Page 682 Sword, he gave the Town up to the plunder of his Soldiers. While Agathocles was thus imploy'd, Dinocrates the Captain of the Exiles reviv'd the prosecution of the former design of the Agrigentines, and declar'd himself Protector of the Common Liberty, and got together great numbers who came flocking in to him from all parts. Some out of a natural love of Liberty, and others out of fear of Agathocles, were at his Devotion. Having therefore now an Army of Twenty thousand Foot, and Fifteen hundred Horse (who were all accustom'd to the hadships and toils of Exiles) he took the Field, and dar'd Agathocles to a Battel. But Agathocles being much inferior in number, made a running Fight of it; but Dinocrates still pressing close at his heels, often gain'd several advantages without any difficulty. From this time forward things began to go backwards with Agathocles, not only in Sicily, but also in Africa. For Archagathus left General there, after his Father was gone, sent a part of the Army into the Upper Countries under the Command of Eumachus, and at first was successful; for Eumachus took the great City Tocas, and subdu'd many of the neighbouring Numidians. Then he took another Town call'd Phellina, and subdu'd the bordering Inhabitants call'd Asphodelodians, who are as black as the Aethiopians. He gain'd likewise Maschala, an exceeding large City, anciently inhabited by the Greeks, that planted there in their return from Troy, as we have before related in the Third Book. Afterwards he brought under the Citadel call'd the Horse-Castle, formerly taken by Agathocles: The last Town he gain'd was Acris, a Free City, the Plunder of which he gave to his Soldiers, and sold the Inhabitants for Slaves; and so loaden with spoil return'd to Archagathus to the Camp.
His Name being now up for a brave and valiant Man, he undertook another Expedition into the Higher Africa; and passing by the places he had before lately taken, he inconsiderately broke into the City call'd Mittines: But the Barbarians coming upon him in a full Body in the Streets, they so far prevail'd, that unexpectedly they drave him out of the Town again, with the loss of a great number of his Men. Thence he march'd away over an high Mountain, Two hundred Furlongs in length, full of Wild Cats; there no kind of Birds bred, either in Trees, Holes, or elsewhere, because of the greedy nature of these Beasts. Having pass'd over these Mountains, he enter'd into a Country abounding with Apes, and came to Three Cities in the Greek Language call'd Pithecusae: But their Customs are far different from ours; for these Apes are as familiar in the Houses as the Inhabitants themselves, and are worshipt as Gods, as the Aegyptians do Dogs. These Creatures come and take Meat out of the Cellars and Butteries, when ever they are hungry, without any disturbance; and Parents use to name their Children after these Apes, as we do after the Gods; whoever kills any of them he's sure to die as a notorious Atheist: And therefore it's a common Proverb amongst some of them, If a Man carry himself haughtily and proudly, to say, Thou hast drunk the Blood of an Ape. Eumachus took one of these Cities by Storm, and raz'd it to the ground; the other two submitted: But receiving Intelligence that the bordering Barbarians were coming against him with a great Army, he hasted away as fast as he could towards the Sea Coasts.
To this very time all things succeeded in Lybia according to Archagathus his hearts desire. But afterwards the Senate of Carthage upon more mature deliberation order'd their Forces to be divided into Three Bodies, and to march out of the City, one to the Towns upon the Sea Coasts, another into the heart of the Country, and the third into the upper Africa. For by this means they suppos'd they should free the City both from the Siege and the inconveniencies through scarcity of Provision at one and the same time. For being that all had flockt to Carthage from every place round, the City was in very great want, having now spent and eaten up all their Provision, so that they had nothing left to subsist upon; they knew likewise that there was no danger that the City should be taken by force, because it lay so close to the Sea, and was so well guarded by the strength of the Walls, so that it was then even unaccessible: besides, they concluded that if they had considerable Armies in the Field ready to assist their Confederats upon occasion they would remain firm and constant in their Alliance. And that which was of more weight than all the rest, they hop't that by this means the Enemy would be forc'd to divide their Forces, and be gone to other places far distant from Carthage. All which good Councel was afterwards crown'd with success in all these particulars. For sending Thirty thousand Soldiers out of the City, there was not only Provision sufficient for the Merchants that were left, but a glut and overplus more than they had occasion to use; and those Consederats who before out of fear were forc'd to join with the Enemy, now recollecting themselves, return'd to them as their old friends and Allies. Hereupon Archagathus perceiving that the Carthaginians Armies were now in every corner of Africa,
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.