Page 342 their Fellows as occasion offered. Dexippus the Lacedemonian was the Man that directed them in all things, who was lately come to their Assistance with Five Hundred Souldiers from Gela: For he liv'd about that time (as Timeus relates) at Gela, in great Esteem for the sake of his Country: And therefore Application was made to him by them of Agragentum, that he would hire as many Souldiers as possibly he could, and come to their Relief: Besides these, they hir'd Eight Hundred Campanians who had formerly serv'd under Imilcar. These kept the Hill Athenea which lay over, and commanded the City, a very commodious Post.
Imilcar and Hannibal the Carthaginian Generals having view'd the Walls, and found out a Place where it was most easie to enter, brought Two Towers of incredible bigness against the City: The first Day out of these they made an Assault, and after they had kill'd and cut off many of the Citizens, sounded a Retreat. The next Night the Besieg'd made a Sally and burnt the Engines: But Hannibal intending to assault the Town in several Places at once, commanded his Souldiers to pull down all the Monuments and Tombs, and with the Rubbish to raise Mounts as high as the Walls, which was presently done, forwarded by so great a Multitude. But then a sudden Pang of Religion seiz'd upon the Army; for Thero's Monument (a large and stately Structure) was beaten down by a Thunderbolt, which by the advice of some of the Soothsayers then present, put a stop to the perfecting of the Design, and forthwith the Plague broke out in the Army, by which many were destroyed in a short time, and not a few seiz'd with tormenting and miserable Pains, among whom Hannibal himself perish'd. Some that were upon the Watch, reported they saw in the Night, the Apparitions of them that were dead. Upon this, Imilcar seeing the Souldiers were possess'd with the fear and awe of the Gods, first forbore to demolish the Sepulchers: Afterwards he made (according to the Custom of his Country) Supplications to the Deities, and sacrific'd a Boy to Saturn, and threw a Company of Priests into the Sea, as a Sacrifice to Neptune. Notwithstanding all this, Imilcar forsook not the Siege, but choaking up the River with Rubbish close to the Walls, brought up his Engines, and renew'd his Assaults every Day.
In the mean time, the Syracusians weighing the Condition of the Agrigentines, and fearing lest they should undergo the same Fate with them of Himera and Selinunte, were desirous to send them aid; And to that end having encreas'd their Army by the Forces of their Confederates from Italy and Messina, they made Daphneus General, and having mustered the Army, they set forwards, and in their March were join'd by the Camarineans, Geleans, and some others out of the heart of the Country, and all marcht strait for Agrigentum, having a Fleet of Thirty Gallies, which sail'd all along over against them near the Shoar. Daphneus had with him above Thirty Thousand Foot, and no less than Five Thousand Horse. Imilcar upon intelligence of the approach of the Enemy, sent forth against them the Iberians and Campanians, and no less than Forty Thousand out of the rest of the Army. When the Syracusians had pass'd the River Himera, they were met by the Barbarians: Upon which, Battel was join'd, and after the Dispute had continu'd a long time, at length the Syracusians got the Day, who routed the whole Army, with the Slaughter of above Six Thousand Men, and pursu'd the rest to the very City. But the Syracusian General perceiving his Men to be in disorder and confusion by their Pursuit, began to fear lest Imilcar breaking in upon them with the rest of his Army should recover the Day; for he remembred how Himereus had formerly lost all by such an Oversight. The Barbarians flying into that part of the Camp which lay nearest to Agrigentum, the Besieged concluded they were beaten and fled, and therefore earnestly desir'd their Commanders that they would lead them forth, crying out, Now was the time come for the utter ruin and destruction of their Enemies. But the Officers (whether corrupted by Money (as it was reported) or possess'd with fear lest Imilcar should slip into the Town when the Souldiers were gone forth) would not stir, but commanded the Souldiers to abide within the Town; by which means they that fled, came safe into the Camp. But Daphneus march'd forward, and incamp'd in the place where the Enemy before lay; to whom flockt presently the Souldiers out of the Town with Dexippus, and forthwith a Council of War was held, where all shew'd themselves very uneasie and discontented,
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.