The River Anapis Emptied Itself Into The
Great Harbour; At The Mouth Of This River Was The Castle Of Olympia.
The
third harbour stood a little above the division of the city called
Acradina.
The island of Ortygia, which formed one of the divisions, was
joined to the others by a bridge.
The other maritime towns of consequence were Agrigentum, Lilibaeum, and
Drepanum; though the first stood at a short distance from the sea, yet
being situated between and near two rivers, it conveniently imported all
sorts of provisions and merchandize. Lilibaeum was famous for its port,
which was deemed a safe retreat for ships, either in case of a storm, or to
escape from an enemy. During the wars between the Romans and Carthaginians,
the former repeatedly attempted to render it inaccessible and useless by
throwing large stones into it, but they were always washed away by the
violence of the sea, and the rapidity of the current. Drepanum, which had
an excellent harbour, was much resorted to by foreign ships, and possessed
a very considerable commerce.
The Greeks were the first who colonized Sicily; and they founded Syracuse
and other towns. About the same period the Phoenicians settled on the coast
for the purposes of commerce; but they seem to have retired soon after the
Greek colonies began to flourish and extend themselves. The Carthaginians,
who generally pushed their commerce into all the countries with which their
parent state had traded, seem to have visited Italy as merchants or
conquerors at a very early period; but when their first visit took place in
either character is not known. The treaty between them and the Romans, (to
which we have had occasion to refer more than once,) which was formed in
the year after the expulsion of the Tarquins, expressly stipulated that the
Romans, who should touch at Sardinia, or that part of Sicily which belonged
to the Carthaginians, should be received there in the same manner as the
Carthaginians themselves. They must, however, soon afterwards have been
driven out of the island; for at the time of the invasion of Greece by
Xerxes, (which happened about thirty years after the expulsion of the
Tarquins,) Gelon, the king of Syracuse, expressly states that they no
longer possessed any territory there, in a speech which he made to the
ambassadors of Athens and Sparta, the Cathaginians having united with
Xerxes, and he having offered to ally himself with the Greeks. The
circumstances and even the very nature of the victory which Gelon gained
over the Carthaginians, which ended in their expulsion from Sicily, cannot
accurately be ascertained: but from a comparison of the principal
authorities on this point, it would, appear that it was a naval victory; or
at least that the Carthaginian fleet was defeated as well as their army.
Their loss by sea was enormous, amounting to nearly the whole of their
ships of war and transports, the former consisting of 2000 and the latter
of 3000.
Such is a short sketch of the island of Sicily, so far as its commercial
facilities and its history are concerned previously to its conquest by the
Romans.
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