24.26
There
was another daughter of Hiero's, Heraclia, the wife of Zoippus, a man whom
Hieronymus had sent on an embassy to Ptolemy, and who had chosen to
remain in voluntary exile. As soon as she learned that the executioners were
coming to her she fled for sanctuary into the private chapel where the
household gods were, accompanied by her unmarried daughters with their
hair dishevelled and everything in their appearance which could appeal to
pity. This silent appeal she strengthened by remonstrances and prayers. She
implored the executioners by the memory of her father Hiero and her brother
Gelo not to allow an innocent woman like her to fall a victim to the hatred
felt for Hieronymus. "All that I have gained by his reign is my husband's
exile; in his lifetime my sisters' fortunes were very different from mine and
now that he has been killed our interests are not the same. Why! had
Andranodorus' designs succeeded, her sister would have shared her
husband's throne and the rest would have been her slaves. Is there one of you
who doubts that if any one were to announce to Zoippus the assassination of
Hieronymus and the recovery of liberty for Syracuse, he would not at once
take ship and return to his native land? How are all human hopes falsified!
Now his country is free and his wife and children are battling for their lives,
and in what are they opposing freedom and law? What danger is there for
any man in a lonely, all but widowed woman and daughters who are living in
orphanhood? Ah, but even if there is no danger to be feared from us, we are
of the hated royal birth. Then banish us far from Syracuse and Sicily, order
us to be transported to Alexandria, send the wife to her husband, the
daughters to their father."
She saw that ears and hearts were deaf to her appeals and that
some were getting their swords ready without further loss of time. Then, no
longer praying for herself, she implored them, to spare her daughters; their
tender age even an exasperated enemy would respect. "Do not," she cried,
"in wreaking vengeance on tyrants, imitate the crimes which have made them
so hated." In the midst of her cries they dragged her out of the chapel and
killed her. Then they attacked the daughters who were bespattered with their
mother's blood. Distracted by grief and terror they dashed like mad things
out of the chapel, and, could they have escaped into the street, they would
have created a tumult all through the city. Even as it was, in the confined
space of the house they for some time eluded all those armed men without
being hurt, and freed themselves from those who got hold of them, though
they had to struggle out of so many strong hands. At last, exhausted by
wounds, while the whole place was covered by their blood, they fell lifeless
to the ground. Their fate, pitiable in any case, was made still more so by an
evil chance, for very soon after all was over a messenger came to forbid their
being killed. The popular sentiment had changed to the side of mercy, and
mercy soon passed into self-accusing anger for they had been so hasty to
punish that they had left no time for repentance or for their passions to cool
down. Angry remonstrances were heard everywhere against the praetors,
and the people insisted upon an election to fill the places of Andranodorus
and Themistus, a proceeding by no means to the liking of the other praetors.
