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[3] Now Iphicrates, obeying the decision of his country, sold as booty the works of art belonging to the gods. The tyrant, filled with rage at the Athenians, wrote them a letter of the following tenor:

"Dionysius to the Senate and Assembly of the Athenians: It is inappropriate to wish you to do well since you are committing sacrilege1 against the gods both on land and on sea, and, having made off with the statues which had been sent by us to be dedicated to the gods, you have turned them into coin and have committed impiety toward the greatest of the gods, Apollo, whose abode is Delphi, and Olympian Zeus."

1 An interesting complaint in view of Aelian Var. Hist. 1.20: Διονύσιος (the Elder?) ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν ἐν Συρακούσαις ἱερῶν ἐσύλησε τὰ χρήματα. For the probable occasion of this letter see Book 15.47.7.

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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