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After the meeting of the assembly the Syracusans, with the permission of Dionysius, seized as plunder the property of the Phoenicians; for no small number of Carthaginians had their homes in Syracuse and rich possessions, and many also of their merchants had vessels in the harbour loaded with goods, all of which the Syracusans plundered. [2] Similarly the rest of the Sicilian Greeks drove out the Phoenicians who dwelt among them and plundered their possessions; for although they hated the tyranny of Dionysius, they were still glad to join in the war against the Carthaginians because of the cruelty of that people. [3] For the very same reasons, too, the inhabitants of the Greek cities under the rule of the Carthaginians, as soon as Dionysius publicly enacted war, made open display of their hatred of the Phoenicians; for not only did they seize their property as plunder, but they also laid hands on their persons and subjected them to every kind of physical torture and outrage, remembering what they had themselves suffered during the time of their captivity. [4] So far did they go in the vengeance they wreaked on the Phoenicians both at this time and subsequently, that the Carthaginians were taught the lesson no more to transgress the law in their treatment of conquered peoples; for they did not fail to realize, learning as they did by very deeds, that in war Fortune is impartial to both combatants and in defeat both sides must suffer the same sort of thing that they themselves have done to those who were unfortunate. [5]

Now when Dionysius had made ready all his preparations for the war, he determined to send messengers to Carthage with the announcement: The Syracusans declare war upon the Carthaginians unless they restore freedom to the Greek cities that they have enslaved.

Dionysius, then, was engaged in the affairs we have discussed. [6]

Ctesias1 the historian ended with this year his History of the Persians, which began with Ninus and Semiramis. And in this year the most distinguished composers of dithyrambs were in their prime, Philoxenus of Cythera, Timotheus of Miletus, Telestus of Selinus, and Polyeidus, who was also expert in the arts of painting and music.

1 Cp. Book 1.32.4.

Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.

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