Page 653 the rest of the Army Quintus Fabius the Dictator took Fretomanum, and carri'd away the persons of greatest quality that were Enemies, to the Romans, to the number of Two hundred and upwards, and brought them to Rome, and expos'd them as a publick Spectacle in the Forum; and when he had scourg'd them, according to the Roman Custom, cut off their Heads. He made likewise an inroad into the Enemies Territories, and took Celia and the Cittadel of Nota, with abundance of Spoil, and divided a great part of the Country by Lot among the Soldiers; the Romans hereupon incourag'd with these successes which fell out according to their hearts desire, sent a Colony into the Island call'd Pontia.
As for Sicily, after that Agathocles had made Peace with all the Sicilians, except the Messenians the Refugees of Syracuse, all flockt to Messina, because they saw that to be the only City that stood out against him. Agathocles therefore with all speed made it his business to break their Confederacy, and to that end sent away Pasiphilus his General with an Army to Messina, with private instructions to do what he thought fit, and most agreeable to the circumstances of Affairs as he should find them; hereupon he enter'd the Country on a suddain, and after he had taken many Prisoners, and got much spoil, he Solicited the Messenians to Peace and Amity, and that they would not suffer themselves so to be led aside as to join with the implacable Enemies of Agathocles.
Upon which the Messenians hoping to extricate themselves out of the War without Blows, cast out all the Syracusians Fugitives, and receiv'd Agathocles with his Army into the City; who at the first carri'd himself very courteously and obligingly towards all, and courted them to admit those Exiles that were in his Army, (and had been by them according to Law formerly banish'd) into the Freedom and Liberties of the City.
But afterwards he sent for such out of Tauromenium and Messina as formerly had oppos'd his Government, and put them all to death, to the number of Six hundred; for intending to make War upon the Carthaginians, he resolv'd to rid himself of every thing that lookt like an Enemy in Sicily: The Messenians therefore seeing their chief Citizens cut off that oppos'd the Tyrant, and that they themselves had driven those strangers out of the City that wish'd them so well, and that would have been their main strength against him, and had been forc't to receive those that had been formerly condemn'd for their notorious Crimes, much repented themselves of what they had done; but out of fear of the power of the Conqueror they were forc'd to stoop.
Thence he mov'd in the first place towards Agrigentum, with design to make a prey also of this City: But because the Carthaginians were there lately arriv'd with a Fleet of Sixty Sail, he desisted and left off that project, but wasted and harrass'd the Territories of the Carthaginians, and took some of their Forts and Castles by Storm, and gain'd others by surrender.
Among these Turmoiles Dinocrates, Captain of the Syracusian Exiles, sent to desire Aid of the Carthaginians before Agathocles had brought all Sicily under his own Power and Soveraign Command; he himself receiv'd all those Exiles which the Messenians had banish'd the City, and having now a very great Army, sent Nymphodorus one of his Trusty Friends with part of the Army to the City of the Centorippians: For this place being a Garrison of Agathocles, some of the Citizens had undertaken to betray it, upon condition they should be suffer'd to govern according to their own Laws. Upon this incouragement therefore breaking into the City in the night, the chief Commanders of the Garrison presently took the Alarum, and kill'd both Nymphodorus and all the rest that had enter'd within the Walls. Agathocles made use of this as an occasion and ground to accuse the Centorippians of Contrivances against his Government, and cut the Throats of all those that he look'd upon to be the Ringleaders of the Defection.
While he was thus imploy'd the Carthaginians enter'd the Port at Syracuse with a Fleet of Fifty Sail, but all that they did there was the sinking of two Transport Ships (one of which belonged to the Athenians) and cut off the Hands of all those that were on board: Which was lookt upon as a piece of extream Cruelty towards those that never offer'd them the least Injury; and this God made presently to appear; For soon after some Ships that were forc'd from the rest of the Fleet about Brutta, fell into the hands of Agathocles, where those Carthaginians that were taken were serv'd the same sawce with those that were by them taken Prisoners before.
But Dinocrates Commander of the Exiles having with him above Three thousand Foot and Two thousand Horse, seiz'd upon Galaria (as it is call'd) invited thither by the Inhabitants, and cast out those that sided with Agathocles, and then Encamp'd before the Walls of the City.
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.