Chap. III.

GRECIAN.

47

the wall opposite the machine, and water, filth, and mud to be thrown on the otherside and discharged through the hole during the night: when the helepolis advanced,it sunk in the quagmire, and Demetrius drew off his army.

Diognetus then removed the machine within the walls, and placed it in a publicsituation, thus inscribed: — “ Diognetus presented this to the people out of the spoils ofwar.”

Demetrius also had upon the sea a floating tower, with loopholes at the sides, fromwhence darts could be discharged; this was formed upon a number of boats, which wereattached and floored over with a common platform. The Rhodians had in this memorablesiege contrivances of the same kind, and placed them at the mouth of the small harbour;in which were engines for the throwing of stones, darts, and arrows of all sizes. Demetriuswas at first prevented entering by a storm, but was afterwards enabled to seize upon thehighest rampart of the great harbour, and throw up a mud wall around it, fenced andsecured with piles and planks as well as stones; here he landed 400 of his men, who werewithin five plethras of the walls. Demetrius continued his assault for many days, some-times burning and destroying the vessels in the harbour, at other times making breaches inthe walls; but the bravery of the Rhodians at last obliged him to desist. The Rhodians had scarcely repaired the walls which were beaten down by the engines brought againstthem, when Demetrius again returned with other battering engines, and with his shipsentered the harbour, throwing firebrands among the Rhodian ships, which were soon ex-tinguished. 'Die Rhodians then manned three of their strongest vessels with their ablestmen, and ordered them to act against the enemy’s vessels which contained the engines ;these they violently charged, and though they were fenced with iron, they broke them inpieces with the prows of their ships, and shattered them, taking Execestus, who com-manded the galleys, prisoner. Demetrius made another engine thrice as large as theformer, which was destroyed in a storm as it advanced into the port; lie thenabandoned his attacks by sea, confining his assault of the city to the land, and framedanother helepolis much larger than either of the former ; its base was square, the lengthon each side being 50 cubits, formed of four square pieces of timber, united together byplates of iron at the angles. Strong transverse timbers were laid from one side to theother, a cubit apart, on which was the floor for those to stand upon who moved theengine. The whole rested on eight strong wheels, the fellies 2 cubits in thickness,also covered with iron; over the spokes were antistreptas, which enabled them toturn the engine round when required. At each angle was a perpendicular piece oftimber 100 cubits in height, with floors thrown in at regular distances, which tied themtogether, and made the machine nine stories. In the lowest were forty-three beds, andin the highest nine; three of the outer sides were cased with iron plates, to prevent fireor any other injury to which it might be subjected from the besieged. In the front, eachstory had a number of loopholes, guarded with shutters lined with skins stuffed with wool,which deadened the force of any stone shot against it, and two ladders: to move this vastmachine 3,400 men were appointed, some being placed within, and others around it.

Testudoes, or artificial covers, made of timber covered with raw skins, protected the menemployed in levelling the ground to the city wall, over which this engine was to be moved;and when the helepolis was against the city wall, its breadth occupied the space of sixdivisions between the turrets, and the seven turrets : the workmen and artificers of differentkinds employed are said to have been 30,000.

The Rhodians built within the outer wall of their city another, and employed for itsconstruction the stones of the theatre, several houses and temples, and in a general as-sembly proposed to destroy the statues of Antigonus and Demetrius. The city was,however, by this time undermined, when the Rhodians cut a deep trench along the wallthat it was intended should be thrown down, commenced countermining, and soon met theenemy under ground, and prevented any further progress being made.

lhe helepolis, with eight testudoes made for filling up the trenches, and others con-taining battering-rams, which were 120 cubits in length, strongly armed with iron, andresembling the beak of a ship, were moved forward on wheels by the help of a thousand men.The several stories of the helepolis were filled with archers, and at a given signal the wallstrembled under the strokes of the battering-ram, one of the strongest towers was throwndown, and the entire wall between it and the next so shaken, that the besieged could notpass along it.

Ptolemy having sent a fleet with succour, inspired the Rhodians with fresh energy ;they made an attack on the enemy’s engines, and by means of fire-balls and weapons of allkinds, at last succeeded in destroying the iron plates which protected the helepolis, andthen with firebrands set light to it. Demetrius endeavoured to quench the spreadingflames, to move the engines from the reach of the darts discharged against them, and tomake a general reparation of them. The Rhodians , in the mean time, commenced a thirdwall, built in the shape of a half moon, which enclosed the gap already made. Deme-