Page 383 When the Transport Ships and Ships of Burden with a fresh Gale came within sight of Sicily, Dionysius sent out Leptines with Thirty Sail against them, with Order to Sink and Destory as many as he could, who forthwith made up to them, and fought those he first met with, and sunk several with all the Men in them. The rest (though they were heavy loaden) by the help of the Wind fortunately veering about, easily escap'd; but about Fifty were sunk down right, in which were lost Five thousand Soldiers, and Two hundred Chariots.
In the mean time, Imilco arriv'd at Panormus, and landing his Men march'd directly against the Enemy, Comanding the Fleet to sail along upon the Coast near to him. In his march he entred Eryx by Treachery; and thence hasten'd with all speed to Motya: And because Dionysius was then busie in besieging of Egista, Imilco had the Opportunity to take Motya by Storm.
Although the Sicilians were very earnest and desirous to fight the Enemy, yet Dionysius judg'd it more advisable for him to draw off to some other Place, because he was both far off from his Confederates, and his Provisions too began to grow very low. Determining therefore to be gone, he advis'd the Sicilians for the present to quit their Cities, and join themselves to the Army, promising to plant them in a richer, and in no less a Country than their own, and telling them that when the War was ended, as many as would, might return to their former Habitations: upon this, some few of them embrac'd the Offer, lest if they refus'd they should have been plunder'd by the Soldiers: The rest deserted, together with the Haliceans, who sent Ambassadors to the Carthaginians, and renew'd their League with them. Dionysius therefore made with all speed to Syracuse, spoiling and wasting the Country all along as he march'd. But Imilco seeing all things succeed according to his Hearts desire, march'd with his Army against Messina, earnest to possess himself of that City, by reason of its fit and convenient situation; for the Haven there was very commodious, capable to receive his whole Fleet, which consisted of about Six hundred Sail; and by that means having the Command of the Sea in those parts, he judg'd he should be able to intercept all the Shipping that should be sent both from Italy and Peloponnesus; to aid them of Syracuse, While he was musing and considering of these things, he made Peace with them of Hymera, and the Inhabitants of Cephalaedium. And taking in the City of Lipara, he impos'd a Mulct of Thirty Talents upon the Islanders. Then he march'd straight away with his Forces for Messina (his Fleet sailing near at hand over against him) and in a short time encamp'd at Pelorides, not above a Hundred Stages from thence. When they of the City-heard of the approach of the Enemy, they began to disagree about the concerns of the War. For some of them understanding the great strength of the Carthaginian Army, and seeing how they deserted by their Confederates, and that they wanted their Horse which were then at Syracuse, were of Opinion that the City could not be defended. Besides, to their further discouragement, their Walls were down in many places, and they had now no time to make necessary Preparations for their Defence. Therefore they sent away their Wives and Children, and all their choicest Goods, and the richest of their Treasures to the neighbouring Cities. Others there were who remembred an old Prophesie, whereby it was foretold by the Oracle, That the Carthaginians should be carriers of Water in that City: which was commonly interpreted in that Sense, as might portend most advantage to themselves, as if the Carthaginians should be Slaves in Messina. From hence they were very confident, and by this means greatly encourag'd others, so that they resolv'd to undergo the utmost extremity in defence of their common Liberty.
They sent out therefore presently a select number of their briskest young Men to Pelorides to prevent the Enemies Inroads into the Country; who did according to Order: Upon which, Imilco seeing the Messinians dispers'd and scatter'd, in order to oppose his Descent, he commanded Two hundred Ships to make towards the City; For he hop'd (as he might easily conjecture) that the whole Garrison of Messina would be so earnest in opposing his breaking into their Borders, that the City would be left unguarded, so that it would be easie for his Fleet to enter; and at that time the North Wind blew fresh, by which means the Ships were carry'd with a full Gale straight into the Harbor; and though the Guard sent to Pilorides hasten'd back with all speed, yet the Enemies Fleet was in before they return'd. And now the Carthaginian Army coming in on every side, speedily batter'd down the Walls, entred and took the City Messina. As many of the Messinions as engag'd with the Enemy died valiantly upon the spot; the rest fled to the next Cities: many of the common People fled to the Mountains near at hand, and were dispers'd and scatter'd into several Garrisons in the Country: Some were taken by the Enemy, others that were got into narrow Creeks about the Harbour, flung themselves
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.