24.22
As
soon as it was light the whole population, armed and unarmed, assembled at
the Senate-house in the Achradina. There, in front of the temple of Concord,
which was situated there, Polyaenus, one of the prominent citizens, made a
speech which breathed of freedom but at the same time counselled
moderation. "Men," he said, "who have experienced the fear and the
humiliation of slavery are stung to rage against an evil which they know well.
What disasters civil discord brings in its train, you, Syracusans, have heard
from your fathers rather than witnessed yourselves. I praise your action in so
promptly taking up arms, I shall praise you more if you do not use them
unless compelled to do so as a last resort. I should advise you to send
envoys at once to Andranodorus and warn him to submit to the authority of
the senate and people, to open the gates of the Island, and surrender the fort.
If he chooses to usurp the sovereignty of which he has been appointed
guardian, then I tell you you must show much more determination in
recovering your liberties from him than you did from Hieronymus."
Envoys were accordingly sent. A meeting of the senate was then
held. During the reign of Hiero this body had continued to act as the great
council of the nation, but after his death it had never up to that day been
summoned or consulted about any matter whatever. Andranodorus, on the
arrival of the envoys, was much impressed by the unanimity of the people
and also by the seizure of various points in the city, especially in the Island,
the most strongly fortified position in which had been betrayed to his
opponents. But his wife, Demarata, a daughter of Hiero, with all the spirit of
a princess and the ambition of a woman, called him aside from the envoys
and reminded him of an oft-quoted saying of Dionysius the tyrant that one
ought to relinquish sovereign power when dragged by the heels not when
mounted on a horse. It was easy for any one who wished to resign in a
moment a great position, but to create and secure it was a difficult and
arduous task. She advised him to ask the envoys for time for consultation,
and to employ that time in summoning the troops from Leontini; if he
promised to give them the royal treasure, he would have everything in his
own power. These feminine suggestions Andranodorus did not wholly reject,
nor did he at once adopt them. He thought the safest way of gaining power
was to yield for the time being, so he told the envoys to take back word that
he should submit to the authority of the senate and people. The next day as
soon as it was light he opened the gates of the Island and entered the forum
in the Achradina. He went up to the altar of Concord, from which the day
before Polyaenus had addressed the people; and began his speech by
apologising for his delay. "I have," he went on, "it is true, closed the gates,
but not because I regard my interests as separate from those of the State, but
because I felt misgivings, when once the sword was drawn, as to how far the
thirst for blood might carry you, whether you would be content with the
death of the tyrant, which amply secures your liberty, or whether every one
who had been connected with the palace by relationship or by official
position was to be put to death as being involved in another's guilt. As soon
as I saw that those who freed their country meant to keep it free and that all
were consulting the public good, I had no hesitation in giving back to my
country my person and all that had been entrusted to my protection now that
he who committed them to me has perished through his own madness." Then
turning to the king's assassins and addressing Theodotus and Sosis by name,
he said, "You have wrought a deed that will be remembered but, believe me,
your reputation has yet to be made, and unless you strive for peace and
concord there is a most serious danger ahead; the State will perish in its
freedom."
