Philaeni
（
Φίλαινοι). Two Carthaginian brothers, of whom the
following story is told. A contest had arisen between the Carthaginians and Cyreneans
respecting the point where their respective territories met, and this was the more difficult
to be determined, since the country on the borders of the two States was a sandy desert, and
without anything that might serve as a common landmark. It was agreed at last that two
individuals should set out at the same time from Carthage and Cyrené respectively,
and that the spot where they might meet should be regarded as the common boundary of the two
communities. The parties accordingly set out, the two Philaeni having been selected by the
Carthaginians for this purpose; but the two Cyreneans travelled more slowly than their
Carthaginian antagonists, and only met the Philaeni after the latter had advanced a
considerable distance into the disputed territory. The Cyreneans thereupon accused the
Philaeni of unfairness, and of having started before the appointed time. The Philaeni, on
their part, offered to do anything to show that they had acted fairly, and the two Cyreneans
then gave them their choice, either to be buried alive on the spot where they were standing,
or else to allow them (the Cyreneans) to advance as far as they pleased into the disputed
territory, and there be buried alive on their part. The Philaeni accepted the former part of
the offer, and were accordingly entombed. The Carthaginians erected two altars on the spot,
which were thenceforth regarded as the limits of their territory in this
direction (Sall.
Iug. 19, 79; cf. Strabo, pp. 171, 836). These altars stood in
the innermost bend of the Syrtis Maior, and not, as Sallust erroneously states, to the west of
both the Syrtes. The story of the Philaeni, moreover, as given by the Roman historian, seems
to wear a doubtful appearance, from the circumstance of Cyrené's being so much
nearer the point in question than Carthage.
