Page:History of Greece Vol X.djvu/441

 HERMOKRATES SLAIN. 418 consent, Hermokrates saw that his return could vA at that mo ment be consummated by open force. He therefore retired from the Syracusan frontier ; yet only postponing his purposes of armed attack until his friends in the city could provide for him a conve- nient opportunity. We see plainly that his own party within had been much strengthened, and his opponents enfeebled, by the recent manoeuvre. Of this a proof is to be found in the banish- ment of Diokles, who probably was not succeeded by any othei leader of equal influence. After a certain interval, the partisans of Hermokrates contrived a plan which they thought practicable, for admitting him into the city by night. Forewarned by them, he marched from Selinus at the head of three thousand soldiers, crossed the territory of Gela, 1 and reached the concerted spot near the gate of Achradina during the night. From the rapidity of his advance, he had only a few troops along with him ; the main body not having been able to keep up. With these few, however, he hastened to the gate, which he found already in pos- session of his friends, who had probably (like Pasimelus at Co- rinth 2 ) awaited a night on which they were posted to act as senti- nels. Master of the gate, Hermokrates, though joined by his par- tisans within in arms, thought it prudent to postpone decisive attack until his own main force came up. But during this inter- val, the Syracusan authorities in the city, apprised of what had happened, mustered their full military strength in the agora, and lost no time in falling upon the band of aggressors. After a sharply contested combat, these aggressors were completely worsted, and Hermokrates himself slain with a considerable pro- portion of his followers. The remainder having fled, sentence of banishment was passed upon them. Several among the wounded, however, were reported by their relatives as slain, in order that they might escape being comprised in such a condemnation. 3 1 Diodor. xiii, 75. 'O /zev ovv 'Ep/zo/cpar^f TOTE rdv naipbv oi)% opuv TOV elf TO Piaaacr&at, isakiv avexupqaev els 2e/lu>owra. Hera 6i Tiva %p6* vov t T&V (jtihuv aiirbv (teTaireniro/Asvuv, u'p/j.rjffE /J.STU. Tpia%iAiuv arpaTiuruv Kal Tropev&elf did r^f Fe/lwaf, TJK.E VVKTOI; em TOV avvTETayfisvov TOTTOV. 2 Xenoph. Hellen. iv, 4, 8 3 Diodor. xiii, 75. Xenophon (Hellen. i, 3, 13) states that Hermokrates, ijdr] Qevyuv e/c 2t> panovauv, was among those who accompanied Pharnabazus along with the