The Assault By Land Repulsed
Nor was Appius Claudius more successful. He, too,
was compelled by similar difficulties to desist
from the attempt; for while his men were
still at a considerable distance from the
wall, they began falling by the stones and shots from the
engines and catapults. The volleys of missiles, indeed, were
extraordinarily rapid and sharp, for their construction had been
provided for by all the liberality of a Hiero, and had been
planned and engineered by the skill of an Archimedes. Moreover, when they did at length get near the walls, they were
prevented from making an assault by the unceasing fire
through the loop-holes, which I mentioned before; or if they
tried to carry the place under cover of pent-houses, they were
killed by the stones and beams let down upon their heads.
The garrison also did them no little damage with those hands
at the end of their engines; for they used to lift the men,
armour, and all, into the air, and then throw them down. At
last Appius retired into the camp, and summoning the Tribunes
to a council of war, decided to try every possible means of
taking
Syracuse except a storm.
The siege turned into a blockade, B.C. 214. Coss. Q. Fabius Maximus IV. M. Claudius Marcellus III. |
And this
decision they carried out; for during the eight
months of siege which followed, though there
was no stratagem or measure of daring which they
did not attempt, they never again ventured to
attempt a storm. So true it is that one man
and one intellect, properly qualified for the particular undertaking, is a host in itself and of extraordinary efficacy. In
this instance, at any rate, we find the Romans confident that
their forces by land and sea would enable them to become
masters of the town, if only one old man could be got rid of;
while as long as he remained there, they did not venture even
to think of making the attempt, at least by any method which
made it possible for Archimedes to oppose them. They
believed, however, that their best chance of reducing the
garrison was by a failure of provisions sufficient for so large a
number as were within the town; they therefore relied upon
this hope, and with their ships tried to cut off their supplies by
sea, and with their army by land. But desiring that the time
during which they were blockading
Syracuse should not be
entirely wasted, but that some addition should be made to their
power in other parts of the country, the two commanders
separated and divided the troops between them: Appius
Claudius keeping two-thirds and continuing the blockade, while
Marcus Marcellus with the remaining third went to attack the
cities that sided with the Carthaginians. . . .
