Page 329 the Place, and Batters the Walls with his Engines in several Places at once; and with fresh Succours even wearies out the Besieg'd; to the effecting of which, the forwardness of his Men (through the late Successes) was of no small advantage. Whilst he was undermining the Walls, he supported them with great Pieces of Timber, and then setting them on Fire, a great part of the Walls on a sudden tumbled down; upon which there was a sharp Conflict: These striving to enter by force, the other in dread of undergoing the same fate and destruction with them of Selinunte; so that the Besieged endeavouring with all their might, to defend their Parents, Children and Country, beat the Barbarians off, and with all speed repair'd the Wall. For there had before come to their assistance Four Thousand Syracusians, and some other Confederates from Agrigentum, under the Command of Diocles the Syracusian. Then Night coming on, it gave a check to the Fury of the Besiegers, and so there was an intermission of the Assault.
But as soon as it was Day, the Besieged resolving not to be pen'd up as the Selinuntines were (through Sloathfulness) plac'd the Guards upon the Walls, and with the rest of their own, and the Forces of their Confederates, to the number of Ten Thousand, made a Sally, and broke in on a suddain upon the Enemy. Whereupon the Barbarians were struck with Terror and Amazement, conceiving that all the Confederates of the Besieg'd were come to their Relief. The Salliants therefore being far more daring and skilful in their Weapons, and especially the last hope of their safety lying in the good Success of the present Engagement, they cut off all those that first opposed them. And though the whole force of the Barbarians in great disorder and confusion fell upon them (for they never suspected that the Besiegd durst ever have attempted any such thing) yet they were under no small disadvantages; for Fourscore Thousand Men running in Confusion together, beat down one another, and more incommodated themselves than their Enemies. The Himereans in the mean time being in sight of their Parents, Children, and all their Friends and Relations upon the Walls, exposed themselves without fear, to all dangers for the common safety. The Barbarians therefore astonish'd with the Valour of the Enemy, and unexpectedness of the Onset, turn'd their Backs, and fled in great precipitation to their Fellows incampt upon the Hill, whom the Himereans pursu'd, calling one to another not to give any Quarter. In this Encounter there were kill'd of the Carthaginians above Six Thousand (as Timeus relates) but Ephorus says Twenty Thousand. Hannibal when he saw his Souldiers so distressed, drew out those that were encamped, and came to the Relief of his shattered Troops, setting upon the Himereans now in disorder by the Pursuit: Upon which, there began another sharp Dispute, in which, at length the Himereans were put to flight; but Three Thousand of them stood their Ground, and bore the brunt of the whole Carthaginian Army; and after they had signaliz'd their Valour, all died upon the Spot.
After this Fight, Five and Twenty Gallies which were sometime before sent to the aid of the Lacedemonians from the Siculi, now returning Home, arriv'd at Himera; but a Rumour spread through the City, that the Syracusians with all their Forces and Confederates were come to the Relief of the Himereans. Hannibal in the mean time imbarques many of his best Souldiers in his Gallies which lay at Motys, in order to Sail for Syracuse, to surprize the City now that it wanted sufficient • trength to defend it as he suppos'd. And therefore Diocles, Commander in chief of them who were sent in aid of the Himereans, advis'd the Captains of the Vessels to sail with all speed to Syracuse, lest when they had lost the best of their Souldiers, in the next Fight, their own City should be taken by force. To which end it was thought advisable to leave the City for a while, and to imbarque one half of Diocles's Forces to go along with the Fleet till they were past the Coasts of Himera, and to leave the other half for the defence of the City till the Gallies return'd. The Himereans took this grievously, but being it was not in their power to do otherwise, Gallies were fill'd in the Night, with Women and Children, and other things to be transported to Messena.
Then Diocles with those under his Command, prepar'd for his Journey back into his own Country, leaving the Bodies of them that were slain unbury'd. And so many of the Himereans with their Wives and Children went along with him,
The Histories of Herodotus written in 440 BC is considered to be the founding work of history in Western literature. His history included stories and fables but he claimed to have traveled extensively and learned about many countries through direct observation.
The thesis of Stolen Legacy is that the Egyptians created what is wrongly called Greek philosophy. Dr. James argues that the African origin of Greek Philosophy is well known but rarely discussed. Ancient Greek historians such as Herodotus and Diodorus the Sicilian wrote in significant detail about the contributions of Egypt. Egyptian technology and libraries were unmatched and Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato studied there. The contribution of Africa to the intellectual foundation of modern knowledge is tremendous but unacknowledged.
The Library of History by Diodorus the Sicilian is one of the most highly regarded universal histories in antiquities. His work includes the history of Egypt, Asia, Africa, Greece and Europe. His book is a must read for research of ancient history.
Bible Study The King James Bible (kjv), World English Bible (web) and Bible in Basic English (bbe) are all examples of public domain books. The King James Bible (kjv) online uses the content from these books and open source software to enhance Bible study capabilities. The site includes the verse of the day, search tools, christian literature and links to related content. It demonstrates the use of open source to create a valuable service.