bows and their ballistae at first, then their javelins in a shower, the men wounded those who were within range; then when the ships had come close together and the encounter was about to take place with violence, the soldiers on the decks crouched down and the oarsmen, spurred on by the signalmen, bent more desperately to their oars. 3 As the ships drove together with force and violence, in some cases they swept off each other's oars so that the ships became useless for flight or pursuit, and the men who were on board, though eager for a fight, were prevented from joining in the battle; but where the ships had met prow to  p285 prow with their rams, they drew back for another charge, and the soldiers on board shot at each other with effect since the mark was close at hand for each party. Some of the men, when their captains had delivered a broadside blow and the rams had become firmly fixed, leaped aboard the ships of the enemy, receiving and giving severe wounds; 4 for certain of them, after grasping the rail of a ship that was drawing near, missed their footing, fell into the sea, and at once were killed with spears by those who stood above them; and others, making good their intent, slew some of the enemy and, forcing others along the narrow deck, drove them into the sea. As a whole the fighting was varied and full of surprises: many times those who were weaker got the upper hand because of the height of their ships, and those who were stronger were foiled by inferiority of position and by the irregularity with which things happen in fighting of this kind. 5 For in contests on land, valour is made clearly evident, since it is able to gain the upper hand when nothing external and fortuitous interferes; but in naval battles there are many causes of various kinds that, contrary to reason, defeat those who would properly gain the victory through prowess.

52 1 Demetrius fought most brilliantly of all, having taken his stand on the stern of his seven. A crowd of men rushed upon him, but by hurling his javelins at some of them and by striking others at close range with his spear, he slew them; and although many missiles of all sorts were aimed at him, he avoided some that he saw in time and received others  p287 upon his defensive armour. 2 Of the three men who protected him with shields, one fell struck by a lance and the other two were severely wounded. Finally Demetrius drove back the forces confronting him, created a rout in the right wing, and forthwith forced even the ships next to the wing to flee. 3 Ptolemy who had with himself the heaviest of his ships and the strongest men, easily routed those stationed opposite him, sinking some of the ships and capturing others with their crews. Turning back from that victorious action, he expected easily to subdue the others also; but when he saw that the right wing of his forces had been shattered and all those next to that wing driven into flight, and further, that Demetrius was pressing on with full force, he sailed back to Citium.

4 Demetrius, after winning the victory, gave the transports to Neon and Burichus, ordering them to pursue and pick up those who were swimming in the sea; and he himself, decking his own ships with bow and stern ornaments and towing the captured craft, sailed to his camp and his home port. 5 At the time of the naval battle Menelaüs, the general in Salamis, had manned his sixty ships and sent them as a reinforcement to Ptolemy, placing Menoetius in command. When a battle occurred at the harbour mouth with the ships on guard there, and when the ships from the city pressed forward vigorously, Demetrius' ten ships fled to the camp of the army; and Menoetius, after sailing out and arriving a little too late, returned to Salamis.

6 In the naval battle, whose outcome was as stated,  p289 more than a hundred of the supply ships were taken, upon which were almost eight thousand soldiers, and of the warships forty were captured with their crews and about eighty were disabled, which the victors towed, full of sea water, to the camp before the city. Twenty of Demetrius' ships were disabled, but all of these, after receiving proper care, continued to perform the services for which they were suited.

53 1 Thereafter Ptolemy gave up the fight in Cyprus and returned to Egypt. Demetrius, after he had taken over all the cities of the island and their garrisons, enrolled the men in companies; and when they were organized they came to sixteen thousand foot and about six hundred horse. He at once sent messengers to his father to inform him of the successes, embarking them on his largest ship. 2 And when Antigonus heard of the victory that had been gained, elated by the magnitude of his good fortune, he assumed the diadem and from that time on he used the style of king; and he permitted Demetrius also to assume this same title and rank. 3 Ptolemy, however, not at all humbled in spirit by his defeat, also assumed the diadem and always signed himself king.​33 4 And in a similar fashion in rivalry with them the rest of the princes also called themselves kings: Seleucus, who had recently gained the upper satrapies, and Lysimachus and Cassander, who still retained the territories originally allotted to them.34

Now that we have said enough about these matters, we shall relate in their turn the events that took place in Libya and in Sicily.

 p291  54 1 When Agathocles heard that the princes whom we have just mentioned had assumed the diadem, since he thought that neither in power nor in territory nor in deeds was he inferior to them, he called himself king. He decided not to take a diadem; for he habitually wore a chaplet, which at the time when he seized the tyranny was his because of some priesthood and which he did not give up while he was struggling to gain the supreme power. But some say that he originally had made it his habit to wear this because he did not have a good head of hair.​35 2 However this may be, in his desire to do something worthy of this title, he made a campaign against the people of Utica, who had deserted him.​36 Making a sudden attack upon their city and taking prisoner those of the citizens who were caught in the open country to the number of three hundred, he at first offered a free pardon and requested the surrender of the city; but when those in the city did not heed his offer, he constructed a siege engine,​37 hung the prisoners upon it, and brought it up to the walls. 3 The Uticans pitied the unfortunate men; yet, holding the liberty of all of more account than the safety of these, they assigned posts on the walls to the soldiers and bravely awaited the assault. 4 Then Agathocles, placing upon the engine his catapults, slingers, and bowmen, and fighting from this, began the assault, applying, as it were, branding-irons to the souls of  p293 those within the city. 5 Those standing on the walls at first hesitated to use their missiles since the targets presented to them were their own fellow-countrymen, of whom some were indeed the most distinguished of their citizens; but when the enemy pressed on more heavily, they were forced to defend themselves against those who manned the engine. 6 As a result there came unparalleled suffering and despiteful treatment of fortune to the men of Utica, placed as they were in dire straits from which there was no escape; for since the Greeks had set up before them as shields the men of Utica who had been captured, it was necessary either to spare these and idly watch the fatherland fall into the hands of the enemy or, in protecting the city, to slaughter mercilessly a large number of unfortunate fellow citizens. 7 And this, indeed, is what took place; for as they resisted the enemy and employed missiles of every kind, they shot down some of the men who stationed on the engine, and they also mangled some of their fellow citizens who were hanging there, and others they nailed to the engine with the bolts at whatever places on the body the missiles chanced to strike, so that the wanton violence and the punishment almost amounted to crucifixion. And this fate befell some at the hands of kinsmen and friends, if so it chanced, since necessity is not curiously concerned for what is holy among men.

55 1 But when Agathocles saw that they were cold-bloodedly intent on fighting, he put his army in position to attack from every side and, forcing an entrance at a point where the wall had been poorly constructed, broke into the city. 2 As some of the Uticans fled into their houses, others into temples,  p295 Agathocles, enraged as he was against them, filled the city with slaughter. Some he killed in hand-to‑hand fighting; those who were captured he hanged, and those who had fled to temples and altars of the gods he cheated of their hopes. 3 When he had sacked the movable property, he left a garrison in possession of the city, and led his army into position against the place called Hippu Acra,​38 which was made naturally strong by the marsh that lay before it. After laying siege to this with vigour and getting the better of its people in a naval battle, he took it by storm. When he had conquered the cities in this way, he became master both of most of the places along the sea and of the peoples dwelling in the interior except the Nomads, of whom some arrived at terms of friendship with him and some awaited the final issue. 4 For four stocks have divided Libya: the Phoenicians, who at that time occupied Carthage; the Libyphoenicians, who have many cities along the sea and intermarry with the Carthaginians, and who received this name as a result of the interwoven ties of kinship. Of the inhabitants the race that was most numerous and oldest was called Libyan, and they hated the Carthaginians with a special bitterness because of the weight of their overlord­ship;​a and last were the Nomads, who pastured their herds over a large part of Libya as far as the desert.

5 Now that Agathocles was superior to the Carthaginians by reason of his Libyan allies and his own armies but was much troubled about the situation in Sicily, he constructed light ships and penteconters  p297 and placed upon them two thousand soldiers.​39 Leaving his son Agatharchus​40 in command of affairs in Libya, he put out with his ships and made the voyage to Sicily.

56 1 While this was happening, Xenodocus,​41 the general of the Acragantines, having freed many of the cities and roused in the Sicilians great hopes of autonomy throughout the whole island, led his army against the generals of Agathocles. It consisted of more than ten thousand foot-soldiers and nearly a thousand horsemen. 2 Leptines and Demophilus, assembling from Syracuse and the fortresses as many men as they could, took up a position opposite him with eighty-two hundred foot-soldiers and twelve hundred horse. In a bitter fight that ensued, Xenodocus was defeated and fled to Acragas, losing not less than fifteen hundred of his soldiers. 3 The people of Acragas after meeting with this reverse put an end to their own most noble enterprise and, at the same time, to their allies' hopes of freedom. Shortly after this battle had taken place, Agathocles put in at Selinus in Sicily and forced the people of Heraclea, who had made their city free, to submit to him once more. Having crossed to the other side of the island, he attached to himself by a treaty the people of Therma, granting safe conduct to the Carthaginian garrison. Then, after taking Cephaloedium and leaving Leptines as its governor, he himself marched  p299 through the interior and attempted to slip by night into Centuripa, where some of the citizens were to admit him. When their plan was discovered, however, and the guard came to the defence, he was thrown out of the city, losing more than five hundred of his soldiers. 4 Thereupon, men from Apollonia having invited him and promised to betray their fatherland, he came to that city. As the traitors had become known and had been punished, he attacked the city but without effect for the first day, and on the next, after suffering heavily and losing a large number of men, he barely succeeded in taking it. After slaughtering most of the Apolloniates, he plundered their possessions.

57 1 While Agathocles was engaged on these matters, Deinocrates, the leader of the exiles, taking over the policy of the Acragantines and proclaiming himself champion of the common liberty, caused many to flock to him from all sides; 2 for some eagerly gave ear to his appeals because of the desire for independence inborn in all men, and others because of their fear of Agathocles. When Deinocrates had collected almost twenty thousand foot-soldiers and fifteen hundred mounted men, all of them men who had had uninterrupted experience of exile and hardship, he camped in the open, challenging the tyrant to battle. 3 However, when Agathocles, who was far inferior in strength, avoided battle, he speedily followed on his heels, having secured his victory without a struggle.

From this time on the fortunes of Agathocles, not  p301 only in Sicily but also in Libya, suffered a change for the worse. 4 Archagathus, who had been left by him as general, after the departure of his father at first gained some advantage by sending into the inland regions a part of the army under the command of Eumachus. This leader, after taking the rather large city of Tocae, won over many of the Nomads who dwelt near by. 5 Then, capturing another city called Phellinê, he forced the submission of those who used the adjacent country as pasture, men called the Asphodelodes,​42 who are similar to the Ethiopians in colour. 6 The third city that he took was Meschela, which was very large and had been founded long ago by the Greeks who were returning from Troy, about whom we have already spoken in the third Book.​43 Next he took the place called Hippu Acra, which has the same name as that captured by storm by Agathocles,​44 and finally the free city called Acris, which he gave to his soldiers for plundering after he had enslaved the people.45

58 1 After sating his army with booty, he returned to Archagathus; and since he had gained a name for good service, he again led an army into the inland regions of Libya. Passing by the cities that he had previously mastered, he gained an entrance into the city called Miltinê, having appeared before it without warning; 2 but when the barbarians gathered together against him and over­powered him in the streets, he was, to his great surprise, driven out and lost many of his men. Departing thence, he marched through  p303 a high mountain range that extended for about two hundred stades​46 and was full of wildcats,​47 in which, accordingly, no birds whatever nested either among the trees or the ravines because of the rapacity of the aforementioned beasts. 3 Crossing this range, he came out into a country containing a large number of apes and to three cities called from these beasts Pithecusae,​48 if the name is translated into the Greek language. 4 In these cities many of the customs were very different from those current among us. For the apes lived in the same houses as the men, being regarded among them as gods, just as the dogs are among the Egyptians,​49 and from the provisions laid up in the storerooms the beasts took their food without hindrance whenever they wished. Parents usually gave their children names taken from the apes, just as we do from the gods. 5 For any who killed this animal, as if he had committed the greatest sacrilege, death was established as the penalty. For this reason, among some there was current a proverbial saying about those slain with impunity that they were paying the penalty for a monkey's blood. 6 However this may be, Eumachus, after taking one of these cities by storm, destroyed it, but the other two he won over by persuasion. When, however, he heard that the neighbouring barbarians were collecting great forces against him, he pushed on more vigorously, having decided to go back to the regions by the sea.

59 1 Up to this time all the campaign in Libya had  p305 been satisfactory to Archagathus. But after this the senate in Carthage took good counsel about the war and the senators decided to form three armies and send them forth from the city, one against the cities of the coast, one into the midland regions, and one into the interior. 2 They thought that if they did this they would in the first place relieve the city of the siege and at the same time of the scarcity of food; for since many people from all parts had taken refuge in Carthage, there had resulted a general scarcity, the supply of provisions being already exhausted, but there was no danger from the siege since the city was inaccessible because of the protection afforded by the walls and the sea. 3 In the second place, they assumed that the allies would continue more loyal if there were more armies in the field aiding them. And, what was most important, they hoped that the enemy would be forced to divide his forces and to withdraw to a distance from Carthage. All of these aims were accomplished according to their purpose; 4 for when thirty thousand soldiers had been sent out from the city, the men who were left behind as a garrison not only had enough to maintain themselves, but out of their abundance they enjoyed everything in profusion; and the allies, who hitherto, because of their fear of the enemy, were compelled to make terms with him, again gained courage and hastened to return to the formerly existing friendship.

60 1 When Archagathus saw that all Libya was being occupied in sections by hostile armies, he himself also divided his army; part he sent into the  p307 coastal region, and of the rest of his forces he gave part to Aeschrion and sent him forth, and part he led himself, leaving an adequate garrison in Tunis. 2 When so many armies were wandering everywhere in the country and when a decisive crisis in the campaign was expected, all anxiously awaited the final outcome. 3 Now Hanno,​50 who commanded the army of the midland region, laid an ambush for Aeschrion and fell on him suddenly, slaying more than four thousand foot-soldiers and about two hundred mounted troops, among whom was the general himself; of the others some were captured and some escaped in safety to Archagathus, who was about five hundred stades distant.​51 4 As for Himilco, who had been appointed to conduct the campaign into the interior, at first he rested in a certain city lying in wait for Eumachus, who was dragging along his army heavily loaded with the spoils from the captured cities. 5 Then when the Greeks drew up their forces and challenged him to battle, Himilco left part of his army under arms in the city, giving them orders that, when he retired in pretended flight, they should burst out upon the pursuers. He himself, leading out half of his soldiers and joining battle a little distance in front of the encampment, at once took to flight as if panic-stricken. 6 Eumachus' men, elated by their victory and giving no thought at all to their formation, followed, and in confusion pressed hard upon those who were withdrawing; but when  p309 suddenly from another part of the city there poured forth the army all ready for battle and when a great host shouted at a single command, they became panic-stricken. 7 Accordingly, when the barbarians fell upon an enemy who had been thrown into disorder and frightened by the sudden onslaught, the immediate result was the rout of the Greeks. Since the Carthaginians cut off the enemy's return to his camp, Eumachus was forced to withdraw to the near-by hill, which was ill supplied with water. 8 When the Phoenicians invested the place, the Greeks, who had become weak from thirst and were being over­powered by the enemy, were almost all killed. In fact, of eight thousand foot-soldiers only thirty were saved, and of eight hundred horsemen forty escaped from the battle.

61 1 After meeting with so great a disaster Archagathus returned to Tunis. He summoned from all sides the survivors of the soldiers who had been sent out; and he sent messengers to Sicily to report to his father what had happened and to urge him to come to his aid with all possible speed. 2 In addition to the preceding disasters, another loss befell the Greeks; for all their allies except a few deserted them, and the armies of the enemy gathered together and, pitching camp near by, lay in wait for them. 3 Himilco occupied the passes and shut off his opponents, who were at a distance of a hundred stades,​52 from the routes leading from the region; and on the other side Atarbas camped at a distance of forty stades​53 from Tunis. 4 Therefore, since the enemy  p311 controlled not only the sea but also the land, the Greeks both suffered from famine and were beset by fear on every side.

5 While all were in deep despair, Agathocles, when he learned of the reverses in Libya, made ready seventeen warships intending to go to the aid of Archagathus. Although affairs in Sicily had also shifted to his disadvantage because of the increase in the strength of the exiles who followed Deinocrates, he entrusted the war on the island to Leptines as general; and he himself, manning his ships, watched for a chance to set sail, since the Carthaginians were blockading the harbour with thirty ships. 6 Now at this very time eighteen ships arrived from Etruria as a reinforcement for him, slipping into the harbour at night without the knowledge of the Carthaginians. Gaining this resource, Agathocles outgeneralled his enemies; ordering the allies to remain until he should have sailed out and drawn the Carthaginians into the chase, he himself, just as he had planned, put to sea from the harbour at top speed with his seventeen ships. 7 The ships on guard pursued, but Agathocles, on seeing the Etruscans appearing from the harbour, suddenly turned his ships, took position for ramming, and pitted his ships against the barbarians. The Carthaginians, terror-stricken by the surprise and because their own triremes were cut off between the enemy fleets, fled. 8 Thereupon the Greeks captured five ships with their crews; and the commander of the Carthaginians, when his flagship was on the point of being captured, killed  p313 himself, preferring death to the anticipated captivity. But in truth he was shown by the event to have judged unwisely; for his ship caught a favouring wind, raised its jury mast​54 and fled from the battle.

62 1 Agathocles, who had no hope of ever getting the better of the Carthaginians on the sea, unexpectedly defeated them in a naval battle, and thereafter he ruled the sea and gave security to his merchants. For this reason the people of Syracuse, goods being brought to them from all sides, in place of scarcity of provisions soon enjoyed an abundance of everything. 2 The tyrant, encouraged by the success that had been won, dispatched Leptines to plunder the country of the enemy and, in particular, that of Acragas. For Xenodocus, vilified by his political opponents because of the defeat he had suffered,​55 was at strife with them. 3 Agathocles therefore ordered Leptines to try to entice the man out to a battle; for, he said, it would be easy to defeat him since his army was seditious and had already been overcome. 4 And indeed this was accomplished; for when Leptines entered the territory of Acragas and began plundering the land, Xenodocus at first kept quiet, not believing himself strong enough for battle; but when he was reproached by the citizens for cowardice, he led out his army, which in number fell little short of that of his opponents but in morale was far inferior since the citizen army had been formed  p315 amid indulgence and a sheltered way of life and the other had been trained in military service in the field and in constant campaigns. 5 Therefore when battle was joined, Leptines quickly routed the men of Acragas and pursued them into the city; and there fell in the battle on the side of the vanquished about five hundred foot soldiers and more than fifty horsemen. Then the people of Acragas, vexed over their disasters, brought charges against Xenodocus, saying that because of him they had twice been defeated; but he, fearing the impending investigation and trial, departed to Gela.

63 1 Agathocles, having within a few days defeated his enemies both on land and sea, sacrificed to the gods and gave lavish entertainments for his friends. In his drinking bouts he used to put off the pomp of tyranny and to show himself more humble than the ordinary citizens; and by seeking through a policy of this sort the goodwill of the multitude and at the same time giving men licence to speak against him in their cups he used to discover exactly the opinion of each, since through wine the truth is brought to light without concealment. 2 But by nature also a buffoon and a mimic, not even in the meetings of the assembly did he abstain from jeering at those who were present and from portraying certain of them, so that the common people would often break out into laughter as if they were watching one of the impersonators or conjurors. 3 With a crowd serving as his bodyguard he used to enter the assembly unattended, unlike Dionysius the tyrant. For the latter was so distrustful of one and all that as a rule he let his hair and beard grow long so that he need not submit the most vital parts of his body to the  p317 steel of the barber; and if ever it became necessary for him to have his head trimmed, he singed off the locks, declaring that the only safety of a tyrant was distrust.​56 4 Now Agathocles at the drinking bout, taking a great golden cup, said that he had not given up the potters' craft​57 until in his pursuit of art he had produced in pottery beakers of such workman­ship as this. For he did not deny his trade but on the contrary used to boast of it, claiming that it was by his own ability that in place of the most lowly position in life he had secured the most exalted one. 5 Once when he was besieging a certain not inglorious city and people from the wall shouted, "Potter and furnace-man, when will you pay your soldiers?" he said in away, "when I have taken this city."​58 6 None the less, however, when through the jesting at drinking bouts he had discovered which of those who were flushed with wine were hostile to his tyranny he invited them individually on another occasion to a banquet, and also those of the other Syracusans who had become particularly presumptuous, in number about five hundred; and surrounding them with suitable men from his mercenaries he slaughtered them all. 7 For he was taking very careful precautions lest, while he was absent in Libya, they should overthrow the tyranny and recall Deinocrates and the exiles. After he had made his rule secure in this way, he sailed from Syracuse.

64 1 When he arrived in Libya​59 he found the army discouraged and in great want: deciding, therefore,  p319 that it was best to fight a battle, he encouraged the soldiers for the fray and, after leading forth the army in battle array, challenged the barbarians to combat. 2 As infantry he had all the surviving Greeks, six thousand in number, at least as many Celts, Samnites, and Etruscans, and almost ten thousand Libyans, who, as it turned out, only sat and looked on, being always ready to change with changing conditions. 3 In addition to these there followed him fifteen hundred horsemen and more than six thousand Libyan chariots. The Carthaginians, since they were encamped in high and inaccessible positions, decided not to risk a battle against men who had no thought of safety; but they hoped that, by remaining in their camp where they were plentifully supplied with everything, they would defeat their enemy by famine and the passage of time. 4 But Agathocles, since he could not lure them down to the plain and since his own situation forced him to do something daring and chance the result, led his army against the encampment of the barbarians. Then when the Carthaginians came out against him, even though they were far superior in number and had the advantage of the rough terrain, Agathocles held out for some time although hard pressed on every side; but afterwards, when his mercenaries and the others began to give way, he was forced to withdraw toward his camp. 5 The barbarians, as they pressed forward stoutly, passed by the Libyans without molesting them in order to elicit their goodwill; but recognizing the Greeks and the mercenaries by their weapons, they continued to slay them until they had driven them into their own camp.

Now on this occasion about three thousand of  p321 Agathocles' men were killed; but on the following night it so happened that each army was visited by a strange and totally unexpected mishap.

65 1 While the Carthaginians after their victory were sacrificing the fairest of their captives as thank-offerings to the gods by night, and while a great blaze enveloped the men who were being offered as victims, a sudden blast of wind struck them, with the result that the sacred hut, which was near the altar, caught fire, and from this the hut of the general caught and then the huts of the leaders, which were in line with it, so that great consternation and fear sprang up throughout the whole camp. Some were trapped by the conflagration while trying to put out the fire and others while carrying out their armour and the most valued of their possessions; for, since the huts were made of reeds and straw and the fire was forcibly fanned by the breeze, the aid brought by the soldiers came too late. 2 Thus when almost the entire camp was in flames, many, caught in the passages which were narrow, were burned alive and suffered due punishment on the spot for their cruelty to the captives, the impious act itself having brought about a punishment to match it; and as for those who dashed from the camp amid tumult and shouting, another greater danger awaited them.

66 1 As many as five thousand of the Libyans who had been taken into Agathocles' army had deserted the Greeks and were going over by night to the barbarians. When those who had been sent out as scouts saw these men coming toward the Carthaginian camp, believing that the whole army of the Greeks  p323 was advancing ready for battle, they quickly reported the approaching force to their fellow soldiers. 2 When the report had been spread through the whole force, there arose tumult and dread of the enemy's attack. Each man placed his hope of safety in flight; and since no order had been given by the commanders nor was there any formation, the fugitives kept running into each other. When some of them failed to recognize their friends because of the darkness and others because of fright, they fought against them as if they were enemies. 3 A general slaughter took place; and while the misunderstanding still prevailed, some were slain in hand to hand fighting and others, who had sped away unarmed and were fleeing three the rough country, fell from cliffs, distraught in mind by the sudden panic. Finally after more than five thousand had perished, the rest of the multitude came safe to Carthage. 4 But those in the city, who had also been deceived at that time by the report of their own people, supposed that they had been conquered in a battle and that the largest part of the army had been destroyed. Therefore in great anxiety they opened the city gates and with tumult and excitement received their soldiers, fearing lest with the last of them the enemy should burst in. When day broke, however, they learned the truth and were with difficulty freed from their expectation of disaster.

67 1 At this same time, however, Agathocles by reason of deceit and mistaken expectation met with similar disaster. For the Libyans who had deserted did not dare go on after the burning of the camp and the tumult that had arisen, but turned back again;  p325 and some of the Greeks, seeing them advancing and believing that the army of the Carthaginians had come, reported to Agathocles that the enemy's forces were near at hand. 2 The dynast gave the order to take up arms, and the soldiers rushed from the camp with great tumult. Since at the same time the fire in the Carthaginian camp blazed high and the shouting of the Carthaginians became audible, the Greeks believed that the barbarians were in very truth advancing against them with their whole army. 3 Since their consternation prevented deliberation, panic fell upon the camp and all began to flee. Then as the Libyans mingled with them and the darkness fostered and increased their uncertainty, those who happened to meet fought each other as if they were enemies. 4 They were scattered about everywhere throughout the whole night and were in the grip of panic fear, with the result that more than four thousand were killed. When the truth was at long last discovered, those who survived returned to their camp. Thus both armies met with disaster in the way described, being tricked, according to the proverb, by the empty alarms of war.60

68 1 Since after this misfortune the Libyans all deserted him and the army which remained was not strong enough to wage battle against the Carthaginians, Agathocles decided to leave Libya. But he did not believe that he would be able to transport his soldiers since he had not prepared any transports and the Carthaginians would never permit it while they controlled the sea. 2 He did not expect that the barbarians would agree to a truce because they were  p327 far superior in their armies and were determined by the destruction of those who had first come across to prevent others from attacking Libya. 3 He decided, therefore, to make the return voyage with a few in secret, and he took on board with him the younger of his sons, Heracleides; for he was on his guard against Archagathus, lest some time this son, who was on intimate terms with his step-mother and was bold by nature, should form a conspiracy against himself. Archagathus, however, suspecting his purpose watched for the sailing with care, being determined to reveal the plot to such of the leaders as would prevent the attempt; for he thought it monstrous that, although he had shared willingly in the battles, fighting in behalf of his father and brother, yet he alone should be deprived of a safe return and left behind as a victim to the enemy. 4 He therefore disclosed to some of the leaders that Agathocles was about to sail away in secret by night. These coming quickly together not only prevented this, but also revealed Agathocles' knavery to the rank and file; and the soldiers, becoming furious at this, seized the tyrant, bound him, and put him in custody.

69 1 Consequently, when discipline disappeared in the camp, there was tumult and confusion, and as night came on word was spread abroad that the enemy was near. When fright and panic fear fell upon them, each man armed himself and rushed forth from the encampment, no man giving orders. 2 At this very time those who were guarding the tyrant, being no less frightened than the others and imagining that they were being summoned by somebody, hastily  p329 brought out Agathocles bound with chains. 3 When the common soldiers saw him they were moved to pity and all shouted to let him go. When released, he embarked on the transport with a few followers and secretly sailed away, although this was in the winter at the season of the setting of the Pleiades.​61 This man, then, concerned about his own safety, abandoned his sons, whom the soldiers among other things slew when they learned of his escape;​62 and the soldiers selected generals from their own number and made peace with the Carthaginians on these terms: they were to give back the cities which they held and to receive three hundred talents, and those who chose to serve with the Carthaginians were to receive pay at the regular rates, and the others, when transported to Sicily, were to receive Solus​63 as a dwelling-place. 4 Now, most of the soldiers abided by the terms and received what had been agreed upon; but all those who continued to occupy the cities because they still clung to hopes of Agathocles were attacked and taken by storm. 5 Their leaders the Carthaginians crucified; the others they bound with fetters and forced them by their own labour to bring back again into cultivation the country they had laid waste during the war.

In this way, then, the Carthaginians recovered the liberty in the fourth year of the war.

70 1 One might well draw attention both to the almost incredible elements in Agathocles' expedition to Libya and to the punishment that befell his children as if by divine providence. For although in Sicily he had been defeated and had lost the largest  p331 part of his army, in Libya with a small portion of his forces he defeated those who had previously been victorious. 2 And after he had lost all the cities in Sicily, he was besieged at Syracuse; but in Libya, after becoming master of all the other cities, he confined the Carthaginians by a siege, Fortune, as if of set purpose, displaying her peculiar power when a situation has become hopeless. 3 After he had come to such a position of superiority and had murdered Ophellas​64 although he was a friend and a guest, the divine power clearly showed that it established through his impious acts against Ophellas a portent of that which later befell him; for in the same month and on the same day on which he murdered Ophellas and took his army, he caused the death of his own sons and lost his own army. 4 And what is most peculiar of all, the god like a good lawgiver exacted a double punishment from him; for when he had unjustly slain one friend, he was deprived of two sons, those who had been with Ophellas laying violent hands upon the young men. Let these things, then, be said as our answer to those who scorn such matters.

71 1 When with all speed Agathocles had crossed from Libya into Sicily, he summoned a part of his army and went to the city of Segesta, which was an ally. Because he was in need of money, he forced the well-to‑do to deliver to him the greater part of their property, the city at that time having a population of about ten thousand. 2 Since many were angry at this and were holding meetings, he charged the  p333 people of Segesta with conspiring against him and visited the city with terrible disasters. For instance, the poorest of the people he brought to a place outside the city beside the river Scamander and slaughtered them; but those who were believed to have more property he examined under torture and compelled each to tell him how much wealth he had; and some of them he broke on the wheel, others he placed bound in the catapults and shot forth, and by applying knucklebones with violence to some, he caused them severe pain.​65 3 He also invented another torture similar to the bull of Phalaris: that is, he prepared a brazen bed that had the form of a human body and was surrounded on every side by bars; on this he fixed those who were being tortured and roasted them alive, the contrivance being superior to the bull in this respect, that those who perishing in anguish were visible. 4 As for the wealthy women, he tortured some of them by crushing their ankles with iron pincers, he cut off the breasts of others, and by placing bricks on the lower part of the backs of those who were pregnant, he forced the expulsion of the foetus by the pressure. While the tyrant in this way was seeking all the wealth, great panic prevailed throughout the city, some burning themselves up along with their houses, and others gaining release from life by hanging. 5 Thus Segesta, encountering a single day of disaster, suffered the loss of all her men from youth upward. Agathocles then took the maidens and children across to Italy and sold them to the Bruttians, leaving not even the name  p335 of the city; but he changed the name to Dicaeopolis and gave it as dwelling to the deserters.66

72 1 On hearing of the murder of his sons Agathocles became enraged at all those who had been left behind in Libya, and sent some of his friends into Syracuse to Antander his brother, ordering him to put to death all the relatives of those who had taken part in the campaign against Carthage.​67 2 As Antander promptly carried out the order, there occurred the most elaborately devised massacre that had taken place up to this time; for not only did they drag out to death the brothers, fathers, and sons who were in the prime of manhood, but also the grandfathers, and even the fathers of these if such survived, men who lingered on in extreme old age and were already bereft of all their senses by lapse of time, as well as infant children borne in arms who had no consciousness whatever of the fate that was bearing down upon them. They also led away any women who were related by marriage or kinship, and in sum, every person whose punishment would bring grief to those who had been left in Libya. 3 When a crowd, large and composed of all kinds of people, had been driven to the sea for punishment and when the executioners had taken their places beside them, weeping and prayers and wailing arose mingled together, as some of them were mercilessly slaughtered and others were stunned by the misfortunes of their neighbours and because of their own imminent fate were no better in spirit than those who were being  p337 put to death before them. 4 And what was most cruel of all, when many had been slain and their bodies had been cast out along the shore, neither kinsman nor friend dared pay the last rites to any, fearing lest he should seem to inform on himself as one who enjoyed intimacy with those who were dead. 5 And because of the multitude of those who had been slain beside its waves, the sea, stained with blood over a great expanse, proclaimed afar the unequalled savagery of this outrage.68


The Loeb Editor's Notes:

1 Anaxicrates was archon in 307/6 B.C. In the Fasti the consuls for 307 B.C. are Ap. Claudius Caecus and L. Volumnius Flamma Violens; cp. Livy, 9.42.2. The narrative is continued from chap. 37.6.

2 For this campaign cp. Plutarch, Demetrius, 8‑9.

3 If we accept Fischer's suggested supplement, we should add "that Demetrius was freeing Athens."

4 i.e. of Athens.

5 Cp. Diogenes Laertius, 5.78; Strabo, 9.1.20 (p398).

6 Plutarch, Demetrius, 9, places the capture of Megara (cp. chap. 46.3) between the surrender of Athens and the taking of Munychia.

7 For the honours conferred on Demetrius and Antigonus cp. Plutarch, Demetrius, 10‑12. For Stratocles, an old political ally of Hypereides, who had acted as an accuser in the affair of Harpalus and had played an important rôle in Athens during the Lamian War, cp. Plutarch, Demetrius, 11‑12. A number of decrees which he introduced in the Assembly in this period are extant, e.g. IG, 2.240, 247.

8 Cp. Book 18.18.

9 But cp. the note on chap. 45.7.

10 About 230,000 bushels.

11 Cp. chap. 27.

12 So the text; but in chap. 50.1‑3 we find that Demetrius, after leaving 10 quinqueremes at Salamis, had 10 quinqueremes, 10 sixes, and 7 sevens in his left wing alone. It seems certain, therefore, that the βαρύτεραι στρατιώτιδες are not transports (which is the regular meaning of the term) but heavy warships (quinqueremes and larger) carrying armed men as well as oarsmen. Such ships would fight by boarding rather than by ramming (cp. Tarn, Hellenistic Military and Naval Developments, 144). It is quite certain also that among the ταχυναυτοῦσαι ναῦς are the quadriremes mentioned in the battle (chap. 50.3), the τριήρεις of the text being an error either of the copyists or of Diodorus himself. For this whole passage cp. Beloch, Griechische Geschichte2, 4.1.154, note 1.

13 On the north coast of Cyprus, near the end of the cape that projects to the north-east.

14 The exact situation of this city is unknown.

15 Cp. chap. 21.1.

16 About 4½ miles.

17 About 8 miles.

18 Or, reading ταῖς ἀπ’ Αἰγύπτου στρατείας, "and expeditions from Egypt"; or again, reading τοῖς περὶ Αἰγύπτου πράγμασι, "and affairs in Egypt."

19 So the text; but the city was actually called Antiochea after Seleucus' father. The error is probably Diodorus' rather than the copyist's. Antigonia was not completely abandoned; at least it is mentioned as if still in existence in 51 B.C. (Dio Cassius, 40.29.1. Cp. also Benziger, in Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. Antiocheia (1) and Antigoneia (1).)

20 No further reference to this is found in the extant portions of the history.

21 For this campaign cp. Plutarch, Demetrius, 15‑17.

22 Literally, "city-taker." Cp. chap. 91. If the cubit used is the standard Attic measure of about 1½ feet, the dimensions given are about 68 feet on each side and 135 feet in height, with wheels 12 feet in diameter; but a shorter Macedonian cubit, perhaps about one foot long, is possible (Tarn, Hellenistic Military and Naval Developments, 15‑16).

23 About 180 lbs.

24 The defeat described in chap. 47.3.

25 About 23 miles, which is approximately correct for the distance by land; but the distance by sea around Cape Pedalium is at least twice as great.

26 Plutarch, Demetrius, 16.1, gives the number as 150.

27 About 21 inches. For this battle cp. Plutarch, Demetrius, 16; Polyaenus, 4.7.7.

28 The number is probably corrupt; Plutarch (Demetrius, 16) gives the total as 180, Polyaenus (4.7.7) as 170. If we were right in regard to the βαρύτεραι στρατιώτιδες (cp. chap. 47.1, and note), Demetrius by Diodorus' own count should have had in this battle 110 triremes and quadriremes and 43 heavier warships (10 having been left at Salamis) plus any from the captured ports.

29 This statement also appears to be false.

30 According to Suidas he was a half-brother of Antigonus. He wrote a history of Macedonia in 10 books, one of Attica in 12 books, and a work on the education of Alexander.

31 The men who kept time for the oarsmen.

32 About ½ mile.

33 Ptolemy's assumption of the diadem is placed in the year 305.4 by the Parian Marble, FGrH, 239 B 23.

34 Continued in chap. 73.

35 Cp. Aelian, Var. Hist. 11.4. For a similar reason Julius Caesar welcomed the right to wear a laurel wreath (Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 45.2).

36 But, according to Polybius, 1.82.8, Utica and Hippu Acra (cp. chap. 55.3) were the only cities that had remained true to Carthage.

37 Probably a movable tower like the "helepolis" of chap. 48.2.

38 Literally, "The citadel of the horse" or "The cape of the horse," identified with Hippos Diarrhytus, the modern Bisertê; cp. Beloch, Griechische Geschichte2, 4.1.195, note 2. Here Agathocles gathered material for the construction of his fleet, Appian, African Wars, 110.

39 The fleet was constructed at Hippu Acra, cp. Appian, African Wars, 110.

40 Usually called Archagathus, cp. chap. 11.1, and note.

41 Cp. chap. 31.4.

42 The name means "like the asphodel."

43 There is nothing about this incident in Book 3; and chronologically it belongs in Book 7, of which only fragments are extant; cp. Vol.III, pp358‑359.

44 Cp. chap. 55.3.

45 None of the cities or peoples mentioned in this paragraph can be identified with certainty.

46 About 23 miles.

47 Or "weasels."

48 "Ape-cities"; cp. the Πιθηκοῦσαι νῆσοι, "Ape Islands," off the coast of Campania (chap. 44.7).

49 Cp. Book 1, chap. 83.1.

50 To be distinguished from the Hanno of chaps. 10.1 and 12.3, who is now dead. Nothing further is known of this Hanno.

51 About 57 miles.

52 About 11½ miles.

53 About 4½ miles.

54 The δόλων was either a light spar that could be rigged at the prow of the warship, extending forward like a high bowsprit, or a square sail hung on a crossarm at the end of such a spar. We hear of this rig only on Phoenician and Roman craft. Since it could be set up more quickly than the ordinary mast, which was stowed before battle, it seems often to have been used as here. Cp. Livy, 36.44.3, 45.1; 37.30.7; Polybius, 16.15.2.

55 Cp. chap. 56.2.

56 Cp. Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, 5.20.58.

57 Cp. Book 19.2.7.

58 Cp. Plutarch, Apophthegmata, p176. For the character of Agathocles cp. Book 19.9; Polybius, 9.23.2; 15.35.

59 For this second Libyan campaign cp. Justin, 22.8.4‑15.

60 Cp. chap. 30.1, and note.

61 About November 1, 307 B.C.

62 Cp. Polybius, 7.2.4.

63 A Carthaginian city on the north coast of Sicily about 12 miles east of Panormus.

64 Cp. chap. 42.

65 It is possible that the ἀστράγαλοι are whips studded with bits of bone. Cp. Lucian, Ass, 38; Plutarch, Moralia, 1127C.

66 The name (lit. "Just City") is not found elsewhere. Segesta certainly recovered its name and became again a Carthaginian ally (Book 22.10.2), probably in 306 B.C., when all cities formerly belonging to Carthage were restored by Agathocles (chap. 79.5).

67 Cp. chap. 4.3.

68 Continued in chap. 77.


Thayer's Note:

a Curiously, the same situation obtains in some of the same part of Africa today, for example Algeria: the over­lords (in this case the Arabs) are a small minority of the population, and many of the Berbers, who've lived there since before the conquest by Arab foreigners in the seventh century, hate them and can't wait to be free of them. The government, in return, forbids the use of the Berber script and imposes other restrictions designed to prevent the Berber majority from running the country.


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