Page:History of Greece Vol X.djvu/516

 494 HISTORY OF GREECE. He received adhesion and reinforcements from most of the Sitela of the interior, who had been forced to submit to Dionysius a year or two before, but detested his dominion. To some of these Sikels. the Syracusan despot had assigned the territory of the conquered Naxians, with their city probably un walled. But anxious as they were to escape from him, many had migrated to a point somewhat north of Naxus, to the hill of Taurus, immediately over the sea, unfavorably celebrated among the Sikel population as being the spot where the first Greek colonists had touched on arriving in the island. Their migration was encouraged, multiplied, and organized, under the auspices of Imilkon, who prevailed upon them to con- struct, upon the strong eminence of Taurus, a fortified post, which formed the beginning of the city afterwards known as Taurome- nium.2 Magon was sent with the Carthaginian fleet to assist in the enterprise. Meanwhile Dionysius, greatly disquieted at the capture of Mes sene, exerted himself to put Syracuse in an effective position of defence on her northern frontier. Naxus and Katana being both unfortified, he was forced to abandon them, and he induced the Campanians whom he had planted in Katana to change their quarters to the strong town called .2Etna, on the skirt of the moun- tain so named. He made Leontini his chief position ; strengthen- ing as much as possible the fortifications of the city as well as those of the neighboring country forts, wherein he accumulated maga- zines of provisions from the fertile plains around. He had still a force of thirty thousand foot and more than three thousand horse ; he had also a fleet of one hundred and eighty ships of war, tri- remes and others. During the year preceding, he had brought out both a land force and a naval force much superior to this, even for purposes of aggression ; how it happened that he could now com- mand no more, even for defence and at home, or what had be- ome of the difference, we are not told. Of the one hundred and eighty ships of war, sixty only were manned by the extraordinary proceeding of liberating slaves. Such sudden and serious changes in the amount of military force from year to year, are perceptible among Carthaginians as well as Greeks, indeed throughout most part of Grecian history ; the armies being got together chieflj 1 Diodor. xiv, 59-76. * Diodor. xir, 9