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they put forward their power, and as if laboring for themselves were most eagerly striving. The pretexts for the war were, for the Romans, that the Carthaginians had aided the Tarentines, and for the Carthaginians, that the Romans had made a treaty of friendship with Hiero; but the truth was that they suspected one another, and each thought the only salvation for their own interests was if they could acquire the possessions of the others. While they were thus disposed, a certain event both broke the treaty and provoked them into war; and it was as follows. The Mamertines, having once sent a colony from Campania to Messene, but then being besieged by Hiero, called upon the Romans as their kinsmen. And they readily voted to aid them, knowing that, if the Mamertines should not obtain their alliance, they would turn to the Carthaginians, and they would gain control of all Sicily and would cross over from it into Italy. For this island is a short distance from the mainland, so that it is fabled that it was once part of the mainland. And so the island, lying so close to Italy, seemed to invite the Carthaginians to lay claim to the opposite shore as well, if indeed they should seize this island, and Messene allowed those who controlled it to be masters of the strait also. But although the Romans voted to help the Mamertines, they did not quickly come to their aid because of some intervening reasons. Therefore, pressed by necessity, the Mamertines called upon the Carthaginians. And they arranged a peace with Hiero both for themselves and for those who had called upon them, so that the Romans would not cross over to the island, and they guarded both the strait and the city, with Hanno as their commander. Meanwhile Gaius Claudius, a military tribune, with a few ships, having been sent ahead by Appius Claudius, arrived at Rhegium. But he did not dare to sail across, seeing that the Carthaginian fleet was much larger. But embarking in a small boat, he put in at Messene and spoke with them as much as the occasion allowed. But when the Carthaginians spoke against it, he at that time returned, having accomplished nothing, but after this, 2.197 learning that the Mamertines were in a state of dissension, for they neither wanted to yield to the Romans and they were weary of the Carthaginians, he sailed again, and said other persuasive things and that he had come for the liberation of the city, and that whenever their affairs were settled, he would sail away; and he ordered the Carthaginians either to withdraw or, if they had any just claim, to state it. But when none of the Mamertines spoke out from fear, and the Carthaginians, who held the city by force, paid him no heed, "Sufficient," he said, "is the testimony of the silence from both sides, on the one hand, that they are acting unjustly, for if they thought they had any sound case, they would have argued it, on the other hand, that they desire freedom; for they would have spoken freely, if they had preferred the side of the Carthaginians." And he promised to help them. And when a clamor and praise arose from the Mamertines at these words, he immediately sailed back to Rhegium, and after a little while, forcing the passage with his whole fleet, partly due to the numbers and skill of the Carthaginians, but mostly because of the difficulty of the current and a sudden storm that arose, he lost some of his triremes and with the rest was saved with difficulty at Rhegium. The Romans, however, did not abandon the sea because of the defeat, but Claudius began repairing the ships, and Hanno, wishing to turn the blame for the breaking of the treaty onto the Romans, both sent the captured triremes to Claudius and returned the prisoners and invited him to peace. But since he accepted nothing, he threatened that he would not even let the Romans 2.198 wash their hands in the sea. But Claudius, having understood the nature of the strait, watched for the current and the wind blowing together from Italy to Sicily, and thus he sailed to the island, with no one opposing him. Finding the Mamertines therefore in the harbor, for Hanno, having previously suspected them, was sitting in the acropolis guarding it, he convened an assembly, and after speaking with them he persuaded them to send for Hanno. But he did not want to come down; but fearing that the

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δυναστείᾳ προυβάλλοντο, καὶ ὡς αὐτοῖς πονούμενοι προθυμότατα ωργων. Σκήψεις δὲ τοῦ πολέμου ἐγένοντο ̔Ρωμαίοις μὲν οτι Καρχηδόνιοι τοῖς Ταραντίνοις ἐβοήθησαν, Καρχηδονίοις δὲ οτι φιλίαν ̔Ρωμαῖοι συνέθεντο τῷ ̔Ιέρωνι· τὸ δ' ἀληθές, οτι ἀλλήλους ὑφωρῶντο, καὶ μίαν σωτηρίαν τῶν οἰκείων ἑκάτεροι ῳοντο εἰ τὰ τῶν αλλων προσκτήσαιντο. ουτω διανοουμένοις αὐ2.196 τοῖς συμπεσόν τι τὰς σπονδάς τε διέλυσε καὶ ἐς τὸν πόλεμον αὐτοὺς ἐξηρέθισε· τὸ δ' ην τοιοῦτον. Οἱ Μαμερτῖνοι ἐκ Καμπανίας ποτὲ πρὸς Μεσσήνην ἀποικίαν στειλάμενοι, τότε δ' ὑπὸ ̔Ιέρωνος πολιορκούμενοι, ἐπεκαλέσαντο τοὺς ̔Ρωμαίους οια σφίσι προσήκοντας. κἀκεῖνοι ἑτοίμως ἐπικουρῆσαι αὐτοῖς ἐψηφίσαντο, εἰδότες οτι, αν τῆς συμμαχίας αὐτῶν οἱ Μαμερτῖνοι μὴ τεύξωνται, πρὸς τοὺς Καρχηδονίους τραπήσονται, κἀκεῖνοι τῆς τε Σικελίας ολης κρατήσουσι καὶ ἐς τὴν ̓Ιταλίαν ἐξ αὐτῆς διαβήσονται. ἡ γὰρ νῆσος αυτη βραχὺ τῆς ἠπείρου διέχει, ὡς μυθεύεσθαι οτι ποτὲ καὶ αὐτὴ ἠπείρωτο. η τε ουν νῆσος ουτω τῇ ̓Ιταλίᾳ ἐπικειμένη ἐδόκει τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ἐκκαλέσασθαι καὶ τῶν ἀντιπέραν ἀντιποιήσασθαι, αν γε ταύτην κατάσχωσι, καὶ ἡ Μεσσήνη παρεῖχε τοῖς κρατοῦσιν αὐτῆς καὶ τοῦ πορθμοῦ κυριεύειν. Ψηφισάμενοι δὲ βοήθειαν οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι τοῖς Μαμερτίνοις, οὐ ταχέως αὐτοῖς ἐπεκούρησαν διά τινας ἐπισυμβάσας αἰτίας. οθεν ἀνάγκῃ πιεζόμενοι οἱ Μαμερτῖνοι Καρχηδονίους ἐπεκαλέσαντο. οἱ δὲ καὶ ἑαυτοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἐπικαλεσαμένοις εἰρήνην κατεπράξαντο πρὸς ̔Ιέρωνα, ινα μὴ οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι ἐς τὴν νῆσον περαιωθῶσι, καὶ τὸν πορθμὸν δὲ καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐφύλασσον, Αννωνος σφῶν ἡγουμένου. κἀν τούτῳ Γάιος Κλαύδιος χιλιαρχῶν ναυσὶν ὀλίγαις ὑπὸ ̓Αππίου Κλαυδίου προπεμφθεὶς εἰς τὸ ̔Ρήγιον ἀφίκετο. διαπλεῦσαι δὲ οὐκ ἐθάρρησε, πολὺ πλεῖον τὸ τῶν Καρχηδονίων ὁρῶν ναυτικόν. ἀκατίῳ δ' ἐμβὰς προσέσχε τῇ Μεσσήνῃ καὶ διειλέχθη αὐτοῖς οσα ὁ καιρὸς ἐδίδου. ἀντειπόντων δὲ τῶν Καρχηδονίων, τότε μὲν μηδὲν πράξας ἀνεκομίσθη, μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ 2.197 γνοὺς τοὺς Μαμερτίνους ἐν στάσει οντας, ουτε γὰρ τοῖς ̔Ρωμαίοις ὑπείκειν ἐβούλοντο καὶ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ἐβαρύνοντο, επλευσεν αυθις, καὶ αλλα τε ειπεν ἐπαγωγὰ καὶ ὡς ἐπ' ἐλευθερώσει τῆς πόλεως ηκει, καὶ ἐπειδὰν κατασταῖεν τὰ πράγματα, ἀποπλεύσει· καὶ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους η ἀποχωρῆσαι ἐκέλευσεν η, ει τι δίκαιον εχοιεν, τοῦτο εἰπεῖν. ὡς δ' ουτε τῶν Μαμερτίνων τις ὑπὸ δέους ἐφθέγγετο, καὶ οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι βίᾳ τὴν πόλιν κατέχοντες οὐδὲν αὐτοῦ ἐφρόντιζον, "αυταρκες" εφη "μαρτύριον παρ' ἀμφοτέρων ἡ σιωπή, τῶν μὲν οτι ἀδικοῦσιν, εἰ γάρ τι ὑγιὲς ἐφρόνουν, ἐδικαιολογήσαντο αν, τῶν δὲ οτι τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἐφίενται· ἐπαρρησιάσαντο γὰρ αν, εἰ τὰ τῶν Καρχηδονίων προῄρηντο." καὶ ἐπηγγέλλετο βοηθήσειν αὐτοῖς. θορύβου δὲ καὶ ἐπαίνου παρὰ τῶν Μαμερτίνων ἐπὶ τούτοις γενομένου εὐθὺς ἀνέπλευσε πρὸς τὸ ̔Ρήγιον, καὶ μετ' ὀλίγον παντὶ τῷ ναυτικῷ βιασάμενος τὸν διάπλουν, τὸ μέν τι ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους καὶ τῆς τέχνης τῶν Καρχηδονίων, τὸ δὲ πλεῖστον διὰ τὴν τοῦ ῥοῦ χαλεπότητα καὶ χειμῶνα ἐξαίφνης γενόμενον, τινάς τε τῶν τριήρων ἀπέβαλε καὶ ταῖς λοιπαῖς μόλις εἰς τὸ ̔Ρήγιον ἀπεσώθη. Οὐ μέντοι τῆς θαλάσσης οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι διὰ τὴν ητταν ἀπέσχοντο, ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν Κλαύδιος τὰς ναῦς ἐπεσκεύαζεν, Αννων δὲ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς τῶν σπονδῶν διαλύσεως εἰς τοὺς ̔Ρωμαίους τρέψαι βουλόμενος καὶ τὰς ἁλούσας τριήρεις τῷ Κλαυδίῳ επεμψε καὶ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους ἀπεδίδου καὶ πρὸς τὴν εἰρήνην προεκαλεῖτο αὐτόν. ἐπεὶ δ' οὐδὲν ἐδέξατο, ἠπείλησε μηδ' ἀπονίψασθαί ποτε τὰς χεῖρας ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ 2.198 τοὺς ̔Ρωμαίους ἐᾶσαι. ὁ Κλαύδιος δὲ τὴν τοῦ πορθμοῦ φύσιν κατανοήσας ἐτήρησε τὸν ῥοῦν καὶ τὸν ανεμον ἐκ τῆς ̓Ιταλίας εἰς τὴν Σικελίαν αμα φέροντας, καὶ ουτως επλευσεν εἰς τὴν νῆσον, μηδενὸς ἐναντιωθέντος. εὑρὼν ουν ἐν τῷ λιμένι τοὺς Μαμερτίνους, ὁ γὰρ Αννων προϋποπτεύσας αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἀκροπόλει καθῆστο φυλάττων αὐτήν, ἐκκλησίαν συνήγαγε, καὶ διαλεχθεὶς αὐτοῖς επεισε μεταπέμψασθαι τὸν Αννωνα. ὁ δὲ καταβῆναι οὐκ ηθελε· φοβηθεὶς δὲ μὴ οἱ