File:The story of the greatest nations, from the dawn of history to the twentieth century - a comprehensive history, founded upon the leading authorities, including a complete chronology of the world, and (14764999892).jpg

Identifier: storyofgreatestn02elli (find matches)
Title: The story of the greatest nations, from the dawn of history to the twentieth century : a comprehensive history, founded upon the leading authorities, including a complete chronology of the world, and a pronouncing vocabulary of each nation
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors: Ellis, Edward Sylvester, 1840-1916 Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis), 1870-1942
Subjects: World history
Publisher: New York : F.R. Niglutsch
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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xes, suddenly invaded the island. Theymade some trivial pretext of interfering among the quarrelling Greek cities, andlanded an army of, we are told, three hundred thousand men to besiege thelittle town of Himera. Gelon, the king, or tyrant, of Syracuse, gathered allthe troops he could from the neighboring cities and attacked the invaders, witha force far smaller than theirs. The battle was prolonged and desperate, theresult looked uncertain. Finally, Gelon resorted to a clever stratagem. The Carthaginians had beenassured of aid by certain traitorous Greeks; and Gelon, knowing this, sent abody of his own men, who pretended to be the promised support. They werereceived with joy by the invaders, and, being admitted to the centre of thecamp, turned suddenly on the unsuspecting foe, set fire to their ships, and slewright and left. The whole Greek army rushed again to the attack, and theCarthaginians were crushed. Christianity had not yet come to teach charity toward a fallen foe, and that
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Greece—Battle of Himera 209 entire body of three hundred thousand men was practically swept out of exist-ence. A few escaped in the remnants of the burning ships, but a storm over-whelmed these, and if we may believe the historian Diodorus, only one smallboat reached Carthage with the dreadful tidings. Fugitives by thousands hidin the Sicilian mountains until hunger forced them to surrender themselves tothe Greeks. The remainder of their miserable lives they spent in chains labor-ing for their conquerors. So numerous did these slaves become that their liveswere treated as of no account whatever; some private citizens had as many asfive hundred of them being worked or starved to death. The Greek cities ofSicily were almost entirely rebuilt by this forced labor, becoming the splendidmonuments of a cruel crime. Herodotus places this decisive battle of Himera on the same day with thatof Salamis. Europe had hurled back the invading forces of both Asia andAfrica. Later she was to attack t

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