Agathocles’ realm did not long survive his death. A man called Hicetas took over the leadership of the newly proclaimed Syracusan democracy, but not of Agathocles’ mercenary army. One of Agathocles’ officers, Meno, eventually gained control of it. He, however, hesitated to attempt a pitched battle against the Syracusans and instead sought aid from the Carthaginians. The resultant treaty dissolved Agathocles’ kingdom. The Greek cities all became independent again (as emerges from the following) and the Syracusans granted Agathocles’ mercenaries land in Syracuse (Diod. XXI 18). By default the Carthaginians became the dominant power on the island.
Within Syracuse itself conflict soon broke out between the original Syracusans and the newly settled mercenaries (mostly Campanians from Italy). Eventually the mercenaries agreed to sell their land and to leave. On their way back to Italy, however, they seized the city of Messene in the mid-280s, killed or expelled the inhabitants, and established themselves as the new masters of the strait (Diod. XXI 18). These mercenaries, who called themselves the Mamer-tines (after their native god of war), were soon engaged in plundering raids up and down the eastern half of Sicily (Pol. I 8). They destroyed Gela and Cama-rina on the southern coast (Diod. XXIII 1) and brought the northeastern section of the island under their control.
Internecine wars, moreover, did little to improve the situation of the Greeks on the island. The new tyrant of Acragas, Phintias, settled the survivors from Gela in a new city named after himself, brought much of the southern coast under his control, and actually proclaimed himself king (Diod. XXII 2; Cat. Gk. Coins, Sicily, p. 22). Hicetas, the ruler of Syracuse, alarmed by all this, went to war against Phintias, defeated him, and so put an end to any dream of an Acragantine empire. Hicetas then carried out an ill-advised attack on the Carthaginians, who defeated him near Leontini (Diod. l. c.). Thereafter (279) he fell victim to a coup d’etat led by Thoenon who replaced him as ruler of Syracuse. But a revolt in Syracuse forced Thoenon to withdraw to the heavily fortified island in the harbor. In the ensuing civil war the Syracusans appealed to Sostratus (or Sosistratus) who had taken control of Acragas after Phintias’ death. Determined to prevent Sostratus from gaining control over both Acragas and Syracuse, the Carthaginians sent troops and a fleet to besiege Syracuse and it appeared as though the hopelessly divided Greeks on Sicily were finally about to succumb (Diod. XXII 7-8).
World History
