Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 1.djvu/427

 B. vi. c. ii. $ 7. SICILY. 413 of the aboriginal inhabitants * have been destroyed, as Camici, the kingdom of Cocalus, at whose house Minos is reported to have been treacherously cut off. The Romans therefore, con- sidering the deserted condition of the country, and having got possession both of the hills and the most part of the plains, have given them over to horse-breeders, herdsmen, and shep- herds, by whom the island has frequently been brought into great perils. First of all the shepherds, taking to pillage here and there in different places, and afterwards assembling in numbers and forcibly taking settlements ; for instance, as those under the command of Eunus 2 seized upon Enna. 3 And quite recently, during the time that we were at Rome, a cer- tain Selurus, called the son of jEtna, was sent up to that city. He had been the captain of a band of robbers, and had for a long time infested the country round JEtna, committing fre- quent depredations. We saw him torn to pieces by wild beasts in the forum after a contest of gladiators : he had been set upon a platform fashioned to represent Mount ^Etna, which being suddenly unfastened and falling, he was precipitated amongst certain cages of wild beasts, which had also been slightly constructed under the^pjatform for the occasion. 7. The fertility of the country is so generally extolled by every one, as nothing inferior to Italy, that there is a ques- tion as to what we should say of it. Indeed, for wheat, honey, saffron, and some other commodities, it even surpasses that country. In addition to this, its proximity renders the island like a part of Italy itself, so that it supplies the Roman market with produce both commodiously and without trouble. Indeed they call it the granary of Rome, for all the produce of the island is carried thither, except a few things required for home consumption. It consists not only of the fruits of the earth, but of cattle, skins, wool, and the like. Posidonius says that Syracuse and Eryx are situated on the sea like two citadels, and that Enna in the midst, between Syracuse and Eryx, commands the surrounding plains, f The 4 whole terri- 478 B. c. Eubali, Castellazzio, and a place near the little town of Lico- dia, not far from the source of the Drillo, have been supposed to be the site of the ancient Euboea. Siebenkees thinks that the words between daggers at the end of 7 should follow " Eubrea." 1 Lit. barbarians. 2 About 134 B. c. s Castro-Ioanni. 4 Kramer and Siebenkees consider that the sentence between daggers,