Greece -- History -- To 146 B.C.; History, Ancient
23. The Samians as they made their way towards Sicily reached Locroi
Epizephyroi, and at the same time the people of Zancle, both themselves
and their king, whose name was Skythes, were encamped about a city
of the Sikelians, desiring to conquer it. Perceiving these things,
Anaxilaos the despot of Rhegion, being then at variance with those of
Zancle, communicated with the Samians and persuaded them that they ought
to leave the Fair Strand alone, to which they were sailing, and take
possession of Zancle instead, since it was left now without men to
defend it. The Samians accordingly did as he said and took possession of
Zancle; and upon this the men of Zancle, being informed that their city
was possessed by an enemy, set out to rescue it, and invited Hippocrates
the despot of Gela to help them, for he was their ally. When however
Hippocrates also with his army had come up to their rescue, first he put
Skythes the ruler of the Zanclaians in fetters, on the ground that he
had been the cause of the city being lost, and together with him his
brother Pythogenes, and sent them away to the town of Incyos; 12 then he
betrayed the cause of the remaining Zanclaians by coming to terms with
the Samians and exchanging oaths with them; and in return for this it
had been promised by the Samians that Hippocrates should receive as his
share the half of all the movable goods in the city and of the slaves,
and the whole of the property in the fields round. So the greater number
of the Zanclaians he put in bonds and kept himself as slaves, but the
chief men of them, three hundred in number, he gave to the Samians to
put to death; which however the Samians did not do.
24. Now Skythes the ruler of the Zanclaians escaped from Incyos to
Himera, and thence he came to Asia and went up to the court of Dareios:
and Dareios accounted him the most righteous of all the men who had come
up to him from Hellas; for he obtained leave of the king and went away
to Sicily, and again came back from Sicily to the king; and at last he
brought his life to an end among the Persians in old age and possessing
great wealth. The Samians then, having got rid of the rule of the Medes,
had gained for themselves without labour the fair city of Zancle.
25. After the sea-battle which was fought for Miletos, the Phenicians by
the command of the Persians restored to Samos Aiakes the son of Syloson,
since he had been to them of much service and had done for them great
things; and the Samians alone of all who revolted from Dareios, because
of the desertion of their ships which were in the sea-fight, 13 had
neither their city nor their temples burnt. Then after the capture of
Miletos the Persians forthwith got possession of Caria, some of the
cities having submitted to their power voluntarily, while others of them
they brought over by force.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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