Page:History of Greece Vol X.djvu/475

VICTORY OF DIONYSIUS. 453 A ehradina (the outer city) against his reentry. The energy and promptitude of Dionysius proved too much for them. Informed of their secession from the army, and well knowing their sentiments, he immediately divined their projects, and saw that he could only defeat them by audacity and suddenness of attack. Accordingly, putting himself at the head of his best and most devoted soldiers, one hundred horsemen and six hundred foot, he left his army and proceeded by a forced march to Syracuse ; a distance of about four hundred stadia, or about forty-five English miles. He arrived there about midnight, and presented himself, not at the gate of Or- tygia, which he had probably ascertained to be in possession of his enemies, but at that of Achradina ; which latter (as has been already mentioned) formed a separate fortification from Ortygia, with the Nekropolis between them. 1 Though the gate was shut, he presently discovered it to be unguarded, and was enabled to apply to it some reeds gathered in the marshes on his road, so as to set it on fire and burn it. So eager had he been for celerity of progress, that at the moment when he reached the gate, a part only of his division were with him. But as the rest arrived while the flames were doing their work, he entered, with the whole body, into Achradina or the outer city. Marching rapidly through the streets, he became master, without resistance, of all this portion of the city, and of the agora, or market-place, which formed its chief open space. His principal enemies, astounded by this alarming news, hastened out of Ortygia into Achradina, and tried to occupy the agora. But they found it already in possession of Dionysius ; and being themselves very few in uumber, having taken no time to get together any considerable armed body, they were overpow- ered and slain by his mercenaries. Dionysius was thus strong enough to vanquish all his enemies, who entered Achradina in small and successive parties, without any order, as they came out of Ortygia. He then proceeded to attack the houses of those whom he knew to be unfriendly to his dominion, slew such as he could find within, and forced the rest to seek shelter in exile. The great body of the Syracusan horsemen, who but the evening before were masters of the city, and might with common prudence have maintained themselves in it, were thus either destroyed or 1 Diodor. xiii, 113. -rrapf/v Kepi fieaaf VVKTCIC 7ro6f rrjv irvhijv 7% 'A,fpa- . . . .tlarjl.avve 6iu rrjf 'Axpa.6 vi^, etc.