Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/31

DEFENCE OF TAURUS. 6 shelter in Sicily, had been forced to cross over into Italy, where they were favorably received both at Kroton and at Rhegium. 1 One of these exiles, Heloris, once the intimate friend of Diony- eius, was even appointed general of the forces of Rhegium ; forces at that time not only powerful on land, but sustained by a fleet of seventy or eighty triremes. 9 Under his command, a Rhegine force crossed the strait for the purpose partly of besieg- ing Messene, partly of establishing the Naxian and Katanean exiles at Mylae on the northern coast of the island, not far from Messene. Neither scheme succeeded: Heloris was repulsed from Messene with loss, while the new settlers at Mylae were speedily expelled. The command of the strait was thus fully maintained to Dionysius ; who, on the point of undertaking an aggressive expedition over to Italy, was delayed only by the ne- cessity of capturing the newly established Sikel town on the hill of Taurus or Tauromenium. The Sikels defended this posi- tion, in itself high and strong, with unexpected valor and obstina- cy. It was the spot on which the primitive Grecian colonists who first came to Sicily, had originally landed, and from whence, therefore, the successive Hellenic encroachments upon the pre- established Sikel population, had taken their commencement. This fact, well known to both parties, rendered the capture on one side as much a point of honor, as the preservation on the other. Dionysius spent months in the siege, even throughout midwinter, while the snow covered this hill-top. He made re- iterated assaults, which were always repulsed. At last, on one moonless winter night, he found means to scramble over some almost inaccessible crags to a portion of the town less defended, and to effect a lodgment in one of the two fortified portions into which it was divided. Having taken the first part, he imme- diately proceeded to attack the second. But the Sikels, resisting with desperate valor, repulsed him, and compelled the storming party to flee in disorder, amidst the darkness of night, and over the most difficult ground. Six hundred of them were slain on the spot, and scarcely any escaped without throwing away their arms. Even Dionysius himself, being overthrown by the thrust 1 Diodor. xiv. 87-103. 7 Diode- xiv 8,87,106