Page 695 Castles and Cities to Agathocles, bringing all his Enemies under his Feet in Two years time.
In Italy the Romans subdu'd the Palinians, and took their Country from 'em, and some that were Students at Rome they made free of the City. Afterwards the Consuls march'd out against the Samnites, who had wasted and harrass'd Phaleria, and in a Battel routed them; wherein they took Twenty Standards, and Two thousand Prisoners: And after they had taken the City Bola by Assault, presently appears Caius Gellius General of the Samnites with Six thousand Men; upon which there was then another sharp engagement, in which Gellius himself was taken, and many of the other Samnites slain and taken prisoners. The Consuls being thus successful, recover'd Sora Harpina and Serenia, Cities of their Allies, which had been before taken from them.
The Siege of Rhodes continu'd: The Acts of the Sea Captains of the Rhodians. Peace made with the Rhodians. The Acts of Agathocles in the Lipari Islands. The Acts of Demetrius in Greece. The War between the Tarentines and Lucanians. The Acts of Cleonymus the Spartan. Cassander sends to Antigonus to make Peace, who refuses. Lysimachus joins with Cassander, and so does Ptolemy and Seleucus against Antigonus: He marches against Lysimachus. Demetrius's further Acts in Greece. The Armies of Cassander and Demetrius. Demetrius leaves Greece and goes with his Army to his Father in Asia, after Peace made with Cassander. The misfortunes of Pleistarchus at Sea. Ptolemy besieges Sidon, but returns to Aegypt upon a false Report. Seleucus marches from Babylon with a great Army.
AFter the former Year had run its course, Pherecles was made chief Governor of Athens, and Publius Sempronius and Publius Sulpicius were invested with the Consular Dignity at Rome: At the same time was solemniz'd the Hundred and nineteenth Olympiad, in which Andromenes the Corinthian bore away the Prize. About this time Demetrius, who lay still before Rhodes, seeing things did not succeed as to his attempts made at Sea, resolv'd to Assault the City by Land. To that end he made preparation of Plenty of all sort of Timber, and fram'd the Engine call'd Helepolis, far bigger than any of the former. Its Basis was four square; every side was almost in length Fifty Cubits, made up of four square pieces of Timber, bound together by Plates of Iron. In the middle part he plac'd strong Planks of Timber a Cubit distance one from another, for those that forc'd the Engine forward, to stand upon. The whole was mov'd upon Eight strong and large Wheels; whose Felloes were Two Cubit thick, cover'd with strong Iron Plates: Thwart over the Spokes were contriv'd Antist ••pta's to turn about the Engine in a trice when ever they pleas'd. At every corner of the Machine were Pillars rais'd, little less than a hundred Cubits high, every one of an equal length, so compacted together, as that the whole Machine was Nine Stories high. In the first were Three and forty Beds, and in the highest Nine: The three sides of the Engine were lin'd on the outside with Iron Plates fastn'd with Nails, to prevent all damage from Fire that might be shot or cast from the City. In every Story at the Front were made Loop-holes, proportionable, and in shape, to the nature of the Artillery that was thence to be discharged. To these were Shutters (fastn'd to the Engine) to draw up, for the better defence of them within that threw the Darts; for they were lin'd with Skins stuff'd with Wooll to deaden the force of the Stone-shot. Every Story was furnish'd with two large Ladders, that whatever was necessary might be brought in to them, at one and the same time by one, while others were going down upon other occasions by the other, that so every thing might be dispatcht without tumult and confusion. There were chosen out of the whole Army the strongest Men (to the number of Three thousand and four hundred) to move the Engine forward; of whom some from within, and others plac'd behind, so forc'd it forward, that Art and Strength together much facilitated the motion. He mad also Testudo's, by some to fill up Trenches and Ditches, and with others to bring up Battering Rams: He made likewise Galleries, through which they that were imploy'd might pass and repass with safety at their pleasure. By the help and assistance likewise
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.