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34.2 For each pair of them carried that cleverly devised construction of wooden towers, exceeding the structure of the wall by a great measure, and from above the barbarians leaping out like some bulls driven mad by a gadfly, and brandishing destruction for all. 34.3 Then indeed, then, as many of the people of the city as scorned death, since it was both inescapable and stood, so to speak, before their very eyes, became wholly engaged in the struggle, making the height of the danger a display of their courage, they stood struggling nobly in the war, and each of them showed what he could do; 34.4 for they did not allow the ships to approach completely, but partly with frequent missiles and partly with the kindling of fire they kept them from drawing near to the wall and from doing their part. 34.5 But as many as were struck in their soul with cowardice and could not even face the experience of the evil through their excessive helplessness, withdrawing themselves little by little from the wall, fled to the high places of the city, and for the rest, gave courage to the enemy. 34.6 For when they saw that at a certain spot of the wall the structure had crumbled more than in other places, where we had also fixed the wooden bulwarks in front, and they realized that the sea water was deeper at that very spot, driving one pair of the yoked ships there they pushed with their oars little by little, until they came near, bringing the prows of the ships close to the battlements themselves. 34.7 Then as those seated on the wooden bulwarks tried to throw stones at them, the barbarians, standing on top of the aforementioned machines, shouted a great and harsh battle cry, and throwing stones no longer handful-sized but indeed very large and such that no one could withstand their force, and blowing fire through siphons into the air, and hurling some other implements, also full of fire, inside the wall, they threw those on the bulwarks into such panic and cowardice that they quickly jumped down and turned to flight and left the entire walkway of the wall empty. 34.8 And when they saw the outcome of their plans (for all were carried to the ground like leaves in the wind, not even by the ladders, but as fear urged them on), they let loose upon the battlements a certain bold barbarian and, as was likely, more frenzied than the others, an Ethiopian in complexion. 34.9 But he, brandishing the sword he happened to be holding in his hands, and leaping onto the wall, waited, watching the rush of the crowd, to see if it was turning from there not to a feint but to a complete flight. 34.10 For they suspected that the people of the city might have some hidden ambush in the streets, by which, when they were divided into many groups, they would be treacherously harmed, and they hesitated for a time not to advance so incautiously into the city and do their work. 34.11 But when the air, flashing with the brandishing of the barbarian sword, made the entrance of the enemy manifest everywhere (for it was the third hour of the day), then indeed all, seeing the outcome of the disaster, turned, one one way, another another, driven on by death. 34.12 But he stood over them and for the rest allowed no stratagem by which they might evade him. 35.1 Then when the barbarians saw the wall completely emptied, and had safety for themselves from the unsustainable flight of the crowd, disembarking from the ships in haste and leaping inside from the battlements and throwing open the gates, they also made known the end of the affair to the other ships, 35.2 which also in haste, having moored nearby at the passages, sent the barbarians into the city, their bodies naked, covering their private parts with only some small loincloth, holding their swords in their hands; 35.3 And when they were inside, first those whom they found still lingering about the wall, whether struck by fear and unable to move, their bodies having been paralyzed by fear, or again by the aforementioned falls

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34.2 ἑκάστη γὰρ αὐτῶν συζυγία ἐπεφέρετο τὴν σεσοφισμένην ἐκείνην τῶν ξυλοσυνθέτων πύργων κατασκευήν, πολλῷ τῷ μέτρῳ τὴν τοῦ τείχους οἰκοδομὴν ὑπερβαίνουσαν, ἄνωθέν τε τοὺς βαρβάρους ἐξαλλομένους καθάπερ τινὰς ἐξοιστρημένους ταύρους, καὶ τὸν ὄλεθρον ἅπασιν ἐπισείοντας. 34.3 τότε δὴ τότε, ὅσοι τοῦ δήμου τῆς πόλεως τοῦ μὲν θανάτου καταφρονήσαντες ἀφύκτου τε ὄντος καὶ κατὰ κόρης, ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἱσταμένου ὅλοι τῆς ἀγωνίας ἐγένοντο, ἐπίδειξιν ἀνδρίας τοῦ κινδύνου τὴν ἀκμὴν ποιησάμενοι ἔστησαν γενναίως ἀθλοῦντες ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ, καὶ τὰ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ ἕκαστος αὐτῶν ἐπεδείκνυτο· 34.4 οὐ γὰρ εἴων τέλεον πλησιάζειν τὰς νῆας, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν τοῖς συχνοῖς βέλεσι τὸ δὲ τοῖς τοῦ πυρὸς ὑπεκκαύμασιν ἀπεῖργον αὐτὰς τοῦ προσπελάζειν τῷ τείχει καὶ τὰ παρ' ἑαυτῶν ἐνεργεῖν. 34.5 ὅσοι δὲ τῇ δειλίᾳ τὴν ψυχὴν βληθέντες οὐδὲ προσβλέπειν τοῦ κακοῦ τὴν πεῖραν ὑπὸ τῆς ἄγαν ἀμηχανίας ἐξίσχυον, ἑαυτοὺς τοῦ τείχους κατὰ μικρὸν ὑποσύροντες ἐπὶ τὰς ἀκρωρείας τῆς πόλεως ἔφευγον, καὶ λοιπὸν θαρρεῖν ἐδίδουν τοῖς ἐναντίοις. 34.6 ὡς γὰρ εἶδον κατά τινα τόπον τοῦ τείχους τὴν οἰκοδομὴν πλέον τῶν ἄλλων διαρρυεῖσαν, ἔνθα καὶ τοὺς ξυλίνους ἦμεν προπεπηγότες προβόλους, ἔγνων δὲ καὶ τὸ τῆς θαλάσσης ὕδωρ ἐν αὐτῷ μᾶλλον τῷ τόπῳ διὰ βάθους χωροῦν, μίαν συζυγίαν τῶν ἐζευγμένων ἐκεῖ συνελάσαντες ὤθουν ταῖς κώπαις κατὰ μικρόν, ἕως ἔφθασαν πλησίον ἐν αὐταῖς ταῖς ἐπάλξεσι τὰ κατὰ πρῴραν τῶν νηῶν προσπελάσαντες. 34.7 εἶτα ὡς ἐπεχείρουν κατ' αὐτῶν λίθους βάλλειν οἱ τοῖς ξυλίνοις ἐγκαθήμενοι προβόλοις, μέγαν τινὰ καὶ τραχὺν ἀλαλαγμὸν ἐμβοήσαντες ἄνω τῶν ῥηθέντων μηχανημάτων ἑστῶτες οἱ βάρβαροι, λίθοις τε βαλόντες οὐκέτι χειροπληθέσιν ἀλλὰ καὶ λίαν παμμεγέθεσι καὶ ὧν οὐδεὶς ἐδύνατο τὴν φορὰν ὑπομεῖναι, πῦρ τε διὰ τῶν σιφώνων τῷ ἀέρι φυσήσαντες, καί τινα ἄλλα σκεύη καὶ αὐτὰ πυρὸς ἀνάμεστα εἴσω τοῦ τείχους ἐξακοντίσαντες, εἰς τοσαύτην ἔκπληξιν καὶ δειλίαν τοὺς ἐν τοῖς προβόλοις ὄντας ἐνέβαλον ὡς καταπηδῆσαι τὸ τάχος καὶ πρὸς φυγὴν ἐκτραπῆναι καὶ κενὸν ἅπαντα τὸν περίπατον τοῦ τείχους καταλιπεῖν. 34.8 ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸ τέλος εἶδον τῶν βεβουλευμένων (πάντες γὰρ καθάπερ ἐξ ἀνέμου φύλλα πρὸς τὴν γῆν κατεφέροντο, οὐδὲ κατὰ τῶν κλιμάκων, ἀλλ' ὡς ἂν αὐτοὺς ὁ φόβος κατήπειγεν), ἕνα τινὰ τολμηρὸν βάρβαρον καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὡς εἰκὸς μανικώτερον, Αἰθίοπα τὴν χροιάν, ταῖς ἐπάλξεσιν ἐπαφῆκαν. 34.9 ὁ δὲ τὴν μάχαιραν ἣν ἔτυχε ταῖς χερσὶ κατέχων ἀναρριπίζων, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ τείχους ἁλλόμενος, ἐπέμενε σκοπῶν τὴν ὁρμὴν τοῦ πλήθους, εἴ γε μὴ πρὸς ἀπάτην ἀλλὰ πρὸς τελείαν φυγὴν ἐκεῖθεν ἐξέκλινε. 34.10 καὶ γὰρ ὑφωρῶντο μή τινα κεκρυμμένην ἐνέδραν ἔχωσιν οἱ τῆς πόλεως ἐν ταῖς ἀγυιαῖς, δι' ἧς αὐτοὺς εἰς πολλὰ διαιρεθέντας δολερῶς κακουργήσονται, καὶ ἀμφέβαλλον τέως μὴ ἀπροόπτως οὕτως προσχωρεῖν τῇ πόλει καὶ τὰ παρ' ἑαυτῶν ἐνεργεῖν. 34.11 ὅτε δὲ ταῖς ῥιπίσεσι τῆς βαρβαρικῆς μαχαίρας ἐξαστράπτων ὁ ἀὴρ κατάδηλον ἐποίει πανταχοῦ τῶν πολεμίων τὴν εἴσοδον (καὶ γὰρ ἦν ὥρα τρίτη τῆς ἡμέρας), τότε δὴ πάντες τοῦ κακοῦ τὴν ἔκβασιν θεασάμενοι ἐτρέποντο ἄλλος ἀλλαχοῦ, τῷ θανάτῳ συνελαυνόμενοι. 34.12 ὁ δὲ ἦν ἐφεστὼς καὶ μηδεμίαν τοῦ λοιποῦ παραχωρῶν ἐπίνοιαν δι' ἧς αὐτὸν ὑπεκκλίνωσιν. 35.1 Εἶτα ὡς ἅπαν κενωθὲν τὸ τεῖχος εἶδον οἱ βάρβαροι, καὶ τὸ ἀσφαλὲς ἑαυτοῖς εἶχον ἐκ τῆς τοῦ πλήθους ἀνυποστάτου φυγῆς, σπουδῇ τῶν νηῶν ἐκβάντες καὶ τῶν ἐπάλξεων εἴσω καταπηδήσαντες τάς τε πύλας ἀναρριπίσαντες ἐδήλουν καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις ναυσὶ τῶν πεπραγμένων τὸ πέρας, 35.2 αἵτινες σπουδῇ καὶ αὗται παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους ἐγγύθεν προσορμισθεῖσαι ἔπεμπον τῇ πόλει τοὺς βαρβάρους, τὰ σώματα γεγυμνωμένους, μικρῷ τινι μόνῳ περιβολαίῳ τὰ κατὰ τὴν αἰδῶ συγκαλύπτοντας, τὰς μαχαίρας ἔχοντας ἐν χερσίν· 35.3 οἳ καὶ ἔνδον γενόμενοι πρῶτον μὲν οὓς εὗρον ἔτι περὶ τὸ τεῖχος ἐνστρεφομένους, εἴτε τῷ φόβῳ βληθέντας καὶ κινηθῆναι μὴ δυναμένους παρεθέντος αὐτοῖς ἐκ τοῦ φόβου τοῦ σώματος, εἴτε πάλιν τοῖς ῥηθεῖσι πτώμασι