But they did not stop for the city; Gadoric was wise to the notion that he needed a fleet to subdue such a place, just as he knew, from the locals, that Syracuse had a history of withstanding lengthy sieges, even against enemies who possessed ships in abundance. It was too Roman and too well fortified to be easily taken. They invested it nevertheless, but only so that they could strip the countryside bare for miles around of food and slaves. The inhabitants of Syracuse who had stayed behind, under Titus’s command, and who had set themselves to fight until help arrived from Italy, woke one morning to find the plain before their city devoid of their foes, who had decamped during the night and headed south. Aquila watched the party of twenty mounted Romans, their red cloaks billowing behind them, leave the town and set off in pursuit. Too few to fight, they were obviously intent on shadowing their enemy.
Gadoric, turning west along the southern coast, ignored the offers of surrender from the small conurbation of Camarina, moving on quickly to stay ahead of the spreading panic, by-passing the major city of Geta by fording the river well to the north. He forced-marched his trained bands to the next river, one of the two that hemmed in the city of Agrigentum, leaving the mass of untrained slaves to follow. Mounted detachments were sent to cut the bridges and hold the fords on the river to the west and he ordered the straggling mass of slaves into the foothills north of the city, then spent two days sorting them into manageable groups. Finally, with no moon to warn of their arrival, he ordered everyone down onto the plains that stretched away on either side of Agrigentum.
The inhabitants, who supposed this threat, if it existed at all, was still well to the east of Geta, woke one morning to find what looked like a huge army camped outside their crumbling walls, with a simple offer available to them. Open your gates and you will be spared; resist and the whole city will be put to the sword. The recently freed slaves, in truth useless in a fight, looked formidable enough in their newly rehearsed and static formations, so for someone looking out from the crumbling walls of Agrigentum, the position seemed hopeless. Hypolitas, with Gadoric and Pentheus at his side, rode forward to talk to the leading citizens who lined the walls. He spoke of the tyranny of Rome, told them that he had no desire to hurt fellow-Greeks, and promised that his army would not occupy the city in strength, but would instead disperse to the surrounding farms to assist, as free men, in the cultivation of the land. He promised to respect the temples and the women and to abide by the statutes of the city, as long as he was afforded the same civility he intended to give to them.
Even those who wanted to resist knew that it was impossible. Given time, the walls could have been repaired, making the city as formidable as it had been a hundred years before, but there was no time, the enemy was at the gates. Only Roman legions, backed by a strong fleet of ships, could oppose this slave army. The legions were nowhere to be seen and, besides, in such a Greek city, they would scarcely have been any more welcome than Hypolitas. He capitalised on this, talking of freedom for the whole island, of throwing off the Roman yoke, with slave and freedman combining to create a prosperous future. Such a dream, such words, in the mouth of another man, would have been risible, but Hypolitas had that compelling voice, which could hold the attention of the largest crowd, plus the finale with his magic fire. For him, the gates were open before the sun had reached its zenith.
Marcellus looked at Titus to see how he would react but the face was still, as if set in stone, gazing on the gates of Agrigentum, wide open, with the runaway slaves as free to enter as the citizens were to leave. Hypolitas and his ramshackle horde had a city and a fine harbour and they could see that some of that army was already busy repairing the walls.
‘Well, Marcellus,’ said Titus finally, gesturing towards the white walls. ‘What do you suppose this means?’
‘A long hard fight, a fleet to blockade the harbour, siege engines to batter the walls and several legions to carry out the assault.’
Titus swung his horse round. ‘The first thing we must do is seal the approaches east and west. That army is big enough. When word gets out that they’ve taken a city, every slave in Sicily will be trying to join them.’
Marcellus pointed towards the solitary horseman watching them from the ridge. ‘He’s still there. Is he following us, or the slaves?’
‘Time to find out,’ shouted Titus, who had studiously ignored the man trailing him, though the constant presence, like an itch you could not scratch, had annoyed him greatly. He kicked his horse and headed straight for him, followed by Marcellus and the rest of his men.
Aquila watched them for a moment; they were aimed at him like an arrow, with the billowing clouds of dust raised by their hooves adding to the effect of their streaming red cloaks. He hauled his horse’s head round, and calmly trotted off the ridge. Only when he was out of sight did he kick the mount into a gallop, heading for the deep ravines that furrowed the foothills of the mountains surrounding Agrigentum. Losing his pursuers was simple.
‘A fleet is the first priority,’ said Titus. ‘We must commandeer ships from Rhegium and Neapolis. Anything will do, just as long as we can man them with proper soldiers.’
Lucius listened carefully, his face drawn; still feeling the effects of his chest wound, the journey had not been kind to his health. ‘You fear they will seek allies?’
‘It’s what I’d do, Lucius Falerius. There are enough people on the coast of North Africa that still hanker after a strong Carthage. We may have razed the city, but I’m sure the dream persists and we can’t be sure how far afield they’ll go. The thought of conquering Sicily will appeal to more than one of our enemies.’
Lucius turned to his son. ‘It is central to Roman policy, Marcellus, that no other power holds Sicily, remember that. The whole of Italy becomes vulnerable if we allow such a thing to happen.’
‘Yes, father,’ he replied.
‘What I’m saying, Lucius Falerius, is that there is no time to consult Rome.’
‘Consulting Rome would be a waste of time, anyway, even though it must be done, but any legions we can muster will get here too late.’ Titus frowned, wondering what Lucius was talking about, but enlightenment followed swiftly. ‘What chance is there of a decent harvest coming out of Sicily in the present circumstances?’
‘None whatever.’
‘Well, Marcellus, what do we deduce from that?’
Having been away from his father, Marcellus had lost the habit of being prepared for searching questions, yet the answer came easily enough, having already occurred to him. More and more he found himself assessing a situation as Lucius would, often surprising himself by the complexity of his conclusions.
‘Disquiet in Rome as the price of grain rises. They may have to cut the corn dole in the spring and that will certainly cause riots. As soon as news reaches the city that the situation demands a consular army to subdue the slaves, those who have grain will start hoarding it, so we won’t have to wait for the actual shortages. Riots could break out just as we’re trying to raise the legions. It is absolutely certain that our allies will suffer from increased prices first, so they won’t wish to denude their farms to provide us with auxiliary troops when they need every man to be busy at his plough.’
‘Untidy, Marcellus, though accurate,’ said Lucius. ‘You really must work on the way you arrange the presentation of your conclusions.’
For all the acidity, it was plain he was pleased with his son; it was in his eyes as he turned back to talk to Titus. ‘That infernal corn dole is the real problem; ever since it’s been in place, more and more ragged-arsed scum have poured into the city to claim it. Anyone who tried to reduce it, or remove it, would be strung up. Worse than that, anyone who promises to sustain it, regardless of the cost to the treasury, can have any office they want. The mob will vote for bread today and damn tomorrow.’
‘I am lost,’ said Titus. ‘I won’t pretend I don’t understand the politics of Rome, but I can really only see a military problem requiring a military solution.’
‘Let us first see if we can find another way.’ Titus looked even more bewildered. ‘I met that Greek in Neapolis, the man who served your father.’
‘Cholon?’
‘He has undertaken a little errand for me. We shall wait till he returns, before we alert the Senate to the scale of the problem.’
Cholon had no difficulty in entering the city of Agrigentum, being clearly no threat, a wealthy traveller on a litter with eight attendants. Four carried him; the rest carried another open litter, which held his possessions. He was, of course, stopped at the gate and asked his business.
‘Why have I come here? Are you mad, fellow? Right now this must be the most interesting place in the whole
