The Battle of Himera (480 BC), supposedly fought on the same day as the
Battle of Salamis, or at the same time as the
Battle of Thermopylae, saw the Greek forces of
Gelo
Gelon also known as Gelo (Greek: Γέλων ''Gelon'', ''gen.'': Γέλωνος; died 478 BC), son of Deinomenes, was a Greek tyrant of the Sicilian cities Gela and Syracuse, and first of the Deinomenid rulers.
Early life
Gelon was the son o ...
n, King of Syracuse, and Theron, tyrant of
Agrigentum
Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one o ...
, defeat the
Carthaginian force of
Hamilcar __NOTOC__
Hamilcar ( xpu, 𐤇𐤌𐤋𐤊 , ,. or , , "Melqart is Gracious"; grc-gre, Ἁμίλκας, ''Hamílkas'';) was a common Carthaginian masculine given name. The name was particularly common among the ruling families of ancient Carthage. ...
the
Magonid
The Magonids were a political dynasty of Ancient Carthage from 550 BCE to 340 BCE. The dynasty was first established under Mago I, under whom Carthage became pre-eminent among the Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean. Under the Magon ...
, ending a Carthaginian bid to restore the deposed tyrant of Himera. The alleged coincidence of this battle with the naval battle of Salamis and the resultant derailing of a Punic-Persian conspiracy aimed at destroying the Greek civilization is rejected by modern scholars. Scholars also agree that the battle led to the crippling of Carthage's power in Sicily for many decades. It was one of the most important battles of the
Sicilian Wars
The Sicilian Wars, or Greco-Punic Wars, were a series of conflicts fought between ancient Carthage and the Greek city-states led by Syracuse, Sicily over control of Sicily and the western Mediterranean between 580 and 265 BC.
Carthage's econo ...
.
The discovery in 2007 and 2008 of mass graves from the battle has confirmed the location and nature of the battle.
Background
The
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
ns had planted trading posts all over the coast of Sicily after 900 BC, but had never penetrated far inland. They had traded with the
Elymian
The Elymians ( grc-gre, Ἔλυμοι, ''Élymoi''; Latin: ''Elymi'') were an ancient tribal people who inhabited the western part of Sicily during the Bronze Age and Classical antiquity.
Origins
According to Hellanicus of Lesbos, the Elymians ...
,
Sicani
The Sicani (Ancient Greek Σῐκᾱνοί ''Sikānoí'') or Sicanians were one of three ancient peoples of Sicily present at the time of Phoenician and Greek colonization. The Sicani dwelt east of the Elymians and west of the Sicels, having, ...
and
Siculi communities and ultimately withdrew without resistance to
Motya
Motya was an ancient and powerful city on San Pantaleo Island off the west coast of Sicily, in the Stagnone Lagoon between Drepanum (modern Trapani) and Lilybaeum (modern Marsala). It is within the present-day commune of Marsala, Italy.
Man ...
,
Panormus and
Solus when the Greek colonists arrived after 750 BC. These cities remained independent until becoming part of the Carthaginian hegemony after 540 BC, probably when
Malchus of Carthage "conquered all Sicily" and sent the captured booty to
Tyre.
Carthaginian hegemony and Greeks in Sicily
Carthage created her hegemony in part to resist Greek encroachments in the Phoenician sphere of influence. Phoenicians initially (750–650 BC) did not resist the Greeks, but after the Greeks had reached Iberia sometime after 650 BC, Carthage emerged as the leader of Phoenician resistance. During the 6th century BC, mostly under the leadership of the Magonid dynasty, Carthage established a commercially dominant position in the Western Mediterranean. The Phoenicians in Sicily and the Elymians had teamed up to defeat the Greeks of Selinus and Rhodes near
Lilybaeum in 580 BC, the first recorded clash between Phoenicians and Greeks incident in Sicily. The next known Greek incursion in Sicily took place 70 years later.
The Greeks living in Sicily behaved similar to mainland Greeks, expanding their political and commercial domain at the expense of their neighbors while keeping the Ionian/Dorian feud alive – the Doric colonies were comparably more aggressive in expanding their territory. As Sicilian trade flourished, the Greeks and the Phoenicians and the Sicilian Greeks colonies became prosperous. This prosperity enabled some of the Greek cities to start to expand their territories again, ultimately leading to the events known as the "First Sicilian War".
Carthage joins the fight
Carthage and Elymians joined hands in 510 BC to oppose the expedition of Prince
Dorieus
Dorieus (died c.510 BC; grc-gre, Δωριεύς) was a Spartan prince of the Agiad dynasty who is mentioned several times in Herodotus. The second son of Anaxandridas II, he was the younger half-brother of Cleomenes I and the elder full brother ...
, who had lost the Spartan throne and was seeking to found a colony, showed up to colonize
Eryx – after being expelled from Libya by Carthage in 511 BC. Dorieus was defeated and killed; the Greek survivors then founded
Heraclea Minoa
Heraclea Minoa ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλεια Μινῴα, ''Hērákleia Minṓia''; it, Eraclea Minoa) was an ancient Greek city situated on the southern coast of Sicily near the mouth of the river Halycus (modern Platani), 25 km west of A ...
. Sicilian Greeks (probably the cities of Akragas, Gela and Selinus) fought an undated war of revenge against Carthage, which led to the destruction of Minoa and a treaty which brought economic benefits for the Greeks. An appeal for aid to avenge the death of Dorieus was ignored by mainland Greece, even by Leonidas of Sparta, brother of Dorieus and who later would win immortal fame at
Thermopylae
Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: (''Thermopylai'') , Demotic Greek (Greek): , (''Thermopyles'') ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur ...
in 480 BC. This possibly demonstrated the futility of opposing Carthage by single Greek cities or the unreliability of aid from mainland Greece, a situation that would change with the rise of the Greek tyrants in Sicily.
Greek tyrants
While Carthage remained engaged in Sardinia after 510 BC, most of the Greek colonies in Sicily fell under the rule of tyrants. The tyrants of
Gela
Gela (Sicilian and ; grc, Γέλα) is a city and (municipality) in the Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province of Ca ...
,
Akragas
Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...
and
Rhegion
Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label=Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popula ...
successfully expanded their dominion at the expense of native Sicilians and other Greek cities during 505–480 BC, with the Dorian city of Gela being the most successful.
Dorian Greeks dominate Sicily
Cleander (505–498 BC) and his brother
Hippocrates
Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history o ...
(498–491) of Gela successfully took over both Ionian and Dorian Greek territory, and by 490 BC,
Zankle
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...
,
Leontini,
Catana
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
,
Naxos
Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...
, besides neighboring Sicel lands and
Camarina
Kamarina ( grc, Καμάρινα, Latin, Italian, & scn, Camarina) was an ancient city on the southern coast of Sicily in southern Italy. The ruins of the site and an archaeological museum are located south of the modern town of Scoglitti, a ...
had fallen to Gela.
Gelo
Gelon also known as Gelo (Greek: Γέλων ''Gelon'', ''gen.'': Γέλωνος; died 478 BC), son of Deinomenes, was a Greek tyrant of the Sicilian cities Gela and Syracuse, and first of the Deinomenid rulers.
Early life
Gelon was the son o ...
, successor of Hippocrates, captured
Syracuse and made the city his capital. By using ethnic cleansing, deportation and enslavement, Gelo transformed the former Ionian cities into Dorian ones and made Syracuse the dominant power in Sicily. Meanwhile, Akragas, another Doric city, had taken over neighboring Sikan and Sicel lands under the tyrant
Theron (488–472 BC). To forestall any conflicts between Akragas and Syracuse, Gelo and Theron married into each other's families, thus creating a united front against the Sicels and Ionian Greeks of Sicily.
Ionian Greeks call on Carthage
To counter this Doric threat,
Anaxilas
Anaxilas or Anaxilaus ( grc-gre, Ἀναξίλας, Ἀναξίλαος), son of Cretines, was a tyrant of Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria). He was originally from Messenia, a region in the Peloponnese.
Life
Anaxilas was master of Rhegium in 494 ...
of Rhegion from Italy, who had captured Zankle from Gela in 490 BC, allied himself with
Terillus of Himera, and married the daughter of Terillus. Himera and Rhegion next became allies of Carthage, the tyrants even built up personal relationships with the Magonid dynasty of Carthage. Selinus, a Doric city whose territory bordered Theron's domain, also became a Carthaginian ally – perhaps the fear of Theron and the destruction of
Megara Hyblaea
Megara Hyblaea ( grc, Μέγαρα Ὑβλαία) – perhaps identical with Hybla Major – is an ancient Greek colony in Sicily, situated near Augusta on the east coast, north-northwest of Syracuse, Italy, on the deep bay formed by the Xip ...
(mother city of, Selinus), by Gelo, had played a part in this decision. Thus, 3 power blocks were delicately balanced in Sicily by 483 BC – Ionians dominating the north, Carthage the west, Dorians the east and south. The Sicels and Sikans in the interior remained passive, and if not directly under Greek rule, did not hinder the movements of their forces. The Elmyians joined the Carthaginian alliance.
Prelude
The city of Himera had once requested
Phalaris
Phalaris ( el, Φάλαρις) was the tyrant of Akragas (now Agrigento) in Sicily, from approximately 570 to 554 BC.
History
Phalaris was renowned for his excessive cruelty. Among his alleged atrocities is cannibalism: he was said to have e ...
, tyrant of Akragas (570–554 BC), to rule Himera. Theron emulated Phalaris when he deposed Terillus and added Himera to his domain in 483 BC. Terillus had come to power in Himera after expelling the ruling oligarchs (who had taken refuge in Akragas), and he probably lacked popular support, which may have been exploited by Theron.
["pulled away from ]Himera
Himera (Greek: ), was a large and important ancient Greek city, situated on the north coast of Sicily at the mouth of the river of the same name (the modern Imera Settentrionale), between Panormus (modern Palermo) and Cephaloedium (modern Cef ...
, Terillos, son of Crinippos, being tyran of Himera, lead in the country in this time army of Phoenicians
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
(''Φοινίκων''), Libyans (''Λιβύων''), Iberians
The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (amo ...
(''Ἰβήρων''), Ligures
The Ligures (singular Ligur; Italian: liguri; English: Ligurians) were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day north-western Italy, is named.
Ancient Liguria corresponded more or less to the current Italian regi ...
(''Λιγύων'', Ligyans), Elisyces (''Ἐλισύκων''), Sardones (''Σαρδονίων'' > Sardes) and Kirnis (''Κυρνίων'' > Corsicans) - thirty myriads of men - with their general Amilcas, son of Annon, then king of the Carchedonians, (''Καρχηδονίων'' > Carthaginians
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
)". Herodotus, 7.165 Terillus requested Hamilcar,
Suffet of Carthage, and Xenia (guest friend) of Terillus, for aid. Anaxilas also lobbied on his behalf, and sent his own children as hostages to Carthage as a token of loyalty. After a 3-year delay, Hamilcar led a Carthaginian expedition to Sicily in 480 BC, which coincided with the expedition of
Xerxes against mainland Greece.
Gelo refuses Greece aid
The mainland Greeks had sent an embassy to Gelon requesting aid against Xerxes. Gelon at first complained that the Greeks spurned his request of aid against the Carthaginians in the past, but he offered to send 24,000 foot, 4000 horse and 200 warships in addition to fully provisioning the combined Greek force in Greece if he was made the supreme commander. The Spartans objected to this, and Gelon then asked to be the commander of either the land or naval forces in exchange for his help. The Athenian envoy then objected, and the Greeks were sent packing empty handed. Gelon also hedged his bets, he sent 3 ships under Cadmus of Kos to Delphi, with instructions to offer his submission to Xerxes in case of a Persian victory.
Carthaginian expedition
Hamilcar is said to have assembled an army numbering 300,000 soldiers from Iberia, Sardinia, Corsica, Italy, Gaul and Africa,
generally mercenaries (like the famed
Iberian mercenaries) and under the command of a body of Carthaginian officers, along with war chariots, 200 warships and 3,000 transports for the venture.
[Diodorus Siculus XI.20] According to the modern historians, the numbers are clearly inflated; the Punic army may not have been significantly larger than that of the Greek coalition. The army had no siege engines and the
Etruscans
The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...
and the Elymians, allies in past struggles against Greeks, were not part of it.
The Carthaginian army
The core units of the army came from Africa. The heavy African infantry fought in close formation, armed with long spears and round shields, wearing helmets and linen cuirasses. The light Libyan infantry carried javelins and a small shield. The Iberian infantry wore purple bordered white tunics and leather headgear, and fought in a dense phalanx, armed with heavy javelins, long body shields and short thrusting swords. Sardinian and Gallic infantry fought in their native gear, but often were equipped by Carthage.
The Libyans, Carthaginian citizens and the Libyo-Phoenicians provided disciplined, well trained cavalry equipped with thrusting spears and round shields. Iberians and Gauls also provided cavalry, which relied on the all out charge. Libyans also provided bulk of the heavy, four horse war chariots for Carthage.
The Sicilian Greek army
Gelo and Theron had a well trained, battle tested army at their disposal. In addition to citizens, hired mercenaries from Greeks and Sicels augmented their forces. Gelon took out a loan from citizens to fund his war efforts, which indicates the seriousness of the situation. The Syracusan army at Himera is said to have numbered 50,000 foot and 5,000 horse – perhaps another exaggeration. The size of the army of Theron is not known. The main
hoplite force came from the citizens of the Sicilian Greek cities. They were augmented by mercenary hoplites hired from Sicily and Italy, and even mainland Greece. Some of the citizens also served as
peltast
A ''peltast'' ( grc-gre, πελταστής ) was a type of light infantryman, originating in Thrace and Paeonia, and named after the kind of shield he carried. Thucydides mentions the Thracian peltasts, while Xenophon in the Anabasis distin ...
s while the wealthier citizens formed the cavalry units. Sicels and Sikan soldiers also served in the force. Mercenaries provided archers, slingers and cavalry.
The Himera campaign
Hamilcar chose not to sail to Selinus and then attack Akragas, although it was the coast closest to Carthage. The Carthaginian fleet, escorted by 60
triremes
A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean S ...
, sailed to Panormus instead. Hamilcar chose this course probably because restoring Terrilus was his primary objective. The conquest of Sicily, if that indeed was a consideration, took second place to his duty as a guest friend of Terrilus. The fleet was battered by storms at sea, losing the ships carrying the chariots and horses
[Diodorus Siculus, XI.20] – which would be a significant factor in the coming battle. The Greek fleet, able to muster 200 ships, did not contest the crossing, and in fact played no part in the coming battle.
The Carthaginian camps at Himera
Hamilcar spent three days reorganizing his forces at Panormus, and repairing his battered fleet. The Carthaginians marched along the coast to Himera, with the fleet sailing alongside, and encamped near the city. Theron was already present in Himera
with his army, but the Greeks did not interfere with Carthaginian operations. The Greek allies of Hamilcar (Greeks of Selinus and Anaxilas of Rhegion) were absent – and never joined the battle.
The city of Himera sits on top of a hill (300–400 feet high) on the western bank of the River Himera. The hill is steep in the northern, western and eastern sides but gradually slopes to the south. There are hills to the west and south of the city. The Carthaginians erected two camps near Himera. The sea camp was set to the north of Himera by the sea, surrounded by a palisade and a ditch. The army was billeted in a separate camp to the south on a low hill west of Himera. The land and sea camps were joined by siege works.
Theron's defeat and Gelo's arrival
It is not known if Hamilcar wished to build siege weapons at Himera or settle the issue through battle. After the camps were erected, the Punic ships dropped off provisions at the sea camp and were sent to Sardinia and Africa for more supplies. 20 triremes patrolled the sea, the rest of the ships were beached in the sea camp.
[Diodorus Siculus, XI.24] Himera was not fully invested – the east and south sides were open.
Hamilcar led a picked body of men on reconnaissance mission, and defeated the Greeks in a pitched battle outside Himera. The Greeks blocked the west gates of Himera and their morale also fell, while the Carthaginian foragers ranged the territory of Himera. Theron sent messages to Gelo, who arrived with his army and encamped across the river. Gelon's cavalry managed to capture many of the foragers, as Hamilcar had no cavalry present to counter his moves. The morale in Himera improved, and the bricked up gates were cleared on Gelo's orders.
The battle
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
and
Diodorus Siculus give different versions of the battle, which are hard to reconcile. Diodorus provides a more detailed account.
Herodotus on Himera
The Greek and Punic armies fought from dawn to dusk, while Hamilcar watched the battle from his camp and offered sacrifices to Baal in a huge fire. No information on numbers, battle formation or battle site is given. When the Carthaginian army was routed towards dusk, Hamilcar jumped into the sacrificial fire. His body was never found and the Greeks erected a monument to his memory where he supposedly died. Herodotus noted that Sicilian tradition held that this battle and the battle of Salamis were fought on the same day.
Diodorus Siculus and other sources
The actions of the Greek cavalry in countering Carthaginian foragers prompted Hamilcar to send a letter to Selinus requesting them to send their cavalry to Himera on a given date that Hamilcar was to offer a sacrifice to Poseidon
[Diodorus Siculus, XI.21] – a Greek deity whose worship probably required the presence of Greeks. The letter was intercepted by Gelo's men. Gelo planned to use his own cavalry to impersonate the Selinute reinforcement and infiltrate the Carthaginian camp, while his army attacked the land camp.
Greeks attack the land camp
Gelo's horsemen left their camp on the night before the appointed day, and at daybreak these horsemen arrived at the Carthaginian sea camp and were admitted into the camp. Greeks spotted them inside the Carthaginian camp from Himera and signaled Gelo. It is not known if the Syracusan army was inside Gelo's camp or had assembled somewhere outside at that time. The Greeks marched around the south end of Himera and moved towards the Carthaginian land camp. Theron and his army stayed put in Himera. The Carthaginian army left their camp and formed up on the hill, forcing the Greeks to fight an uphill battle. The struggle was fierce and long and neither side gained any advantages.
Death of Hamilcar
Sometime after the battle was joined, the disguised Greek horsemen killed Hamilcar while he was preparing the sacrifice, and then set fire to the beached ships, causing great confusion at the sea camp. It is not known what further role the Greek cavalry played in the battle. The Carthaginians rushed to launch whatever ships they could save and some of the ships, overcrowded with soldiers, left the site altogether. When the news of Hamilcar's death and the burning of ships reach the fighting armies, the Greeks pressed harder and routed the Carthaginians, who fled to their camp.
In an alternative version, Gelo ordered Pediarchos, his captain of archers, to "dress as the tyrant" to impersonate him and offer sacrifices in front of the camp. Pediarchos was surrounded by archers who had concealed bows in their dress while he impersonated Gelo. Hamilcar was obliged to come out to offer sacrifices also, and the bowmen shot him down.
Theron takes action
Gelo's army stormed the Carthaginian camp and the Greeks scattered to loot the tents. The Iberians of the Carthaginian army reformed, and they attacked the now disordered Greeks, inflicting severe casualties. The Greeks fought back, but they were hard pressed and the Iberians got the upper hand in the struggle. At this critical juncture Theron decided to join the battle. He directed his attack on the flank and rear of the Iberian position inside the camp and also set fire to tents near them. The Iberians finally gave way, and retreated to the ships still afloat.
Other Carthaginian survivors left the camp and retreated to a hill inland, where they attempted to defend themselves. The hill was waterless and they were ultimately forced to surrender.
About half of the Carthaginian army and majority of the fleet was destroyed, numerous prisoners and rich booty had fallen into Greek hands. It is commented that the surviving Carthaginian ships were sunk in a storm on their return journey to Africa.
Aftermath
Gelo and Theron did not attack Rhegion or the Carthaginian territory in Sicily after the battle. Carthage initially manned the city walls and prepared for a Greek invasion of Africa, and did not renew the struggle either. Gelo offered mild terms to the Carthaginian embassy that arrived asking for a ceasefire. Carthage paid 2,000 silver talents as indemnity, erected two monuments in the memory of Himera, but lost no territory. Selinus and Rhegion also came to terms with Syracuse and Anaxilas married his daughter to Hieron I, brother of Gelo. The status quo before the battle was reestablished - Terrilus being the ultimate loser. Greek culture and trade flourished in Sicily. Gelo, Theron and Hieron built public buildings using the slaves and spoils gained from the battle, such as the
Temple of Victory
The Temple of Victory (Latin: templum Victoriae) is a temple on the Palatine Hill in Rome. It was dedicated to the Roman goddess of Victory.
It is traditionally ascribed to Evander of Pallene, Evander, but was actually built by Lucius Postumius ...
. An era of prosperity began, but infighting among the tyrants ensured that the peace was not unbroken. Carthage focused on expanding in Africa, leaving Sicily alone for 70 years. Apart from an obscure clash in 454 BC, the Greeks and Phoenicians left each other alone in Sicily.
Himera remained in the possession of Akragas until 472 BC. Theron expelled the Ionians after they attempted a coup and settled the city with Dorian Greeks. By 466 BC, the Sicilian Greek cities had broken away from the dominions of Gelo and Theron and had overthrown the tyrants' heirs, so in place of three Greek power blocks dominating Sicily (those of Syracuse, Akragas and Rhegion), eleven bickering Greek commonwealths came into being by 461 BC. They continued the Ionic/Doric feud in full force in addition to threatening the native Sicilians. Their actions ultimately led to the "
Second Sicilian War
The Sicilian Wars, or Greco-Punic Wars, were a series of conflicts fought between ancient Carthage and the List of ancient Greek cities, Greek city-states led by Syracuse, Sicily over control of Sicily and the western Mediterranean between 580 ...
" and the final
destruction of Himera in 409 BC.
2008 mass grave discovery
During the construction of a railway extension in 2008, near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Himera, archeologists uncovered more than 10,000 burials. A number of those graves held the remains of 5th century BC soldiers.
Researchers note that DNA sequencing determined that warriors who took part in second battle were mercenaries brought from as far as modern-day Ukraine and Latvia.
Notes
References
*
Diodorus Siculus. ''Diodorus Siculus: The Library of History''. Translated by C. H. Oldfather. Twelve volumes.
Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 2. Books 2.35–4.58. . Vol. 7. Books 15.20–16.65. . Vol. 10. Books 19.66–20. .
*
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
;
''Histories'',
A. D. Godley
Alfred Denis Godley (22 January 1856 – 27 June 1925) was an Anglo-Irish classical scholar and author of humorous poems. From 1910 to 1920 he was Public Orator at the University of Oxford, a post that involved composing citations in Latin for ...
(translator), Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1920;
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* https://www.historyhit.com/how-significant-was-the-battle-of-himera/
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Himera (480 Bc)
480 BC
480s BC conflicts
Himera 480 BC
Himera (480 BC)
Himera