24.7
But
everything was hurrying him headlong into ruin. He had sent Hippocrates
and Epicydes in advance, each with 2000 troops, to attempt some cities
which were held by Roman garrisons, whilst he himself advanced to Leontini
with 15,000 foot and horse, which comprised the rest of his army. The
conspirators, all of whom happened to be in the army, took an empty house
overlooking the narrow road by which the king usually went down to the
forum. Whilst they were all standing in front of the house, fully armed,
waiting for the king to pass, one of them, Dinomenes by name, in the royal
body-guard, had the task assigned to him of keeping back the crowd in the
rear, by some means or other, when the king approached the gate of the
house. All was done as had been arranged. Pretending to loosen a knot
which was too tight on his foot, Dinomenes stopped the crowd and made so
wide a gap in it that when the king was attacked in the absence of his guards
he was stabbed in several places before help could reach him. As soon as the
shouting and tumult were heard the guard hurled their missiles on
Dinomenes who was now unmistakably stopping the way, but he escaped
with only two wounds. When they saw the king lying on the ground the
attendants fled. Some of the assassins went to the people who had assembled
in the forum, rejoicing in their recovered liberty, others hastened to Syracuse
to forestall the designs of Andranodorus and the rest of the king's men. In
this critical state of affairs Appius Claudius saw that a war was beginning
close at hand, and he sent a despatch to the senate informing them that Sicily
was being won over to Carthage and Hannibal. To frustrate the plans being
formed at Syracuse, he moved all the garrisons to the frontier between the
Roman province and the late king's dominion. At the close of the year Q.
Fabius was authorised by the senate to fortify Puteoli, where there had
grown up a considerable trade during the war, and also to place a garrison in
it. On his way to Rome, where he was to conduct the elections, he gave
notice that they would be held on the first election day that he could fix, and
then to save time he marched past the City straight to the Campus Martius.
That day the first voting fell by lot to the junior century of the tribe of the
Anio, and they were giving their vote for T. Otacilius and M. Aemilius
Regillus, when Q. Fabius, having obtained silence, made the following
address:
