Greek Texts & Translations

a hill, and surrounded by spacious table-lands well adapted for tillage. The fugitive slaves, who placed themselves under the leading of Eunus, ^note and sustained in this city a long siege, scarcely being reduced by the Romans, occasioned much damage to the city. The Catanaei, Tauromenitae, and many others, suffered, much in like manner. † Eryx, ^note a very lofty mountain, is also inhabited. It possesses a temple of Venus, which is very much esteemed; in former times it was well filled with women sacred to the goddess, whom the inhabitants of Sicily, and also many others, offered in accomplishment of their vows; but now, both is the neighbourhood much thinner of inhabitants, and the temple not near so well supplied with priestesses and female attendants. ^note There is also an establishment of this goddess at Rome called the temple of Venus Erycina, just before the Colline Gate; in addition to the temple it has a portico well worthy of notice. † The other settlement and most of the interior have been left to the shepherds for pasturage; for we do not know that Himera is yet inhabited, ^note or Gela, ^note or Callipolis, or Selinus, or Euboea, or many other places; of these the Zanclaei of Mylae ^note founded Himera, ^note the people of Naxos, Callipolis, ^note the Megaraeans of Sicily, ^note Selinus, ^note and the Leontini ^note Euboea. ^note Many too of the cities