vrijdag 26 juni 2015

Drepana & Eryx 10.

Drepana & Eryx part 10.
=================
The aftermath.
-----------------
When the negotiations with Rome had been completed, Hamilcar Barca transferred his troops from Eryx to Lilybaeum and handed them over to the garrison commander Gisgo and put down his command.
Polybios III, 9:
"He (Hamilcar) was in the war for Sicily remained unbeaten, because he believed he maintained to have in his troops in Eryx the same militancy maintained as he himself had to have."
The temple of Venus, her Latin equivalent, kept a special position there in Roman times. There maybe truth in the tradition which said that the town of Sicca on the border of Numidia was founded by people from Eryx.
Slowly the importance of Drepana and Eryx are diminishing in Roman times. Only Plinius (32.21) makes at last a significant remark: “The most prized coral found in the Gallic gulf at the Stoechaden, in the Sicilian sea with the Aeolian Islands and Drepana.”

Memories.
------------
The events of the first Roman war around Drepana and Eryx remain long hanging in the minds of the people by the end of the 3rd century BC. Livy writes there a few down. The question is whether they would have said it really that way. Anyway Livy thinks they did:
- Speech Hanno in 219 v.C in Carthage. He warns of the coming war.
XXI, 10: "... Do you still think back to the Aegatic islands and Mount Eryx, and all you have endured for 24 years on land and sea - and not directed by this guy, but by his father Hamilcar , a second Mars, as they claim it. "
- Speech consul Publius Scipio in 218 BC, just before the first confrontation with Hannibal at Ticino.
XXI, 68-69: "... I would like to take the acid test, or the earth in the last twenty years has produced suddenly other Carthaginians, or that this is the same who fought in the Aegatic islands and which you allowed to leave of Mount Eryx after paying a fee of 18 denarii each man .....
----- We had the chance to kill them when they were trapped at Mount Eryx, with the heaviest punishment for humans: hunger. We had a chance with our victorious fleet to Africa to stabbing over and within a few days to destroy Carthage without a fight - but we have them beg forgiveness bestowed on them, we let them leave out of the siege .... "
- Quintus Fabius Maximus talks in Rome in 205 BC to Publius Cornelius Scipio, where he draws a comparison between Hamilcar and Hannibal.
XXVIII, 41: ".... You're not implying that Hamilcar as a captain should be valued more than Hannibal ......
..... Would you prefer to get the name of the man who pulled Hamilcar from Drepana and Eryx or the man that have driven out the Punics and Hannibal of Italy? "

What is still visible?
------------------------
- Phoenician wall from the 6th century BC with Phoenician letters inscribed.
- Terracotta figures from the Hellenistic period.
- Demon head of a male with curly hair and smooth beard.
- several inscriptions, under which stones from Trapani with the names of Himilk, Baalhanno, MTR, Baalazor (4x), Maharbaal, Yatonbaal and Abešmoen and consecrations to Tanit and Baal Hammon (see: Tre stele Cartaginese con iscrizioni del museo nazionale pepoli di Trapani, M.J.Fuentes-Estanol, RSF V 1977).
- Excavations with a circular ditch, wall, wells, columns.
- Excavations of the cemetery outside the walls near the Porte Trapani from the 3rd century BC
- Punic and Cypriot figurines.
- Indigenous bronze statuettes.
- Egyptian statues of Isis and Horus.
- Amphorae with Punic letters and symbols.
- Coins (tetradrachms).

This was my story of: Drepana and ….

’ r k (punic name), Erux (greek name), Eryx (latin name), Erice (now).

donderdag 25 juni 2015

Drepana & Eryx 9.

Drepana & Eryx Part 9.
=================
The last convulsions.
-------------------------------
Most of the commanders were not to blame  (and not the most mercenaries) that Carthage was going to lose this war. The inferior policy by Carthage and perseverance of Rome has resulted so. In any case, there appears after 249 BC in Sicily again such an energetic Carthaginian commander: Hamilcar Barcas. He performs first a successful guerrilla war from Heircte at Panormus and then suddenly relocated to Eryx.
Werner Huss (Die Karthager, p.177):
"After this time Hamilcar gave up Heirkte and conquered the city Eryx back - the Roman fort on the top and at the foot of the mountain, however, he could not take. With the relocation of the operational base of Heirkte to Eryx he probably had the purpose to provide Drepana an effective protection. "
(translated from german).
Polybius I, 58:
".... Although the Romans Mount Eryx itself at the top and at the basekept  occupied, as I said, Hamilcar succeeded in conquering the town Eryx that is situated between the top and the garrison at the foot. The result was that the Roman occupiers of the summit with extraordinary bravery had to endure the dangers of a siege, while the Carthaginians with incredible force managed to survive, although the enemies attacked them from all sides and the necessary supplies not could easily be brought to them, because they were in one place and yhere was only one access road along to get in  contact with the shore .... "
There are two remarkable things. Hamilcar knows how to accomplish in this impossible position that Drepana by the Romans can hardly be attacked itself and moreover, that the Carthaginian fleet is still able to provide him.
Hamilcar tried from this hiding place then three years to make the enemy senseless. He  would have succeeded in this if the politicians home had sent a stronger force to Sicily and if the Romans had not yet made a last attempt at sea.
B.H.Warmington, Carthage (p.196):
It was Hamilcar’s success in defending Lilybaeum and Drepana that led Rome once more to build a fleet, in order to try to reduce them by blockade.”
In the winter of 243-2 two hundred ships were built on the model of a Carthaginian quinquereme captured in 250 BC, and were thus more seaworthy than the vessels of the earlier fleets. The effort took Carthage by surprise, and when this fleet arrived off Drepana in the summer of 242 BC, there was not a single Carthaginian ship there. It took eight months for their fleet to be reactivated, and when it put to sea it was undermanned, the crews were out of practice and it was burdened with supplies for the garrisons, who by now were running short.”
Werner Huss, Die Karthager (p.178):
"With this fleet (200 Penteren) drove C.Lutatius Catulus, one of the consuls of the year 242, at the beginning of summer of this year to Sicily He knew how to make use of the surprise, that the emergence of the Roman fleet triggered, and seized both the port of Drepana and the roadsteed of Lilybaeum. How little one had counted on Carthaginian side with the emergence of the Roman fleet, shows the fact that the Carthaginian fleet had returned to Carthage. After his arrival Catulus began indeed met the siege Drepana, but gave up this plan in favour of the expected confrontation with the Carthaginian fleet ".
.......
"He (Hanno) had the plan from there (Holy Island), unnoticed by the enemy, to sail to  (Tonnara di Bonagia) to the berth of Eryx, to unload the supply of goods, and to take on board Hamilcar and the most capable soldiers and then offer Catulus the battle. "
(translated from german).
Opinions are somewhat divided and also how the actual course of the battle fleets has expired. Warmington and Huss have a slightly different assessment thereof and the classical authors don’t give an exact course of events. Therefore, I give both versions for consideration.
B.H.Warmington, Carthage (p.197):
It (Carthaginian fleet) got safely to the Aegates Islands, and from there its commander Hanno (not ‘the Great’) determined on a dash to Drepana with a westerly wind, in the hope that the Roman consul, Lutatius Catulus, would never oppose him in the teeth of a strong headwind. But Catulus had spent the winter in continued training of his oarsmen, and drew up his ships, in spite of the heavy sea. Outnumbered, undermanned, and deficient in training, the Carthaginians lost seventy ships taken en fifty sunk, and the remainder (about fifty) escaped owing to a sudden change of wind.”
Polybius (I,59):

"This was their third (sea) offensive and when they thus gained the victory and shut down the Carthaginian camp at Eryx of receiving supply overseas, they put an end to the war as a whole."

woensdag 24 juni 2015

Drepana & Eryx 8.




The battle of Drepana.
--------------------------
: In het jaar 249 v.C beleeft Drepana zijn hoogtepunt. Het zal beroemd worden door een grote zeeslag, die voor de haven van de stad zal worden uitgevochten. In de aanloop daarnaar gelukt het ene Hannibal om aanzienlijke versterkingen naar Lilybaeum te brengen.
Polybius I 46: “Hierna voer Hannibal, terwijl het nog nacht was, met zijn schepen, zonder dat zijn vijanden het merkten, naar Drepana, naar de Carthaagse bevelhebber Adherbal. Omdat Drepana zo’n mooie en gunstig gelegen stad is, spanden de Carthagers zich er namelijk altijd sterk voor in deze haven in handen te houden. Drepana ligt ongeveer 120 stadiën van Lilybaeum.”
De echte naam van Adherbal is in feite Adirbaal (machtige Baal) en deze bevelhebber zal een cruciale rol gaan spelen in de komende zeeslag, ondanks het feit dat hij slechts de stadscommandant was.
B.H.Warmington in zijn boek Carthage (blz 193/194) ziet het als volgt verder gebeuren:
“.... Carthage had prepared a considerable naval reinforcement. This was destined for Drepana, a naval station some twenty miles north of Lilybaeum, which the Carthaginians were now using as their main base. They prepared a fleet there, under a general named Adherbal, but it presumably was outnumbered by the Roman force blocking Lilybaeum. One of the consuls, P.Claudius Pulcher, the son of Claudius, who had been consul when the war began, determined to attack Drepana before reinforcements arrived, his plan being to sail directly into the harbour there and destroy the Carthaginian fleet at anchor or beached. Adherbal, however, was able to get his ships under way, and sailed out of the harbour by the other of its two entrances. This gave him a dominating position, as he was able to draw his fleet up facing the shore while the Romans were putting about in a confined space.”
Adherbal, de stadscommandant van Drepana, ontwikkelt zich tot een admiraal van formaat. Hij is vroeg die dag wakker (gemaakt) en ziet de stipjes aan de horizon aankomen. Hij komt onmiddellijk in actie en roept zijn mannen naar de schepen. Volgens de overlevering heeft hij nog zelfs even tijd om een korte toespraak te houden, waarbij hij zegt, dat er een grote kans op succes is, wanneer iedereen zijn bevelen goed opvolgt en hij leidt zijn vloot de haven uit naar de open zee. Daarmee omsingelt hij de Romeinse vloot, die dicht langs de kust naderbij komt.
Polybius describes the battle as follows:
The Carthaginian ships were faster than those of the Romans owing to their superior construction and the skill of their rowers, and their position was favourable, as they had developed their line in the open sea. If any found themselves hard pressed, they could use their speed to retreat to open water and then turn on their pursuers and take them in the rear or in the flank; in such a situation, the Roman ships had to turn about also, and getting into difficulty because of their weight and the poor oarsmanship of their crews, were repeatedly rammed, and many were sunk. Again, the Carthaginian ships could easily sail to the assistance of each other in open water astern of their own line. By contract, no Roman ship could retire backwards, as they were too close to the land, and those who were hard pressed either ran aground by the stern or made for the shore. To sail through the Carthaginian line and take in the rear enemy ships already engaged (one of the most effective manoeuvres in naval warfare) was impossible, owing to the weight of the ships and the inexperience of the crews. They could not give each other help from the rear, because they were so hemmed in to the shore….
Such was the difficult position of the Romans in the battle; some of the ships grounded in shallow water, and other ran ashore. The consul, seeing what was happening, slipped out to the left along the coast and escaped with about thirty ships”.
B.H.Warmington (Carthage,p.194/5):
“……ninety-three Roman ships were captured. The only consolation for the Romans was that a fair number of men escaped ashore and got back to (the camps near) Lilybaeum. The arrival of the expected reinforcements under Carthalo – seventy ships – completed the domination of Carthage in the western Sicilian waters. A number of Roman transports were taken off Panormus and a few warships seized or destroyed near Lilybaeum. Carthalo sailed along the south-coast of the island, to intercept supplies that were being sent by the Romans for the relief of their forces outside Lilybaeum.”

Op dit moment beschikte Carthago over drie kundige admirals, die met hun eskaders prima opereerden. Hannibal had zijn provianderingeskader behendig naar Lilybaeum en Drepana gekregen. Adherbal wint overtuigende de zeeslag en Carthalo manoevreert zo handig aan de zuidkust van Sicilië, dat twee transportvloten van de Romeinen met behulp van natuur compleet verloren gaan. Carthago had nu ook de beschikking over een paar honderd schepen in de Siciliaanse wateren. En toch op dit hoogtepunt beslissen ze om te gaan onderhandelen met Rome om vrede te bewerkstelligen. Met de Grieken zou dat gelukt zijn, maar Romeinen onderhandelen nooit in een voor hen slechte positie. Dat doen ze alleen in gewonnen positie.
De Carthagers benutten hun zo gunstige situatie niet. We horen nog wat over kaapvaart langs de Italische kusten, maar dat zet geen zoden aan de dijk. Adherbal verdwijnt in de vergetelheid, nadat hij nog wel een groep Romeinen had uitgeschakeld op het schiereiland Aigithallos. De vloot wordt niet meer onderhouden. Men wacht slechts af tot de Romeinen moe worden van deze oorlog. Deze Carthaagse resignatie mag wel de grootste misrekening van de Carthagers in deze oorlog genoemd worden. 
Het antwoord van de Romeinen op al hun tegenslagen laat niet lang op zich wachten.
Werner Huss (Die Karthager, p.177):
“(Lucius Iunius) Pullus (die andere Consul) suchte der Gefahr der Resignation dadurch zu begegnen, dass er in der Karthagischen Epikrateia offensive Aktionen startete. Es gelang ihm auch – im oktober des Jahres 249 v.C) – der Stadt Eryx zu bemächtigen.”
Polybius (I,55):
Toen hem (Iunius) dan ook door een onbetekenende aanleiding in de schoot werd geworpen, wist hij door verraad Eryx te bezetten en kreeg de macht over de tempel van Afrodite en de stad.”

Drepana & Eryx part 8.
================
The battle of Drepana.
--------------------------
In the year 249 BC Carthaginian Drepana comes to its climax. It will become famous due to the big naval battle that will be fought in front of  the port of the city. In the run-up one of the Hannibals succeeded to bring substantial reinforcements to Lilybaeum.
Polybius I 46: "After this Hannibal, while it was still night, escaped with his ships without his enemies noticed it, to Drepana, to the Carthaginian commander Adherbal. Because Drepana is such a beautiful and convenient city, hitched the Carthaginians themselves always strong to keep this port in their possession. Drepana is about 120 furlongs from Lilybaeum. "
The real name of Adherbal is actually Adirbaal (mighty Baal) and this commander will play a crucial role in the coming battle, despite the fact that he was only the city- commandander.
B.H.Warmington in his book Carthage (page 193/194) sees it happen like this:
“.... Carthage had prepared a considerable naval reinforcement. This was destined for Drepana, a naval station some twenty miles north of Lilybaeum, which the Carthaginians were now using as their main base. They prepared a fleet there, under a general named Adherbal, but it presumably was outnumbered by the Roman force blocking Lilybaeum. One of the consuls, P.Claudius Pulcher, the son of Claudius, who had been consul when the war began, determined to attack Drepana before reinforcements arrived, his plan being to sail directly into the harbour there and destroy the Carthaginian fleet at anchor or beached. Adherbal, however, was able to get his ships under way, and sailed out of the harbour by the other of its two entrances. This gave him a dominating position, as he was able to draw his fleet up facing the shore while the Romans were putting about in a confined space.”
Adherbal, the city commandant of Drepana, is developing himself into a formidable admiral. He woke up early that day (or was waked) and saw the dots on the horizon arrive. He comes immediately into action and in a hurry calls his men as fast as possible to the ships. According to tradition he even has some time to make a short speech, in which he says that there is a high chance of success, when everyone will follow his orders and he leads his fleet out of the harbour to the open sea. This way he surrounds the Roman fleet, which close to the coast is approaching.
Polybius describes the battle as follows:
The Carthaginian ships were faster than those of the Romans owing to their superior construction and the skill of their rowers, and their position was favourable, as they had developed their line in the open sea. If any found themselves hard pressed, they could use their speed to retreat to open water and then turn on their pursuers and take them in the rear or in the flank; in such a situation, the Roman ships had to turn about also, and getting into difficulty because of their weight and the poor oarsmanship of their crews, were repeatedly rammed, and many were sunk. Again, the Carthaginian ships could easily sail to the assistance of each other in open water astern of their own line. By contract, no Roman ship could retire backwards, as they were too close to the land, and those who were hard pressed either ran aground by the stern or made for the shore. To sail through the Carthaginian line and take in the rear enemy ships already engaged (one of the most effective manoeuvres in naval warfare) was impossible, owing to the weight of the ships and the inexperience of the crews. They could not give each other help from the rear, because they were so hemmed in to the shore….
Such was the difficult position of the Romans in the battle; some of the ships grounded in shallow water, and other ran ashore. The consul, seeing what was happening, slipped out to the left along the coast and escaped with about thirty ships”.
B.H.Warmington (Carthage,p.194/5):
“……ninety-three Roman ships were captured. The only consolation for the Romans was that a fair number of men escaped ashore and got back to (the camps near) Lilybaeum. The arrival of the expected reinforcements under Carthalo – seventy ships – completed the domination of Carthage in the western Sicilian waters. A number of Roman transports were taken off Panormus and a few warships seized or destroyed near Lilybaeum. Carthalo (Melqarthilles) sailed along the south-coast of the island, to intercept supplies that were being sent by the Romans for the relief of their forces outside Lilybaeum.”
At this time Carthage had three skilful  admirals, who operated just fine with their squads. Hannibal had brought his provisions squadron agile to Lilybaeum and Drepana. Adherbal, very convincing, wins the sea-battle and Carthalo manoeuvres so convenient on the south coast of Sicily, that two transport fleets of the Romans, with the help of mother nature are completely lost. Carthage at this time had access to a few hundred ships in the Sicilian waters. And yet, at this high point of power they decide to negotiate with Rome to establish peace. The Greeks would have responded, but the Romans never negotiate in a bad position for them. They do so only when they are in a winning position.
The Carthaginians does not exploit their favourable situation at all. We still hear about privateering along the Italic coasts, but that has not many results. Adherbal disappear into oblivion after he destroys a group of Romans on the peninsula Aigithallos. The fleet is however no longer maintained. They just wait until the Romans are tired of this war. This Carthaginian resignation may be called the greatest miscalculation of the Carthaginians in this war.
The response of the Romans on their set-backs is coming very soon.
Werner Huss (Die Karthager, p.177):
"(Lucius Junius) Pullus (the other Consul) examined the danger of resignation to face the fact that he launched offensive actions in the Carthaginian Epikrateia. He succeeded - in October of the year 249 BC – to seize the city of Eryx". (translated from german).
Polybius (I, 55):
"When he (Iunius) then was given by an insignificant occasion the opportunity, he managed to occupy Eryx by treachery and took control of the Temple of Aphrodite and the city."
The splendid naval successes are ending in minor.

dinsdag 23 juni 2015

Drepana & Eryx 7



De oorlog met de Romeinen.
----------------------------------
Virgilius laat de vader van Aeneas sterven te Drepana en begraaft hem op de berg Eryx.
Virgilius, Aeneid III, 79: “...This was the place where, weary as I was with all the batterings of sea and storm, to my great grief I lost my father Anchises….”.
Dat voorspelt niet veel goeds voor de Romeinen en ze zullen er ook een van een grotere nederlagen van beleven.
In het prille begin van deze oorlog (265-241 v.C) heeft de Epikratie nog niet veel te maken met de Romeinen. De strijd speelt zich voornamelijk af in het oosten en zuiden van Sicilië. Agrigento, Messana en Syracuse zijn de brandpunten. Het is nog de tijd, dat Aphrodite met haar duiven ieder jaar naar Sicca Veneria vloog, althans in de beleving van de pelgrims aldaar.
De betrekkelijk rust verandert snel in 262 v.C. De Carthagers hadden namelijk Kelten ingehuurd om Akragas te bewaken, maar die gingen over tot plundering van de stad. Daarna werden ze maar verplaatst naar Eryx, dat bedreigd werd door de Romeinen. Dezelfde groep Kelten heeft het voornemen om Eryx uit te leveren aan de Romeinen, maar dat wordt bijtijds verijdeld. Ze lopen toch over naar de Romeinen en plunderen en-passant de tempel van Eryx.
E.A.Freeman in zijn boek Sicily (blz 281):
The Carthaginians strengthened Drepana, the haven of Eryx, and made it one of their chief stations during the remainder of the war.”
W.Huss in zijn boek Die Karthager over Hamilcar in 260/259 v.C (blz 165):
Vor allem aber baute er Drepana zu einer starken Festung aus, verpflanzte die Bewohner von Eryx in die neue Festungstadt und stapelte Vorräte aller Art. Drepana sollte – wie Herakleia und andere Orte – einer der Punkte sein, an deren Unbezwingbarkeit der Wiederstand der Römer zerbrechen sollte.” De bevolking van Eryx wordt naar Drepana verplaatst, waarschijnlijk om die plaats meer weerbaar te maken. Wat voor volk kwam er binnen in Drepana. Waarschijnlijk kwam een mengelmoes van Feniciërs, Grieken en Elymiërs de overwegend Carthaagse bevolking van Drepana versterken.

Een paar jaar schijnt het te gaan lukken om de Romeinen af te schrikken. Zo varen Cn.Cornelius Scipio Asina en A.Atilius Caiatinus met 300 schepen langs de noordkust van Sicilië in 254 v.C. Ze overrompelen Panormos, maar “Drepana einzunehmen gelang ihnen allerdings nicht, da Carthalo der bedrängten Stadt zu hilfe eilte.” (Werner Huss in Die Karthager,blz 171).
Wanneer in 251 v.C het z.g. olifantenleger van Hasdrubal voor de muren van Panormos verslagen wordt, verslechtert de situatie voor de Carthagers dramatisch. Ze houden alleen nog de steunpunten Eryx, Drepana en Lilybaeum over. De Romeinen concentreren zich nu op Lilybaeum en beginnen die stad te belegeren.
Opeens ligt het zwaartepunt nu te Drepana en niet meer te Eryx in de relate tussen beide nederzettingen. Eryx is alleen nog maar een voorpost geworden in de frontlinie, waar voornamelijk huurlingen dienst doen, terwijl ook de tempel nog steeds in bedrijf is.
Pomponius Mela (II 119):
“Von den Berge wird der Eryx am meisten genannt wegen eines von Aeneas gegründeten Aphrodite-Heiligtums....”.

Drepana & Eryx part 7.
=================
The war with the Romans.
----------------------------------
Virgil let the father of Aeneas die in Drepana and buries him on Mount Eryx.
Virgil, Aeneid III, 79: "... This was the place where, weary as I was with all the batterings of sea and storm, to my great grief I lost my father Anchises ....".
That does not bode well for the Romans and they will also have a greater experience of defeat at this place.
In the early days of the war (265-241 BC) the Epikratie has not much to do with the Romans. The battles mainly takes place in the east and south of Sicily. Agrigento, Messana and Syracuse are the foci. It is still the time that Aphrodite with her doves flew to Sicca Veneria every year, at least in the minds of the pilgrims there.
This relatively calm period quickly changes in 262 BC. The Carthaginians had in fact Celts hired to guard the Temple Valley in Agrigento, but those proceeded in pillaging the city. Then they were just moved to Eryx, which was threatened by the Romans. The same group of Celts intends to extradite Eryx to the Romans, but being foiled in time. They still walked over to the Romans and plundered in the meantime the temple of Eryx.
E.A.Freeman, Sicily in his book (page 281):
"The Carthaginians strengthened Drepana, the port of Eryx, and made it one of their chief stations during the remainder of the war."
W.Huss in his book Die Karthager about Hamilcar in 260/259 BC (page 165):
"Above all, he transformed Drepana to a strong fortress, transplanted the inhabitants of Eryx in the new fortress city and piled stocks of all kinds. Drepana should - as Herakleia and other places - be one of the points where would break the invincibility of the resistance of the Romans. "
(translated from german)
The people of Eryx moves to Drepana, probably to make the place more resilient. What kind of people came into Drepana. Probably a mixture of Phoenicians, Greeks and Elymians joined the predominantly Carthaginian population of Drepana.
A few years it seems to succeed to deter the Romans. So sailed Cn.Cornelius Scipio Asina and A.Atilius Caiatinus with 300 ships along the north coast of Sicily in 254 BC. They overwhelmed Panormos, but they did not succeed in taking Drepana because Carthalo rushed the beleaguered city to help." (translated from german)." (Werner Huss Die Karthager, p 171).
When in 251 BC, the so-called elephant army of Hasdrubal is defeated under the walls of Panormos, the situation for the Carthaginians deteriorates dramatically. They only keep the strongholds Eryx, Drepana and Lilybaeum. The Romans now concentrate on Lilybaeum and begin to lay siege to that city.
Suddenly the focus is now on Drepana and not on Eryx in the referencing between the two settlements. Eryx is now only an outpost becoming in the front line, where mainly mercenaries serving, while the temple is still in business.
Pomponius Mela (II 119):
"From the mountains Eryx is the most called because of an Aphrodite sanctuary founded by Aeneas ....".


maandag 22 juni 2015

Drepana & Eryx 6.

Drepana and Eryx part 6.
==================
The temple of Astarte.
---------------------------
Despite all sieges and intakes the temple of Astarte experiencing its heyday. We have several inscriptions from there, who go there.
I 135 CIS from Eryx (3rd-2nd century BC) is a good example. M.G.Amadasi that has incorporated in her book: Le iscrizione feniche e puniche delle colonie in occidente,  M.G.Amadasi , studi semitici 28, Instituto di studi del viceno oriente, Univ.di Roma 1967, no.sic 1.
Alla signora Astarte di Erice
Penetrale? che ...................
che.......... penetrale? che .....
..... di fronte a ... ḥmlk, figlio di .... b‘ly,
Figlio di .... figlio di ... figlio di ....
Sufeti mgn e bd‘štrt e
…. nel luogo … bd‘št[rt?...
… poiché ha ascoltato la sua vo[ce …
In an English translation by Pasquale Mereu it could be :
' To lady Ashtart of Eryx
adyton that ........
that ....adyton ? that .....
..... In front of ... ḥmlk , son of .... b'ly ,
son of .... son of ... son of ....
Sufetes mgn and bd'štrt and ... .
….in the place ... bd'št [ rt ? ...
... because she listened to his voice...'
Adyton = area of the Punic temple reserved to priests only. Points are indicating, that here the inscription can’t be read.
Himilk, son of Baaly makes an offering to Astarte during the time of the government of the sufetes Magon and Bodastart. Are those sufetes of Eryx or of Carthago?


Another inscriptions comes from Cagliari:
CIS I 140. It was found at the Torre di Calamosca at the Cape S.Elia. It dates from the 3rd -2nd century BC.
“To Astarte of Eryx, this altar of br[onze…
……….”
The second line can’t be read.
Both of these inscriptions are battered, but it is clear, that it is about Astarte of Eryx. Ordinations to Astarte in general, or where it is simply called, also appear to El Carambolo (Spain), Preneste (Italy), Pyrgi (Italy), Gadir (Spain) and Ibiza (Spain). These places are more or less on the edge of the Carthaginian influence. In the heartland of Carthage in contrast reigns dominant and on a much larger scale: Tanit.
You maybe can make this distinction due to  the fact that the towns in the outskirts of the Carthaginian empire still retained the longest its original Phoenician features.
Jean Mazel, Avec les Phéniciens pour la suite du soleil sur la route de l'or et de l'étain (p.163-164) :
"Today there is little left of the temple of the goddess of love. Above the original structure are repeatedly other structures built over the course of centuries, and finally a large medieval castle ...
.... The Italian archaeological service has managed to expose the foundations and the base of the ancient temple, as well as some yet unidentified subterranean chambers. "
(translated from French)

zondag 21 juni 2015

Drepana & Eryx 5.


Nog drie Griekse onruststokers te gaan.
-----------------------------------------------
De eerste daarvan Timoleon valt nog mee. Hij komt weliswaar eenmaal in de epikratie en wint daar de veldslag aan de Krimisos in 339 v.C, maar daarna volgt een wat langere vredesperiode. De volgende is Agathocles, die in de periode 315-307 v.C Carthago tot zelfs voor haar muren beoorloogt en en-passant ook een veldtocht door de epikratie onderneemt en waarbij zowat geheel Segesta wordt uitgemoord. Eryx?
Agathocles moet op een gegeven moment zijn huurlingenleger betalen en heeft dringend geld nodig. De rijke burgers van Segesta moeten het merendeel van hun bezittingen afstaan. Segesta telde toen nog 10.000 inwoners. Agathocles beticht hen van samenzwering en gaat over tot de volgende maatregelen. De armsten worden worden naar buiten de stad geleid en bij de rivier Scamander vermoord. De rijken worden eerst nog gemarteld om te weten te komen hoeveel zij wel niet bezitten. In een enkele dag verliest de burgerij al haar mannelijke volwassen mannen. Vrouwen en kinderen worden als slaaf verkocht aan de Bruttiërs in Italië. Agathocles sluit de operatie cynisch af met de verandering van de naam Segesta naar Dicaeopolis, hetgeen de betekenis kan hebben van: “Aan de stad is recht gedaan.” Het schijnt, dat Eryx en Drepana deze dans zijn ontsprongen, omdat dat als Carthaagse grondgebied werd beschouwd.
De laatste Griek, die de rust komt verstoren, komt uit Epeiros. Deze Pyrrhus is een geweldige veldheer. Hij verslaat eerst de Romeinen op het slagveld een aantal malen in Italië, maar komt daarna ook naar Sicilië. In 277 v.C staat hij voor Eryx. Werner Huss beschrijft in zijn boek Die Karthager (blz 150) de situatie als volgt:”Gewaltige Anstrengungen und viel Zeit erforderte die Erstürmung der Festung Eryx. Der Erfolg, den Pyrrhos hier errang, dürfte Freund und Feind tief beeindruckt haben.”
Alleen Lilybaion kan hij niet bedwingen en langzaam heroveren de Carthagers weer het verloren terrein op Sicilië. Uiteindelijk pakt Pyrrhus weer zijn biezen en steekt over naar Italië, waarbij zijn vloot grote verliezen lijdt onder de aanvallen van de Carthaagse vloot.

Gedurende 3 eeuwen hebben de Elymiërs, Feniciërs en Carthagers de westpunt van Sicilië min of meer in handen weten te houden. Pentathlos, Dorieus, Dionysios I, Timoleon, Agathocles en Pyrrhus deden een of meerdere pogingen om hen te verdrijven, maar de Carthagers kwamen steeds weer terug, zolang ze maar één steunpunt overhielden. De komende oorlog met de Romeinen zal niet alleen voor Carthago fataal aflopen; voor de epikratie zal het zelfs het einde betekenen!


Drepana and Eryx part 5.
==================
Three more Greek troublemakers.
----------------------------------------
The first of these: Timoleon is not too bad. He comes once in the Epikratie and wins the battle there at the Krimisos in 339 BC, but then follows a longer period of peace. The following is Agathocles, who in the period 315-307 BC makes war to Carthage even under its proper walls and in the meantime also undertook a campaign through the Epikratie during which he almost entirely wiped out Segesta. This man is a real war-criminal.
Agathocles must pay his mercenary army at an inconvenient moment and urgently needs money. He goes with his army to Segesta. The wealthy citizens of Segesta had to hand over most of their possessions. Segesta had then app.10,000 inhabitants. Agathocles accused them of conspiracy and moved on to the next steps. The poorest men are led out of the city and killed near the river Scamander. The rich are still tortured at first to find out how much they really do possess. In a single day the bourgeoisie of the town loses all its male adult men. Women and children are sold into slavery at the Bruttians in Italy. Agathocles close the operation cynically with the change of the name Segesta to Dicaeopolis, what meaning can have: "The city has done right." It seems that Eryx and Drepana are not engaged in this affair, because it was considered as Carthaginian territory?
The last Greek, who disturbes the peace, comes from Epeiros. This Pyrrhus is a great general. He first beat the Romans on the battlefield several times in Italy, but then comes also to Sicily. In 277 BC he stands before Eryx. Werner Huss describes in his book Die Karthager (page 150) the situation as follows: " Tremendous efforts and much time required the storming of the fortress Eryx. The success of Pyrrhus won here is likely to have deeply impressed friend and foe."
(translated from german).
Only Lilybaion he can not conquer and slowly the Carthaginians are recapturing again lost ground in Sicily. Pyrrhus eventually resumed and crosses over back to Italy, during which his fleet suffered heavy losses under the attacks of the Carthaginian fleet.
By now the Elymians are almost all vanished, killed or deported.
For three centuries the Elymians, Sicanians, Phoenicians and Carthaginians on the western tip of Sicily more or less could resist to the Greek attacks. Pentathlos, Dorieus, Dionysios I, Timoleon, Agathocles and Pyrrhus did one or more attempts to expel them, but the Carthaginians would not stop as long as they kept only one stronghold in their possession. The coming war with the Romans is not only for Carthage fatal; for the Epikratie will it even be the end!

Drepana & Eryx 4



De oorlogen met Dionysios I van Syracuse.
---------------------------------------------------
Dionysios I gebruikt de vredestijd om een grote strijdmacht op te bouwen en overvalt de Carthagers in hun epikratie in het jaar 397 v.C. Diverse Elymische steden blijven hem weerstand bieden, maar Eryx valt in zijn handen.  Diodoros: “He (Dionysios) had 80.000 foot soldiers, 3000 cavalry and 200 warships..... The inhabitants of Eryx were terrified and because the hated the Carthaginians (?), decided to join the Greeks.”
Bovendien weet Dionysios I de belangrijke stad Motya in te nemen, ondanks een ontzettingspoging door de inderhaast bijeen geroepen Carthaagse vloot. Het volgende jaar zijn de rollen omgedraaid. De Carthagers keren terug met een grote vloot en invasiemacht. Motya wordt bevrijd en de Carthagers beginnen met de bouw van een nieuwe haven: Lilybaion (=van hier gaat het naar Libyë).
Werner Huss (Die Karthager, blz 82-83):
“Eryx wurde ‘durch Verrat’, wie Diodoros sich ausdrückt, wiedergewonnen – vielleicht ein Zeichen dafür, dass die prokarthagische Partei in Eryx stärker war, als es den Griechen recht sein konnte.”
Het oorlogsgeweld verplaatst zich snel weer naar het oosten van Sicilië, want Himilco gaat met vloot en leger langs de noord- en oostkust richting Syracuse. Zijn poging om Syracuse te veroveren mislukt echter smadelijk en het komt nu tot een onvoordelige vrede voor de Carthagers, maar vooral voor hun bondgenoten. De epikratie blijft echter vrijwel ongeschonden in handen van Carthago. In de volgende oorlogen met Dionysios I in o.a 392 en 383 v.C komt de epikratie nauwelijks in beeld en kunnen Eryx en Drepana in redelijke rust verder leven. Lilybaion is nu de belangrijkste aanvoerhaven voor de Carthagers geworden en Drepana blijft de kleine haven op het tweede plan. Drepana betekent overigens in grieks: zeis. De havenmond van Drepana heeft wel iets van die vorm.
Eryx gaat door met het slaan van munten. Dit zijn tetradrachmen (Jenkins 1971) en ze hebben een militaire functie.
In 375 v.C komt het gevaar weer dichtbij, want het Carthaagse leger wordt bij Kabala verslagen en de weg naar de Epikratie ligt voor de Grieken open. Gelukkig weet Mago, de zoon van Himilco, tijd te rekken door middel van onderhandelingen en traint ondertussen de restanten van het verslagen leger. Daarna gaat hij de confrontatie weer aan en overwint zowaar aan de Kronion nabij Himera, waarbij 14.000 Grieken het leven erbij in schoten.
In het volgende vredesverdrag komt de grens tussen Grieks en Carthaags Sicilië te liggen langs de rivier de Halycus. Dit is de grootste vorm, die de Epikratie zal krijgen en dat zal bijna een eeuw zo duren.
In de laatste oorlog van Dionysios I tegen Carthago (368/367 v.C) komt de tiran opnieuw in de epikratie. Warmington vermeldt in zijn boek Carthage (blz 115): “A frontier incident was made the cause of the war, but our authority says that it was provoked by Dionysius, and the fact that it was fought in the Carthaginian sphere proves the point. Selinus and Eryx went over to his side and he undertook the siege of Lilybaeum, with little success. While it was in progress he was deceived by a false report of the destruction of a Carthaginian fleet coming to relieve the fortress, and divided his fleet, sending part of it back to Syracuse and beaching the remainder, 130 triremes, at Drepana, the harbour of Eryx. There they were taken by surprise by a fleet of 200 ships under a new Carthaginian commander, not of the Magonid family, called Hanno, who was later called ‘the Great’. Most of the Syracusan ships were taken, and it was no longer practicable to besiege Lilybaeum, Dionysius returned to Syracuse. A truce was arranged……”
Niet veel later sterft Dionysios I en breken er in Syracuse opvolgingsproblemen uit, hetgeen de Epikratie van Carthago weer enige rust geeft. Grieks Sicilië komt echter niet tot rust en dat zullen Eryx en Drepana in de toekomst nog aan den lijve gaan ondervinden.


Drepana & Eryx part 4.
================
The wars with Dionysius of Syracuse.
-------------------------------------------------- -
Dionysios I used the peace-time to build a great army and navy and raided the Carthaginians in their epikratie in the year 397 BC. Several Elymian cities remain to resist him, but Eryx falls into his hands. Diodorus: "He (Dionysios) had 80,000 footsoldiers, 3,000 cavalry and 200 warships ..... The inhabitants of Eryx were terrified and because they hated the Carthaginians, decided to join the Greeks (?)."
Moreover Dionysios succeeds in taking the important city Motya, despite a desperate attempt convened by the hastily assembled Carthaginian fleet. The following year the roles are reversed. The Carthaginians return with a large fleet and invasion force. Motya is freed and the Carthaginians begin to construction of a new port: Lilybaion (= it goes for Libya).
Werner Huss (Die Karthager, pp 82-83):
"Eryx was taken back by 'treachery', such as Diodorus expressed it - perhaps a sign that the party pro-karthaginian party in Eryx was stronger than it might be for the Greek taste”.
(translation from german).
The war is moving quickly to the east of Sicily, because Himilco goes with navy and army along the north- and east-coast to Syracuse. His attempt to conquer Syracuse, however, failed ignominiously and it comes to an unfavourable peace for the Carthaginians, but especially for their allies. However the Epikratie remains virtually intact in the hands of Carthage. In the following wars with Dionysios I in for instance 392 and 383 BC, the Epikratie is hardly in the picture and Eryx and Drepana continue living in a reasonable peace. Lilybaion has now become the main port for the Carthaginians and Drepana remains the small harbour on the second plan. Drepana incidentally means in Greek: scythe. The harbour mouth Drepana has something of that kind.
Eryx continues minting coins. These are tetradrachmas (Jenkins 1971) and they have a military function.
In 375 BC danger comes close again, for the Carthaginian army is defeated at Kabala and the road to the Epikratie is open to the Greeks. Fortunately Mago, son of Himilco, is buying some time through negotiations and meanwhile is training the remnants of the defeated army. Then he returned to the confrontation and actually he gains the victory at Kronion near Himera, leaving 14,000 dead Greeks behind.
In the following peace treaty, the border between Greek and Carthaginian Sicily lie along the river Halycus. This is the greatest form, which will be the Epikratie and that will last for nearly a century that way.
In the last war of Dionysios I against Carthage (368/367 BC), the tyrant is back in the Epikratie. Warmington mentions in his book Carthage (page 115): "A frontier incident had made the cause of the war, but our authority says it was provoked by Dionysius, and the fact that it was fought in the Carthaginian sphere proves the point. Selinus and Eryx went over to his side and he  undertook the siege of Lilybaeum, with little success. While it was in progress, he was deceived by a false report of the destruction of a Carthaginian fleet coming to relieve the fortress, and divided his fleet, sending part of it back to Syracuse and beaching the remainder, 130 triremes, at Drepana, the harbour or Eryx. There they were taken by surprise by a fleet of 200 ships under a new Carthaginian commander, not of the Magonid-family, called Hanno, who was later called 'the Great'. Most of the Syracusan ships were taken, and since it was no longer practicable to besiege Lilybaeum, Dionysius returned to Syracuse. A truce was arranged ...... "
Not much later Dionysios I dies and in Syracuse succession problems occur, which gives the Epikratie of Carthage again some rest. Greek Sicily, however, does not come to rest, and that will Eryx and Drepana in the future going to experience at firsthand.

vrijdag 19 juni 2015

Drepana & Eryx 3






De Griekse penetraties.
---------------------------
Thucydides (VI, 2) beschrijft dat als volgt
“Maar toen de Hellenen in grote getale over zee aan kwamen varen, verlieten zij (de Feniciërs) de meeste van die plaatsen en bepaalden zich tot Motua en Soleis en Panormos in de buurtschap van de Elumers en hielden die in bezit, vertrouwend op hun bondgenootschap met de Elumers en op het feit dat van daar de kortste overvaart was van Karthago naar Sikelia.”
Als de Grieken nu bij de buurtschap van de Elymiërs waren gestopt, had iedereen tevreden kunnen zijn met deze verdeling van Sicilië. Hun opmars ging echter verder en dat zou tot tal van confrontaties gaan leiden. Pentathlos is omstreeks 580 v.C de eerste Griek, die voorbij Selinous een nederzetting probeert te vestigen. Hij wordt door de gebundelde legertjes van Feniciërs en Elymiërs verdreven. Dorieus is ergens tussen 520 en 510 v C de volgende en die heeft Eryx zelf op het oog.
Herodotos (V,43): “..... kreeg hij van Anticharès, een man van Eloon, de raad om op grond van de orakels van Laios zich te vestigen in Hérakleia op Sicilië; deze verklaarde, dat het hele gebied van Eryx aan de Hérakleiden toebehoorde, omdat Héraklès zelf het verworven had. Toen hij dat hoorde, ging hij naar Delphoi om het orakel te vragen, of hij het gebied, waarheen hij op weg was, zou veroveren en de Pythia voorspelde hem, dat hij het zou veroveren. Toen zette Dorieus met de vloot, die hij ook naar Libya had gevoerd, koers naar Italia.”
Dorieus heeft een orakel nodig om genoeg geestelijke veerkracht vergaren bij deze gewaagde onderneming. Maar ook deze keer wordt de binnenvallende Griek verslagen, zoals Werner Huss in “Die Karthager” (blz 29) weergeeft:
Zusammen mit seinen Landsleuten Thessalos, Paraibates, Kelees und Euryleon segelte er in den Westen und suchte in der Nähe des Eryx Fuss zu fassen. Der von ihm gegründeten Apoika gab er den Namen Herakleia. Bald traf er jedoch auf den entschlossenen Widerstand der Segestaier, die die Karthager um Unterstützung baten. Die gegensätzlichen Interessen entluden sich in einer Schlacht, in der die Spartaner unterlagen. Von den führenden Männern kam allein Euryleon mit dem Leben davon.”
Opvallend is, dat voor het eerst Carthago zelf rechtstreeks ingrijpt in Sicilië. Opvallend is ook, dat er gesproken wordt van Segesta en niet meer van de Elymiërs.

Carthago is ondertussen bondgenootschappen aangegaan met diverse Griekse tirannen op het eiland. Wanneer een van die bevriende tirannen door een vijandelijke tiran wordt verdreven te Himera, acht Carthago de tijd gekomen om in te grijpen. In 480 v.C komt het tot een confrontatie te Himera, waarbij het leger van Hamilcar verslagen wordt door de gecombineerde strijdkrachten van Himera, Gela en Syracuse. Dat heeft grote gevolgen voor de streek van de Elymiërs, want Carthago trekt zich terug op het Afrikaanse achterland. Alleen de Fenicische nederzettingen Motya, Panormus en Solus (Kafer) kunnen nog op Carthaagse steun rekenen. Van 480-410 v.C moet de streek rond Segesta op eigen kracht zien te overleven. Aan de uitgifte van munten is de veranderde situatie goed te zien. B.H.Warmington (Carthage, blz 84-85) maakt daar de volgende opmerkingen over:
“It is true that officials of Elymian Eryx came to be called by the Carthaginian name ‘sufets’ and her coins to carry Phoenician legends……. In the fifth century, Elymian Eryx had coins similar to those of the Greek cities, with legends in Greek…. The coinage of Segesta also stopped at the end of the fifth century, and the coins of Eryx subsequently carried Phoenician legends.”
In die tijd komt deze stad steeds vaker in conflict met de Griekse stad Selinous.
Ten einde raad vraagt Segesta aan Athene om in te grijpen. Athene aarzelt, maar trapt in een truc, die de Segestanen toepassen. Dit wordt beschreven door Thucydides (VI, 46):
“De Segestaiërs nu hadden het volgende listig verzonnen, die keer, toen de eerste gezanten van de Atheners bij hen kwamen om zich op de hoogte te stellen van de geldmiddelen. Zij hadden hen gebracht naar de tempel van Aphrodite in Erux en toonden hun de wijgeschenken, schalen, schenk-kannen en reukvaten en ander gerei van een niet geringe omvang, die van zilver zijnde veel meer waard toonden voor het oog dan de geringe geldswaarde die ze vertegenwoordigden; en in het bijzonder hadden ze maaltijden aangericht voor de roeiers en daar gouden en zilveren bekers uit Segesta zelf bij elkaar gehaald en die uit de naburige Phoinikische en Helleense steden te leen gevraagd en die telkens op de gastmalen als hun bijzonder eigendom vertoond en daar allen voor het merendeel dezelfde dingen gebruikten en er overal vele schenen te zijn, zette het de Atheners van de triëren in stomme verbazing en, in Athene teruggekeerd maakten zij er zoveel ophef van zoveel waarde als zij daar gezien hadden.”
Het bedrog komt natuurlijk een keer uit, maar dan is de Atheense vloot al rond Sicilië en komt het tot een confrontatie voor de muren van Syracuse. Onderwijl houdt Carthago zich muisstil en laat de Grieken het onderling (Ioniërs tegen Doriërs) maar uitvechten. Dat leidt uiteindelijk tot een rampzalige nederlaag van de Atheners. Pas daarna acht Carthago de tijd gekomen om in te grijpen.
Hannibal, de zoon van Mago, landt in 410 v.C met een forse expeditiemacht in West-Sicilië en schakelt Selinous en Himera achtereenvolgens uit. Geheel West-Sicilië gaat nu de Carthaagse epikratie vormen, waartoe ook het Elymische gebied en Selinous gaan behoren.
Met Syracuse wordt vrede gesloten, maar dat duurt niet lang. Alweer in 406 v.C moet Carthago opnieuw in actie komen.
Werner Huss (Die Karthager) geeft het begin weer van de nieuwe confrontatie (blz.73):
In der nähe von Eryx traf sie (das Aufklärungsgeschwader) auf die etwa gleich starke Syrakosische Flotte, die auf die Nachricht von ihrer überfahrt hinn herbeigeeilt war, um eine Schlacht zu schlagen. Die Karthager verloren 15 Schiffe. Auf die Nachricht von der Niederlage der Vorausabteilung hin lief Hannibal selbst mit 50 Schiffe aus um die Scharte auszuwetzen und die überfahrt zu sicheren. Er hatte Erfolg.”
De hoofdmacht van de Carthagers landt echter heel ergens anders, namelijk bij Akragas, dat ze na lange tijd uiteindelijk zullen innemen onder de leiding van Himilco. Vervolgens is Gela aan de beurt en dan vindt de nieuwe tiran van Syracuse, Dionysios I, het tijd om maar weer even vrede te sluiten met de Carthagers.

Drepana & Eryx part 3
================
The Greek penetrations.
---------------------------
Thucydides (VI, 2) describes it as follows:
"But when the Greeks in large numbers came sailing over the sea, they left (the Phoenicians) most of those places and confined themselves to Motua and Soleis and Panormos in the region of Elumers and held that in possession, relying on their alliance with the Elumers and the fact that from there the shortest crossing was from Carthage to Sikelia. "
If the Greeks were now stopped at the region of Elymians, everyone could have been satisfied with this division of Sicily. Their advance, however, went ahead and would lead to numerous confrontations. Pentathlos is circa 580 BC, the first Greek who passed Selinous trying to establish there a settlement. He is driven away by the combined armies of Phoenicians and Elymians. Dorieus is somewhere between 520 and 510 V C, the next and has Eryx itself on the eye.
Herodotus (V, 43): "..... he got from Anticharès, a man of Eloon, the council on the basis of the oracles of Laios to settle in Herakleia in Sicily; it declared that the entire area of ​​Eryx belonged to the Hérakleiden because Herakles himself had acquired it. When he heard that, he went to Delphoi to ask the oracle whether the area, where he was on his way, would be conquered by him.  The Pythia prophesied that he would conquer it. Then Dorieus put the fleet, which he had taken to Libya, heading to Italia. "
Dorieus has an oracle needed to gather enough mental resilience in this bold venture. But this time the invading Greeks are also beaten, as Werner Huss shows in "Die Karthager" (page 29):
"Along with his compatriots Thessalos, Paraibates, Kelees and Euryleon he sailed to the West and sought near the Eryx to gain a foothold. There he founded an Apoika that he named Heraclea. Soon, however, he met the determined resistance of Segesteans who asked Carthage for help. The conflicting interests erupted in a battle in which the Spartans were defeated. Of the leading men alone Euryleon escaped with his life. "
(translated from german).
Significantly, for the first time Carthage itself directly intervene in Sicily. Also notable is that it talks of Segesta and not of Elymians.
Carthage has now entered into alliances with various Greek tyrants on the island. When one of these befriended tyrants is driven away by an enemy tyrant from Himera, Carthage came to intervene. In 480 BC it comes to a confrontation at Himera, where the army of Hamilcar is defeated by the combined forces of Himera, Gela and Syracuse. This has major consequences for the region of the Elymians because Carthage retreats to the African hinterland. Only the Phoenician settlements Motya, Panormus and Solus (Kafer) can still count on Carthaginian support. From 480-410 BC the area around Segesta should see to survive on their own. On the issue of coins is the changed situation to see. B.H.Warmington (Carthage, pp 84-85) makes the following comments on that:
“It is true that officials of Elymian Eryx came to be called by the Carthaginian name ‘sufets’ and her coins to carry Phoenician legends……. In the fifth century, Elymian Eryx had coins similar to those of the Greek cities, with legends in Greek…. The coinage of Segesta also stopped at the end of the fifth century, and the coins of Eryx subsequently carried Phoenician legends.”

At that time, the city is increasingly in conflict with the Greek city Selinous.
In desperation Segesta asked Athens to intervene. Athens hesitates, but kicks in a trick, applying by the Segestians. This is described by Thucydides (VI, 46):
"The Segestians now had the following cunningly concocted that time, when the first ambassadors of the Athenians came to them to make themselves aware of the funds. They had brought them to the temple of Aphrodite in Erux and showed them the votive offerings, bowls, pour-jugs and incense vessels and other paraphernalia of a considerable size, which being of silver showed worth much more to the eye than the low monetary value they represented; and in particular they had done meals for the rowers and there gold and silver cups from Segesta itself brought together and borrowed from the neighbouring Phoinikian and Hellenic cities and screened again at the banquets as their private property and all there for the majority used the same stuff and there seemed to be everywhere many, put the triage Athenians into astonishment and returned to Athens they made so much noise by as much value as they had seen there. "
The deception comes naturally once, but then the Athenian fleet is already around Sicily and it comes to a showdown on the walls of Syracuse. Meanwhile Carthage keeps quiet as a mouse and the Greeks let themselves (Ionians against Dorians) fight. This eventually leads to a disastrous defeat of the Athenians. Only after that happened  Carthage came in action to intervene.
Hannibal, the son of Mago, lands in 410 BC with a strong expeditionary force in Western Sicily and eliminates Selinous and Himera in succession. Whole western Sicily now will form the Carthaginian epikratie, which would includes the Elymian area and Selinous.
With Syracuse is made peace, but not for long. Already in 406 BC Carthage is forced back into action.
Werner Huss (Die Kart Hager) indicates the beginning again of the new confrontation (p.73):
"In the vicinity of Eryx met (the Reconnaissance Wing) on approximately the same strong Syrakosian fleet that was rushed there on the news of her crossing and was ready to fight a battle. The Carthaginians lost 15 ships. At the news of the defeat of the advance party Hannibal ran himself out with 50 ships to wipe out the stain and the crossing to secure. He was successful. "
(translated from german).
However, the main force of the Carthaginians landed somewhere else, namely in Akragas, which they will occupy eventually after a long time under the leadership of Himilco. Then it is Gela's turn and then the new tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius I, thinks the time is there to make peace for a while with the Carthaginians.

donderdag 18 juni 2015

Drepana & Eryx 2




De tempelfase.
-----------------
B.H.Warmington beschrijft dat in zijn boek “Carthage” als volgt:
The most famous place for worship (of Astarte) in the west was admittedly in the Carthagianian sphere at Elymian Eryx, where a pre-Carthaginian goddess of fertility became identified with her Phoenician and later Greek and Roman equivalents.”
Polybius beschrijft vele honderden jaren later de topographische situatie (I, 55):
“Eryx is een gebergte aan de kust van Sicilië, aan de Italische zijde van het eiland; het ligt tussen Drepana en Panormos, maar veel dichter bij Drepana. De hoogte van de berg gaat die van alle andere bergen op Sicilië te boven, uitgezonderd de Etna. Op de plateauvormige top van de berg ligt de tempel van Aphrodite van Eryx, ontegenzeggelijk het beroemdste van alle heiligdommen op Sicilië door zijn rijkdom en grootsheid. De stad Eryx ligt vlak onder de top en de weg omhoog is heel lang en over de gehele lengte steil....”
                   Jean Mazel, Avec les Phéniciens à la poursuite du soleil sur la route de l'or et de l'étain:
Blz 29: “De beroemdste tempels, die aan deze godin (Astarte) waren gewijd, bevonden zich op Cyprus, op Cythera en op de berg Eryx. Al deze heiligdommen werden bijzonder druk bezocht, mede, omdat er tempelprostitutie werd bedreven, in naam waarvan een groot aantal priesteressen zich vrijelijk aan zeelieden en reizigers aanboden, hetgeen in niet onaanzienlijke mate bijdroeg tot de rijkdom van deze tempels.”
In deze tempelfase wordt Eryx langzaam door de Feniciërs overgenomen. In ieder geval vindt er een vermenging plaats van de Elymiërs en de Feniciërs. Het lijkt er sterk op, dat dit alles op een vreedzame wijze gebeurd. Dat wordt met de Grieken wel even anders.

Drepana – Eryx part 2.
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B.H.Warmington describes this in his book “Carthage” the following way:
The most famous place for worship (of Astarte) in the west was admittedly in the Carthagianian sphere at Elymian Eryx, where a pre-Carthaginian goddess of fertility became identified with her Phoenician and later Greek and Roman equivalents.”
Polybius describes many hundreds years later the topographical situation (I,55):
"Eryx is a mountain on the coast of Sicily, on the Italic side of the island; it lies between Drepana and Panormos, but much closer to Drepana. The height of the mountain is that above all other mountains in Sicily, except for the Etna. On the plateau-like summit of the mountain is the temple of Aphrodite of Eryx, undoubtedly the most famous of all shrines in Sicily by his wealth and grandeur. The city of Eryx lies just below the summit and the way up is very long and the entire length is steep .... "
Jean Mazel in his book : Avec les Phéniciens à la poursuite du soleil sur la route de l'or et de l'étain (page 29):
"The famous temples which were dedicated to this goddess (Astarte), were on Cyprus, Cythera and Mount Eryx. These shrines were visited very busy, partly because there temple prostitution was practiced in the name of which a large number of priestesses are offered themselves freely to sailors and travellers, which to a not inconsiderable extent contributed to the wealth of these temples. "
In this temple-phase Eryx is slowly taken over by the Phoenicians. In any case, there is a mixing place of the Elymians and the Phoenicians. It seems clear that all this happened in a peaceful manner. That is something that is going with the Greeks very different.