Page:History of Greece Vol VII.djvu/342

324 324 HISTORY OF GREECE. teers, sons of the best families in the city ; l boats of no mean service during the battle, saving or destroying the seamen cast overboard from disabled ships, as well as annoying the fighting Athenian triremes. The day was one sacred to Herakles at Syracuse ; and the prophets announced that the god would insure victory to the Syracusans, provided they stood on the defensive, and did not begin the attack. 2 Moreover, the entire shore round the harbor, except the Athenian station and its immediate neigh- borhood, was crowded with Syracusan soldiers and spectators ; while the walls of Ortygia, immediately overhanging the water, were lined with the feebler population of the city, the old men, women, and children. From the Athenian station presently came forth one hundred and ten triremes, under Demosthenes, Menander, and Euthydemus, with the customary pgean, its tone probably partaking of the general sadness of the camp. They steered across direct to the mouth of the harbor, beholding on all sides the armed enemies ranged along the shore, as well as the unarmed multitudes who were imprecating the vengeance of the gods upon their heads ; while for them there was no sympathy, except among the fellow-sufferers within their own lines. Inside of this narrow basin, rather more than five English miles in circuit, one hundred and ninety-four ships of war, each manned with more than two hundred men, were about to join battle, in tho presence of countless masses around, all with palpitating hearts, and near enough both to see and hear ; the most picturesque battle if we could abstract our minds from its terrible interest 1 Diodorus, xiii, 14. Plutarch has a similar statement, in reference to the previous battle : but I think he must have confused one battle with tho other, for his account can hardly be made to harmonize with Thucydide's (Plutarch, Nikias, c. 24). It is to be recollected that both Plutarch and Diodorus had probablj read the description of the battles in the Great Harbor of Syracuse, con- tained in Philistus ; a better witness, if we had his account before us, even than Thucydide's ; since he was probably at this time in Syracuse, ind was perhaps actually engaged. 2 Plutarch, Nikias, c. 24, 25. Timseus reckoned the aid of Herakles as having been one of the great causes of Syracusan victory over tho Athe- nians. Ho gave several reasons why the god was provoked against the Athenians : see Timaeus, Fragm. 104, ed. Didot.