Himilco was a Carthaginian general who served as the garrison commander of Lilybaeum during the First Punic War. He served as the leader of the Carthaginian garrison in the city for much of the Roman Siege of Lilybaeum (250-241 BC), and was successful in his defence of the city against Roman attacks, on one occasion with the assistance of the mercenary leader

Alexon Alexon (Ancient Greek: ) was an ancient Greek mercenary from Achaea, who served in the Carthaginian garrison at Lilybaeum while it was besieged by the Romans in 250 BC, during the First Punic War. During this siege some of the Gallic merce ...

, who foiled a plot to betray the city. In the end, his efforts went in vain, with Carthaginian Sicily being surrendered to Rome by the

Treaty of Lutatius The Treaty of Lutatius was the agreement between Carthage and Rome of 241 BC (amended in 237 BC), that ended the First Punic War after 23 years of conflict. Most of the fighting during the war took place on, or in the waters around, the island ...

. Himilco's successful defence and his handling of his mercenaries has sometimes been depicted as an example of good

unit cohesion Unit cohesion is a military concept, defined by one former United States Chief of staff in the early 1980s as "the bonding together of soldiers in such a way as to sustain their will and commitment to each other, the unit, and mission accomplishmen ...

created by the commander.The Siege of Lilybaeum - The strength of a Punic army
''Ancient World Magazine''

References

External links

Polybius, ''World History'

Carthaginians Carthaginian commanders of the First Punic War 3rd-century BC Punic people {{mil-bio-stub