Page:History of Greece Vol X.djvu/499

 DIONYSIUS AND LOKRI. 477 quence the overthrow of the oligarchy of Lokri. 1 And even among the Lokrians, the request was not granted without opposi tion. A citizen named Aristeides (one of the companions of Plato), whose daughter Dionysius had solicited in marriage, re- turned for answer that he would rather see her dead than united to a despot. In revenge for this bitter reply, Dionysius caused the sons of Aristeides to be put to death. 2 But the amicable relations which Dionysius was at so much pains to establish with the Greek cities near the Strait of Mes- sene, were destined chiefly to leave him free for preparations against Carthage ; which preparations he now commenced on a gigantic scale. Efforts so great and varied, combined not merely with forecast but with all the scientific appliances then available, have not hitherto come before us throughout this history. The terrible effect with which Hannibal had recently employed his battering-machines against Selinus and Himera, stimulated Diony- sius to provide himself with the like implements in greater abun- dance than any Greek general had ever before possessed. He collected at Syracuse, partly by constraint, partly by allurement, all the best engineers, mechanists, armorers, artisans, etc., whom Sicily or Italy could furnish. He set them upon the construction of machines and other muniments of war, and upon the manufac- ture of arms offensive as well as defensive, with the greatest pos- sible assiduity. The arms provided were of great variety ; not merely such as were suitable for Grecian soldiers, heavy or light, but also such as were in use among the different barbaric tribes around the Mediterranean, Gauls, Iberians, Tyrrhenians, etc., from whom Dionysius intended to hire mercenaries ; so that every dif- ferent soldier would be furnished, on arriving, with the sort of weapon which had become habitual to him. All Syracuse became a bustling military workshop, not only the market-places, por- ticos, palaestrae, and large private houses, but also the fore-cham- 1 Aristot. Politic, v, 6, 7. 'Eri 3<u ro ruaaf ruf upiaTOKpariKuc Trohireiai, oTiiyapxiKac thai, fj.H7^ov TrfeovenTovaiv oi yvupipoL' clov Kal iv AaKe6ai/j.ovt e/C 6/U'}'ouf at ovaiai &p%(niat, Kal leori iroielv on uv SiTiuai rolf yvufttfUUf udX'Xov, Kal Kijdevetv brif de?.ovai. Ai6 Kal rj AoKpiJv Tro/U'reja aTroAero in r7?f Trpof Aiovixnov Kridetaf o ev djjpoKpaTia ov/c f.v fyevero, ovS 1 uv iv upiaroKparia ;v ne^ny^ivi). 2 Plutarch Timole e, c. 6.