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1

When Antidotus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Lucius Postumius and Marcus Horatius. During this year Ducetius, who held the leadership of the Siceli, seized the city of Aetna, having treacherously slain its leader, and then he moved with an army into the territory of the Acragantini and laid siege to Motyum, which was held by a garrison of Acragantini; and when the Acragantini and the Syracusans came to the aid of the city, he joined battle with them, was successful, and drove them both out of their camps. [2] But since at the time winter was setting in, they separated and returned to their homes; and the Syracusans found their general Bolcon, who was responsible for the defeat and was thought to have had secret dealings with Ducetius, guilty of treason and put him to death. With the beginning of summer they appointed a new general, to whom they assigned a strong army with orders to subdue Ducetius. [3] This general, setting out with his army, came upon Ducetius while he was encamped near Nomae; a fierce struggle ensued and many fell on both sides, but with difficulty the Syracusans overpowered and routed the Siceli, slaying many of them as they fled. Of those who survived the battle the larger number found safety in the strongholds of the Siceli, but a few chose to share the hopes of Ducetius. [4] While these things were taking place, the Acragantini forced the capitulation of the stronghold of Motyum, which was held by the Siceli who stayed with Ducetius, and then, uniting their troops with the Syracusans who had already won the victory, they now camped together. As for Ducetius, now that he had been completely crushed by his defeat and that some of his soldiers were deserting and others plotting against him, he had come to the depths of despair.

1 451 B.C.

Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.

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  • Cross-references to this page (4):
    • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), AGRIGENTUM
    • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), MO´TYUM
    • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), NOMAE
    • Smith's Bio, Duce'tius
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