180 HISTORY OF GREECE. crating the Sicilian Greeks from the Carthaginians, have dedi cated these shields as offerings of gratitude to the gods." * Leaving most of his paid troops to carry on war in the Cartha- ginian province, Timoleon conducted his Syracusans home. Hia first proceeding was, at once to dismiss Thrasius with the one thousand paid soldiers who had deserted him before the battle, He commanded them to quit Sicily, allowing them only twenty- four hours to depart from Syracuse itself. Probably under the circumstances, they were not less anxious to go away than he was to dismiss them. But they went away only to destruction ; for having crossed the Strait of Messina and taken possession of a maritime site in Italy on the Southern sea, the Bruttians of the inland entrapped them by professions of simulated friendship, and slew them all. 2 Timoleon had now to deal with two Grecian enemies Hike- tas and Mamerkus the despots of Leontini and Katana. By the extraordinary rapidity of his movements, he had crushed the great invading host of Carthage, before it came into cooperation with these two allies. Both now wrote in terror to Carthage, soliciting a new armament, as indispensable for their security not less than for the Carthaginian interest in the island ; Timoleon being the common enemy of both. Presently Giskon son of Hanno, having been recalled on purpose out of banishment, ar- rived from Carthage with a considerable force seventy triremes, and a body of Grecian mercenaries. It was rare for the Cartha- ginians to employ Grecian mercenaries ; but the battle of Krime- sus is said to have persuaded them that there were no soldiers to be compared to Greeks. The force of Giskon was apparently distributed partly in the Carthaginian province at the western an- gle of the island partly in the neighborhood of Mylaj and Messene on the north-east, where Mamerkus joined him with the troops of Katana. Messene appears to have recently fallen un- der the power of a despot named Hippon, who acted as their ally To both points Timoleon despatched a portion of his mercenary force, without going himself in command ; on both, his troops at first experienced partial defeats ; two divisions of them, one com 1 Plutarch, Timoleon, c. 29 ; Diodor. xvi. 80.
- Plutarch, Timoleon, c. 30; Diodor. xvi. 82.
