The Carthaginians were so dated with their recent success, that they seriously meditated the conquest of the whole island of Sicily. They made the greatest preparation for this renew ed attack ; and having joined Ilamilcar, the son of Hanno, in commission with I Ian nibal, who, from his age and infirmities. was unequal to the various duties of the chief command. the expedition set forth.
Their first object was Agrigentum, a city second only to Syracuse. (Diod. Sic. lib. The Sicilians had not been negligent in their preparations to oppose this for midable invasion ; in consequence, the Carthaginian ge nerals had scarcely time to form the siege, before they were attacked by a force which the Syracusans sent to the assistance of their allies, under the command of Daphneus. Hamilcar detached a force to oppose them, but they were completely worsted ; and, had the garri son availed themselves of the opportunity, the whole army might have been completely destroyed. They had reason to repent of this negligence; for Hamilcar, hav ing corrupted a part of the garrison, and received infor mation that the remainder were distracted by jealousies and dissensions, carried the place by storm ; and, as usual, put the inhabitants to the sword, and pillaged the whole city.
The Syracusans now began to contemplate with alarm the progress which the Carthaginians had made. The domestic dissensions which ensued in consequence of this alarm, gave Dionysius an opportunity of assuming the sovereign power. Hamilcar next proceeded to ravage the territories of Camarina and Gela. He laid siege to the last city, and Dionysius in vain endeavoured to re lieve it. The inhabitants, by a successful artifice, escap ed, and left the city to the mercy of the conqueror. Ca marina shared the same fate ; but Hamilcar finding his army weakened, partly by the crueltieS of war, and part ly by a destructive pestilence, offered terms of peace to the conquered. The offer was gladly accepted by Dio nysius, and a treaty was immediately concluded. The terms were, that Carthage should retain all her con quests in full sovereignty, except Gela and Camarina, for which she was to receive tribute. The independence of the other Sicilian states was stipulated, and the autho rity of Dionysius was completely acknowledged. That crafty tyrant availed himself of this interval of repose, to strengthen his power at home. Having freed himself
from all who could oppose his inordinate ambition, he again turned his thoughts to wiping off the stain which his reputation had received by the success of Hamilcar. As semis as he had strengthened the fortifications of Sy racuse, he began to collect from every quarter all that could be necessary for his naval and military equipments. Diodorus has given.us a minute detail of these prepara tions, and they appear to have been most formidable. \Vhen he was ready to take the field, Dionysins conven ed the senate of Syracuse, and announced his intention of attacking the Carthaginians instantly, without any pre vious declaration of war. The assembly were induced to enter into his views, and in consequence the persons and property of all the Carthaginians, who, upon the faith of treaties, were resident in the Sicilian states, were at once abandoned to the fury and avarice of the populace. The first account of these affairs was conveyed to Car thage by a message from Dionysius himself. The city was then wasted by the plague, but the wonted spirit of the inhabitants was not abated. They distributed several stuns of money for the purpose of procuring troops, and flispitehed orders to their garrisons in Sicily to be vigilant in watching the motions of Dionysius, and appointed Himilco commander in chief of their Forces.
Dionysius, in pursuance of the plan he had laid clown, without waiting for an answer from Carthage, at once attacked a celebrated Carthaginian colony, near Mount Ery x. He succeeded in carrying the place by surprise. The resistance of the inhabitants and garrison was, as usual, most obstinate. Sieges were at this time seldom undertaken with any other view than that of plun der. In consequence, the garrison was always roused to that excess of valour which is the natural result of de spair. Capitulation was invariably followed by indiscri minate pillage, and the most dreadful slaughter. There is, besides, something in the circumstances of a siege, which, Beyond all other motives, gives birth to the most obstinate valour. Every age and every country can pro duce its examples of this ; and it may safely be asserted, that were it not for the celebrated sieges, of which we have authentic accounts, we should still be ignorant of what extent men are capable of acting or of suffering.