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of the army, so that from there they might attack Rome, and either thus drive them completely out of Sicily or make them weaker once they had crossed over. But they succeeded in neither this nor that; for the Romans were guarding their own land, and sent a formidable force to Sicily with Postumius Albinus and 2.201 with Aemilius Quintus. And when the consuls came to Sicily, they hastened against Akragas, and there they besieged Hannibal, son of Gisco. When the men in Carthage learned this, they sent Hanno with a large force to assist him. And he, coming to Heraclea, which was not far from Akragas, waged war. And several battles occurred, but not great ones; and at first Hanno challenged the consuls to battle, but later the Romans challenged him. For as long as the Romans had abundant food, they did not dare to fight, being inferior in numbers, but they hoped to take the city by famine; but when they were short of grain, they themselves were eager to risk battle, but Hanno hesitated, suspecting that because of their eagerness he would be ambushed. Therefore the others thought it best to court the Romans, as if they were already victorious, and Hiero, who had previously been unenthusiastic in assisting them, then sent them grain, so that the consuls regained their courage. But Hanno attempted to join battle, hoping that Hannibal from the wall would fall upon the rear of the Romans. When the consuls learned this, they remained quiet, so that Hanno, in his contempt, approached their trench. And they sent some men to lie in ambush behind him. And as he was leading his troops back towards evening, fearlessly and contemptuously, the Romans engaged him both from the ambush and from the palisade, and they wrought a great slaughter both of them and of the elephants. But Hannibal in the meantime, having attacked the tents of the Romans, was driven off by those guarding them. And Hanno fled to Heraclea, having abandoned the camp. And Hannibal, having planned to escape from Akragas by night, himself 2.202 escaped notice, but the others were discovered and were killed, some by the Romans, and many also by the Akragantines. The Akragantines, however, did not receive pardon, but both their property was plundered and they themselves were all sold into slavery. And the consuls withdrew to Messene on account of the winter; but the Carthaginians were angry with Hanno, and they sent Hamilcar Barcas in his place, a man superior in generalship to his countrymen, except for his son Hannibal. And he himself guarded Sicily, but he sent Hannibal as admiral to Italy to ravage its coastal regions, in order that he might draw the consuls to himself. But he did not achieve his purpose; for they, having established guards everywhere along the coast, came to Sicily. But they did nothing worthy of mention. But Hamilcar destroyed the Gallic mercenaries, who were indignant because he had not given them their full pay, fearing that they might desert to the Romans, by sending them to one of the cities under Roman control to take it, as if it were about to be betrayed, and permitting them to plunder it, and having sent false deserters to the consuls to forewarn them of the Gauls' arrival; whence all the Gauls were ambushed and destroyed, and many of the Romans also died. And when the consuls had departed for home, Hamilcar both ravaged Italy, sailing to its shores, and brought some cities in Sicily under his control. And when the Romans learned of these things, they organized a navy, and they put Gaius Duilius, one of the consuls, in charge of it, and sent his colleague, Cornelius Gaius, to Sicily. 2.203 who, neglecting the land war which had been allotted to him, sailed with the ships at his disposal to Lipara as if it were being betrayed to him; and this happened by a trick of the Carthaginians. Therefore when he had anchored at Lipara, Bodes, Hannibal's subordinate commander, surrounded him. And while Gaius was preparing for defense, that man, fearing their desperation, invited them to a truce; and having persuaded them, he brought them aboard the

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στρατοῦ, ιν' ἐκεῖθεν τῇ ̔Ρώμῃ ἐπίθωνται, καὶ η τέλεον ουτω τῆς Σικελίας ἐκστήσωσιν η διαπεραιωθέντας ἀσθενεστέρους ποιήσωσιν. ἀλλ' ουτε τούτου ουτε μὴν ἐκείνου ἐπέτυχον· οἱ γὰρ ̔Ρωμαῖοι τήν τε οἰκείαν ἐφύλαττον, καὶ ἀξιόμαχον εἰς Σικελίαν δύναμιν επεμψαν μετὰ Ποστουμίου ̓Αλβίνου καὶ 2.201 μετὰ Αἰμιλίου Κυΐντου. ἐλθόντες δὲ εἰς Σικελίαν οἱ υπατοι ἐπ' ̓Ακράγαντα ωρμησαν, κἀνταῦθα ̓Αννίβαν τὸν Γίσγωνος ἐπολιόρκουν. ο οἱ ἐν Καρχηδόνι πυθόμενοι Αννωνα αὐτῷ σὺν πολλῇ χειρὶ συμμαχήσοντα επεμψαν. ὁ δὲ ἐς ̔Ηράκλειαν ἐλθὼν οὐ πόρρω ουσαν ̓Ακράγαντος ἐπολέμει. καὶ μάχαι πλείους, οὐ μεγάλαι δ' ἐγίνοντο· καὶ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ὁ Αννων τοὺς ὑπάτους προυκαλεῖτο εἰς πόλεμον, ειθ' υστερον ἐκεῖνον οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι προυκέκληντο. εως μὲν γὰρ αφθονον ειχον οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι τροφήν, οὐκ ἐτόλμων μάχεσθαι, τῷ πλήθει ἐλαττούμενοι, λιμῷ δὲ τὴν πόλιν αἱρήσειν ηλπιζον· ἐπεὶ δὲ σίτου ἐσπάνιζον, αὐτοὶ μὲν ἀποκινδυνεύειν προεθυμοῦντο, ὁ Αννων δὲ ωκνει, ὑποπτεύσας διὰ τὴν προθυμίαν ἐνεδρευθήσεσθαι. διὸ οι τε αλλοι τὰ τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων θεραπεύειν ἠξίουν ὡς ἀκμὴν νενικηκότων, καὶ ὁ ̔Ιέρων, ἀπροθύμως αὐτοῖς συναιρόμενος πρότερον, τότε σῖτον αὐτοῖς επεμψεν, ωστε καὶ τοὺς ὑπάτους ἀναθαρσῆσαι. Αννων δὲ ἐπεχείρησε μάχην συνάψαι, ἐλπίσας καὶ τὸν ̓Αννίβαν ἐκ τοῦ τείχους κατὰ νώτου τοῖς ̔Ρωμαίοις προσπεσεῖσθαι. ο μαθόντες οἱ υπατοι ἡσύχαζον, ωστε τὸν Αννωνα καταφρονήσαντα τῷ ταφρεύματι προσελθεῖν. επεμψαν δέ τινας κατόπιν αὐτοῦ ἐνεδρεύσοντας. ἐκείνου δὲ πρὸς ἑσπέραν ἀδεῶς καὶ καταφρονητικῶς ἐπανάγοντος, εκ τε τῆς ἐνέδρας καὶ ἐκ τοῦ χαρακώματος αὐτῷ οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι προσέμιξαν, καὶ φόνον πολὺν καὶ αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἐλεφάντων εἰργάσαντο. ὁ δ' ̓Αννίβας ἐν τούτῳ ταῖς σκηναῖς τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ἐπελθὼν ἐξεκρούσθη ὑπὸ τῶν φυλαττόντων αὐτάς. ὁ δ' Αννων εἰς τὴν ̔Ηράκλειαν κατέφυγε, τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐκλιπών. καὶ ὁ ̓Αννίβας νυκτὸς ἐκδρᾶναι τοῦ ̓Ακράγαντος βουλευσάμενος αὐτὸς μὲν 2.202 ελαθεν, οἱ δ' αλλοι γνωσθέντες οἱ μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων, συχνοὶ δὲ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ̓Ακραγαντίνων ἐκτάνθησαν. οὐ μέντοι συγγνώμης ετυχον οἱ ̓Ακραγαντῖνοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ χρήματα σφῶν διηρπάσθησαν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐπράθησαν απαντες. Καὶ οἱ μὲν υπατοι πρὸς τὴν Μεσσήνην διὰ τὸν χειμῶνα ἀνεχώρησαν· ὠργίζοντο δ' οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι κατὰ Αννωνος, καὶ ̓Αμίλκαν ἀντ' αὐτοῦ τὸν Βαρχίδην ἀπέστειλαν, ανδρα τῶν ὁμοφύλων πλὴν τοῦ ̓Αννίβου τοῦ υἱέος ἐν στρατηγίᾳ κρείττονα. καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν τὴν Σικελίαν ἐφύλαττεν, ̓Αννίβαν δὲ ναυαρχοῦντα ἐς ̓Ιταλίαν επεμψε τὰ παράλια αὐτῆς κακουργήσοντα, ινα τοὺς ὑπάτους πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐπισπάσηται. ἀλλ' οὐκ ετυχε τοῦ σκοποῦ· καταστήσαντες γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι φρουρὰς ἑκασταχόθι τῆς παραλίας, εἰς Σικελίαν ηλθον. οὐδὲν δὲ μνήμης επραξαν αξιον. ὁ δὲ ̓Αμίλκας τοὺς Γαλάτας τοὺς μισθοφόρους, οτι μὴ ἐντελῆ δέδωκεν αὐτοῖς τὸν μισθὸν ἀγανακτήσαντας, φοβηθεὶς μὴ προσχωρήσωσι τοῖς ̔Ρωμαίοις διέφθειρε, πέμψας αὐτοὺς εις τινα τῶν ὑπὸ ̔Ρωμαίους πόλιν παραληψομένους αὐτὴν ὡς τάχα προδιδομένην καὶ διαρπάσαι αὐτὴν ἐπιτρέψας, στείλας δὲ πρὸς τοὺς ὑπάτους ψευδαυτομόλους τὴν τῶν Γαλατῶν προμηνύοντας ελευσιν· οθεν οἱ Γαλάται μὲν πάντες ἐνεδρευθέντες ἐφθάρησαν, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ἀπέθανον. ̓Απελθόντων δὲ τῶν ὑπάτων οικαδε ὁ ̓Αμίλκας καὶ τὴν ̓Ιταλίαν ἐπόρθει προσπλέων καὶ ἐν τῇ Σικελίᾳ πόλεις τινὰς ὑπηγάγετο. πυθόμενοι δὲ ταῦτα οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι ναυτικὸν συνεστήσαντο, καὶ Γάιον αὐτῷ ∆ουίλιον τὸν ετερον τῶν ὑπάτων ἐπέστησαν, τὸν δὲ τούτου συνάρχοντα Κορνήλιον Γάιον εἰς Σικελίαν επεμψαν. 2.203 ος τοῦ κατὰ γῆν πολέμου ον ἐκεκλήρωτο ἀμελήσας ταῖς προσούσαις αὐτῷ ναυσὶν ἐς Λιπάραν επλευσεν ὡς προδιδομένην αὐτῷ· τοῦτο δ' ἐκ δόλου τῶν Καρχηδονίων ἐγένετο. ὡς ουν ἐς τὴν Λιπάραν καθωρμίσατο, Βόδης αὐτὸν ὁ τοῦ ̓Αννίβου περιεστοίχισεν ὑποστράτηγος. παρασκευαζομένου δὲ τοῦ Γαΐου πρὸς αμυναν, δείσας ἐκεῖνος τὴν ἀπόνοιαν αὐτῶν προεκαλέσατο αὐτοὺς εἰς σπονδάς· καὶ πείσας ἀνεβίβασεν εἰς τὴν