Page 692 his Landing place and the City, and inlarg'd the Haven for the more commodious riding of his Ships.
In the mean time the Rhodians sent Ambassadors to him, intreating him he would not do any thing that might be irreparable: But when they perceiv'd he would not hearken to any Terms (laying aside all hopes of composing matters) they sent Messengers to Ptolemy Lysimachus, and Cassander praying their assistance, because that War was made upon them upon their account. Both Inhabitants (that were not Free of the City) and Foreigners (lately come in) were admitted to take up Arms, if they thought fit, for defence of the place; the rest of the Rabble tha were useless they put forth out of the City, both to prevent scarcity of Provision, and lest any uneasie under the present Circumstances they were in, should betray the Town. Then taking an account of the number of them in Arms, they found there were of the Citizens Six thousand; of Inhabitants and strangers One thousand. They made likewise a Decree, that all Servants that had approv'd themselves honest and faithful in all hazards and dangers, should be bought off from their Masters and set free, and inroll'd into the number of the Citizens: Then a Proclamation was made, that whosoever di'd in the War should be buri'd at the publick charge, and that his Parents and Children should be maintain'd out of the City Treasury; that Portions should be given to the Daughters out of the publick stock, and that the Sons when they were grown up should be crown'd, and adorn'd in the Theater at the time of the Festivals of Bacchus with all sorts of Arms and Armour. With these promises all were presently excited to stand to it to the last and indure the utmost extremity; and then they made it their business (as far as it was possible) to provide all other things that were necessary; for all being unanimous, the Rich brought in their Money, and the Smiths and other workmen earnestly set themselves to the making of Arms, and all were so intent upon their business, that every one strove to exceed each other. Some therefore imploi'd themselves in making Engines, to cast Darts, and shoot stones, and others in making and preparing other things; same repair'd the Walls where they were defective; and many loaded men with stones to carry to the Walls. They sent out likewise Three swift sailing Vessels against the Enemy, and the Merchants that brought them in Provision: These setting on them upon a sudden sunk many of the Merchant Ships, who were gone ashore to rob and spoil the Country, and burnt no few that were driven up to land; and what they receiv'd for the Redemption of Captives they brought with them back into the City: For the Rhodians had agreed with Demetrius what the value of Redemption on both sides should be; that is, for every Freeman a Thousand Drachma's, and for every Servant and Bondman, Five hundred. Demetrius being furnish'd with plenty of all things necessary for the making of Engines, began to make two, call'd Testudo's; the one against the Engines that cast stones, and the other against those that shot Darts and Arrows; these they plac'd upon the Foredecks of two Transport Ships, which mov'd from place to place and were chain'd close together: He likewise made two Towers four stories high apiece, higher than those Turrets belonging to the Town in the Harbour; both which likewise were plac'd upon two Ships of equal height and joyn'd one to another, that both might be equally ballast when they were forc'd forward. He built likewise a Rampart upon a Fore footed piece of Timber nail'd together, to float upon the Water, in order to beat off the Enemy in any Attack they might make upon the Ships where the Engins were plac'd. At the same time while he was making these, he got together a Number of the strongest Water Boats and fenc'd them with Boards and Planks round; and made Loop-holes in the sides (to shut at pleasure) and in these he plac'd Engines (to shoot Darts and Arrows of three spans long at a great distance) together with such Soldiers as knew very well how to make use of them, and with them some Cretian Archers. Coming up therefore with his Ships within the Cast of a Dart, he sorely gall'd the Townsmen with his Darts and Arrows, being the Engines in the Ships were higher, than the Walls next to the Harbour. The Rhodians on the other hand understanding that Demetrius made it his main business to gain the Port, were as earnest in providing all things necessary for its defence: To this end they mounted two Engines upon a Rampart, and put on Board Three others upon two Transport Ships, and lay with them at the mouth of the little Harbour; and in these they put great Numbers of Engins for the shooting of Stones, Darts and Arrows of all sizes, that by the help of these they might repulse the Enemy, if he either attempted to land Men, or make up with his Engines. Besides all this they had contriv'd convenient places and apartments in the Transport Ships which then lay in the Harbour, wherein to place their Engines and Darts as they had occasion. Both sides being now thus ready prepar'd, and Demetrius just upon the point of moving into
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.