Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/478

 ^46 HISTORY OF GREECE. pentiment, lie perpetrated another deetl of blood at Syracuse. Having learnt that the soldiers, whom he had deserted at Tunes, had after his departure put to death his two sons, he gave orders to Antander his brother (viceroy of Syracuse), to massacre all the relatives of those Syracusans who had served him in the African expedition. This order was fulfilled by Antander (we are assured) accurately and to the letter. Neither age or sex — grandsire or infant — wife or mother- — were spared by the Agathoklean executioners. We may be sure that their proper- ties were plundered at the same time ; we heai* of no mutila- tions.^ Still Agathokles tried to maintain his hold on the Siciliun towns which remained to him ; but his cruelties as well as his reverses had produced a strong sentiment against him, and even his general Pasiphilus revolted to join Deinokrates. That exile was now at the head of an army stated at 20,000 men, the most formidable military force in Sicily ; so that Agathokles, feehng the inadequacy of his own means, sent to solicit peace, and to offer tempting conditions. He announced his readiness to evac- uate Syracuse altogether, and to be content, if two maritinif towns on the northern coast of the island — Therma and Ke- phaloidion — were assigned to his mercenaries and himself. Under this proposition, Deinokrates, and the other Syracusan exiles, had the opportunity of entering Syracuse, and reconstitut- ing the free city-government. Had Deinokrates been another Timoleon, the city might now Irave acquired and enjoyed another temporary sunshine of autonomy and prosperity ; but his ambi- tion was thoroughly selfish. As commander of this large army, he enjoyed a station of power and license such as he was not likely to obtain under the reconstituted city -government of Syra- cuse. He therefore evaded the propositions of Agathokles, re- quiring still larger concessions ; until at length the Syracusan exiles in his own army (partly instigated by emissaries from ' Diodor. XX. 72. Hippokrates and Epikydcs — those Syracusans who, «bout a century afterwards, induced Hieronymus of Syracuse to prefer th« Carthaginian alliance to the lloman — had resided at Cartilage for som« time, and served in the army of Hannibal, because their grand-father had been banished from Syracuse as one concerned in killing Ar(haga*.lius frolvb. vii. 2).