οἱ μὲν δὴ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἄγγελοι τοιαῦτα τῷ Γέλωνι χρηματισάμενοι ἀπέπλεον· Γέλων δὲ πρὸς ταῦτα δείσας μὲν περὶ τοῖσι Ἕλλησι μὴ οὐ δύνωνται τὸν βάρβαρον ὑπερβαλέσθαι, δεινὸν δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἀνασχετὸν ποιησάμενος ἐλθὼν ἐς Πελοπόννησον ἄρχεσθαι ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων ἐὼν Σικελίης τύραννος, ταύτην μὲν τὴν ὁδὸν ἠμέλησε, ὁ δὲ ἄλλης εἴχετο.
ἐπείτε γὰρ τάχιστα ἐπύθετο τὸν Πέρσην διαβεβηκότα τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον, πέμπει πεντηκοντέροισι τρισὶ Κάδμον τὸν Σκύθεω ἄνδρα Κῷον ἐς Δελφούς, ἔχοντα χρήματα πολλὰ καὶ φιλίους λόγους, καραδοκήσοντα τὴν μάχην τῇ πεσέεται, καὶ ἢν μὲν ὁ βάρβαρος νικᾷ, τά τε χρήματα αὐτῷ διδόναι καὶ γῆν τε καὶ ὕδωρ τῶν ἄρχει ὁ Γέλων, ἢν δὲ οἱ Ἕλληνες, ὀπίσω ἀπάγειν.
The envoys of the Hellenes, having thus had conference with Gelon, sailed away; and Gelon upon this, fearing on the one hand about the Hellenes, lest they should not be able to overcome the Barbarian, and on the other hand considering it monstrous and not to be endured that he should come to Peloponnesus and be under the command of the Lacedemonians, seeing that he was despot of Sicily, gave up the thought of this way and followed another: for so soon as he was informed that the Persian had crossed over the Hellespont, he sent Cadmos the son of Skythes, a man of Cos, with three fifty-oared galleys to Delphi, bearing large sums of money and friendly proposals, to wait there and see how the battle would fall out: and if the Barbarian should be victorious, he was to give him the money and also to offer him earth and water from those over whom Gelon had rule; but if the Hellenes should be victorious, he was bidden to bring it back.
ὁ δὲ Κάδυος οὗτος πρότερον τούτων παραδεξάμενος παρὰ πατρὸς τυραννίδα Κῴων εὖ βεβηκυῖαν, ἑκών τε εἶναι καὶ δεινοῦ ἐπιόντος οὐδενὸς ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ δικαιοσύνης ἐς μέσον Κῴοισι καταθεὶς τὴν ἀρχὴν οἴχετο ἐς Σικελίην, ἔνθα παρὰ Σαμίων ἔσχε τε καὶ κατοίκησε πόλιν Ζάγκλην τὴν ἐς Μεσσήνην μεταβαλοῦσαν τὸ οὔνομα.
τοῦτον δὴ ὁ Γέλων τὸν Κάδμον καὶ τοιούτῳ τρόπῳ ἀπικόμενον διὰ δικαιοσύνην, τήν οἱ αὐτὸς ἄλλην συνῄδεε ἐοῦσαν, ἔπεμπε· ὃς ἐπὶ τοῖσι ἄλλοισι δικαίοισι τοῖσι ἐξ ἑωυτοῦ ἐργασμένοισι καὶ τόδε οὐκ ἐλάχιστον τούτων ἐλίπετο. κρατήσας γὰρ μεγάλων χρημάτων τῶν οἱ Γέλων ἐπετράπετο, παρεὸν κατασχέσθαι οὐκ ἠθέλησε, ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ οἱ Ἕλληνες ἐπεκράτησαν τῇ ναυμαχίῃ καὶ Ξέρξης οἰχώκεε ἀπελαύνων, καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐκεῖνος ἀπίκετο ἐς τὴν Σικελίην ἀπὸ πάντα τὰ χρήματα ἄγων.
Now this Cadmos before these events, having received from his father in a prosperous state the government of the people of Cos, had voluntarily and with no danger threatening, but moved merely by uprightness of nature, placed the government in the hands of the people of Cos and had departed to Sicily, where he took from the Samians and newly colonised the city of Zancle, which had changed its name to Messene. This same Cadmos, having come thither in such manner as I have said, Gelon was now sending, having selected him on account of the integrity which in other matters he had himself found to be in him; and this man, in addition to the other upright acts which had been done by him, left also this to be remembered, which was not the least of them: for having got into his hands that great sum of money which Gelon entrusted to his charge, though he might have taken possession of it himself he did not choose to do so; but when the Hellenes had got the better in the sea-fight and Xerxes had marched away and departed, he also returned to Sicily bringing back with him the whole sum of money.
λέγεται δὲ καὶ τάδε ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν τῇ Σικελίῃ οἰκημένων, ὡς ὅμως καὶ μέλλων ἄρχεσθαι ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων ὁ Γέλων ἐβοήθησε ἂν τοῖσι Ἕλλησι, εἰ μὴ ὑπὸ Θήρωνος τοῦ Αἰνησιδήμου Ἀκραγαντίνων μουνάρχου ἐξελασθεὶς ἐξ Ἱμέρης Τήριλλος ὁ Κρινίππου τύραννος ἐὼν Ἱμέρης ἐπῆγε ὑπʼ αὐτὸν τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον Φοινίκων καὶ Λιβύων καὶ Ἰβήρων καὶ Λιγύων καὶ Ἐλισύκων καὶ Σαρδονίων καὶ Κυρνίων τριήκοντα μυριάδας καὶ στρατηγὸν αὐτῶν Ἀμίλκαν τὸν Ἄννωνος, Καρχηδονίων ἐόντα βασιλέα, κατὰ ξεινίην τε τὴν ἑωυτοῦ ὁ Τήριλλος ἀναγνώσας καὶ μάλιστα διὰ τὴν Ἀναξίλεω τοῦ Κρητίνεω προθυμίην, ὃς Ῥηγίου ἐὼν τύραννος τὰ ἑωυτοῦ τέκνα δοὺς ὁμήρους Ἀμίλκᾳ ἐπῆγε ἐπὶ τὴν Σικελίην τιμωρέων τῷ πενθερῷ· Τηρίλλου γὰρ εἶχε θυγατέρα Ἀναξίλεως, τῇ οὔνομα ἦν Κυδίππη. οὕτω δὴ οὐκ οἷόν τε γενόμενον βοηθέειν τὸν Γέλωνα τοῖσι Ἕλλησι ἀποπέμπειν ἐς Δελφοὺς τὰ χρήματα.
The story which here follows is also reported by those who dwell in Sicily, namely that, even though he was to be under the command of the Lacedemonians, Gelon would have come to the assistance of the Hellenes, but that Terillos, the son of Crinippos and despot of Himera, having been driven out of Himera by Theron the son of Ainesidemos the ruler of the Agrigentines, was just at this very time bringing in an army of Phenicians, Libyans, Iberians, Ligurians, Elisycans, Sardinians and Corsicans, to the number of thirty myriads, with Amilcas the son of Annon king of the Carthaginians as their commander, whom Terillos had persuaded partly by reason of his own guest-friendship, and especially by the zealous assistance of Anaxilaos the son of Cretines, who was despot of Rhegion, and who to help his father-in-law endeavoured to bring in Amilcas to Sicily, and had given him his sons as hostages; for Anaxilaos was married to the daughter of Terillos, whose name was Kydippe. Thus it was, they say, that Gelon was not able to come to the assistance of the Hellenes, and sent therefore the money to Delphi.
πρὸς δὲ καὶ τάδε λέγουσι, ὡς συνέβη τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρης ἔν τε τῇ Σικελίῃ Γέλωνα καὶ Θήρωνα νικᾶν Ἀμίλκαν τὸν Καρχηδόνιον καὶ ἐν Σαλαμῖνι τοὺς Ἕλληνας τὸν Πέρσην. τὸν δὲ Ἀμίλκαν Καρχηδόνιον ἐόντα πρὸς πατρός, μητρόθεν δὲ Συρηκόσιον, βασιλεύσαντά τε κατʼ ἀνδραγαθίην Καρχηδονίων, ὡς ἡ συμβολή τε ἐγίνετο καὶ ὡς ἑσσοῦτο τῇ μάχῃ, ἀφανισθῆναι πυνθάνομαι· οὔτε γὰρ ζῶντα οὔτε ἀποθανόντα φανῆναι οὐδαμοῦ γῆς· τὸ πᾶν γὰρ ἐπεξελθεῖν διζήμενον Γέλωνα.
In addition to this they report also that, as it happened, Gelon and Theron were victorious over Amilcas the Carthaginian on the very same day when the Hellenes were victorious at Salamis over the Persian. And this Amilcas, who was a Carthaginian on the father’s side but on the mother’s Syracusan, and who had become king of the Carthaginians by merit, when the engagement took place and he was being worsted in the battle, disappeared, as I am informed; for neither alive nor dead did he appear again anywhere upon the earth, though Gelon used all diligence in the search for him.
ἔστι δὲ ὑπʼ αὐτῶν Καρχηδονίων ὅδε λόγος λεγόμενος, οἰκότι χρεωμένων, ὡς οἱ μὲν βάρβαροι τοῖσι Ἕλλησι ἐν τῇ Σικελίῃ ἐμάχοντο ἐξ ἠοῦς ἀρξάμενοι μέχρι δείλης ὀψίης (ἐπὶ τοσοῦτο γὰρ λέγεται ἑλκύσαι τὴν σύστασιν), ὁ δὲ Ἀμίλκας ἐν τούτῳ τῷ χρόνῳ μένων ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ ἐθύετο καὶ ἐκαλλιερέετο ἐπὶ πυρῆς μεγάλης σώματα ὅλα καταγίζων, ἰδὼν δὲ τροπὴν τῶν ἑωυτοῦ γινομένην, ὡς ἔτυχε ἐπισπένδων τοῖσι ἱροῖσι, ὦσε ἑωυτὸν ἐς τὸ πῦρ· οὕτω δὴ κατακαυθέντα ἀφανισθῆναι.
ἀφανισθέντι δὲ Ἀμίλκᾳ τρόπῳ εἴτε τοιούτῳ ὡς Φοίνικες λέγουσι, εἴτε ἑτέρῳ ὡς Καρχηδόνιοι καὶ Συρηκόσιοι,τοῦτο μέν οἱ θύουσι, τοῦτο δὲ μνήματα ἐποίησαν ἐν πάσῃσι τῇσι πόλισι τῶν ἀποικίδων, ἐν αὐτῇ τε μέγιστον Καρχηδόνι.
Moreover there is also this story reported by the Carthaginians themselves, who therein relate that which is probable in itself, namely that while the Barbarians fought with the Hellenes in Sicily from the early morning till late in the afternoon (for to such a length the combat is said to have been protracted), during this time Amilcas was remaining in the camp and was making sacrifices to get good omens of success, offering whole bodies of victims upon a great pyre: and when he saw that there was a rout of his own army, he being then, as it chanced, in the act of pouring a libation over the victims, threw himself into the fire, and thus he was burnt up and disappeared. Amilcas then having disappeared, whether it was in such a manner as this, as it is reported by the Phenicians, or in some other way, the Carthaginians both offer sacrifices to him now, and also they made memorials of him then in all the cities of their colonies, and the greatest in Carthage itself.
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