I have heard also that at the present
day a shield is shown in one of the temples at Syracuse, which is said
to be that of Nikias, and which is beautifully adorned with woven
coverings of purple and gold.
XXIX. Of the Athenians, the most part perished in the stone quarries
of disease and insufficient food, for they received only a pint of
barley-meal and half-a-pint of water each day. Not a few, however,
were sold into slavery, being stolen for that purpose by Syracusans,
or having escaped disguised as slaves. The rest were at length branded
upon their foreheads with the figure of a horse, and sold into
slavery. Yet even in this extremity their well-bred and dignified
behaviour came to their aid; for they soon either obtained their
freedom, or gained the confidence and respect of their masters. Some
gained their freedom by their knowledge of Euripides. It appears that
the dramas of Euripides were especially popular in Sicily, but that
only a few fragments of his works had hitherto reached the Greek
cities in that island. We are told that many of these captives on
their return to Athens affectionately embraced Euripides, and told
him how some of them had been sold into slavery, but had been set free
after they had taught their masters as much of his poetry as they
could remember, while others, when wandering about the country as
fugitives after the battle, had obtained food and drink by reciting
passages from his plays.
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