Polymnia   

without any human help, solely by means of the sacred rites of these
deities. From whom he received them, or how he himself acquired
them, I cannot say; but certain it is that relying on their power he
brought the exiles back. For this his reward was to be the office of
high-priest of those gods for himself and his seed for ever. It
surprises me especially that such a feat should have been performed by
Telines; for I have always looked upon acts of this nature as beyond
the abilities of common men, and only to be achieved by such as are of
a bold and manly spirit; whereas Telines is said by those who dwell
about Sicily to have been a soft-hearted and womanish person. He
however obtained this office in the manner above described.
Afterwards, on the death of Cleander the son of Pantares, who
was slain by Sabyllus, a citizen of Gela, after he had held the
tyranny for seven years, Hippocrates, Cleander's brother, mounted
the throne. During his reign, Gelo, a descendant of the high-priest
Telines, served with many others- of whom Aenesidemus, son of
Pataicus, was one- in the king's bodyguard. Within a little time his
merit caused him to be raised to the command of all the horse. For
when Hippocrates laid siege to Callipolis, and afterwards to Naxos, to
Zancle, to Leontini, and moreover to Syracuse, and many cities of
the barbarians, Gelo in every war distinguished himself above all
the combatants. Of the various cities above named, there was none
but Syracuse which was not reduced to slavery. The Syracusans were
saved from this fate, after they had suffered defeat on the river
Elorus, by the Corinthians and Corcyraeans, who made peace between
them and Hippocrates, on condition of their ceding Camarina to him;
for that city anciently belonged to Syracuse.
When, however, Hippocrates, after a reign of the same length as
that of Cleander his brother, perished near the city Hybla, as he
was warring with the native Sicilians, then Gelo, pretending to
espouse the cause of the two sons of Hippocrates, Eucleides and
Cleander, defeated the citizens who were seeking to recover their
freedom, and having so done, set aside the children, and himself
took the kingly power. After this piece of good fortune, Gelo likewise
became master Syracuse, in the following manner. The Syracusan
landholders, as they were called, had been driven from their city by
the common people assisted by their own slaves, the Cyllyrians, and
had fled to Casmenae. Gelo brought them back to Syracuse, and so got
possession of the town; for the people surrendered themselves, and
gave up their city on his approach.
Being now master of Syracuse, Gelo cared less to govern Gela,
which he therefore entrusted to his brother Hiero, while he
strengthened the defences of his new city, which indeed was now all in
all to him. And Syracuse sprang up rapidly to power and became a
flourishing place. For Gelo razed Camarina to the ground, and
brought all the inhabitants to Syracuse, and made them citizens; he
also brought thither more than half the citizens of Gela, and gave
them the same rights as the Camarinaeans. So likewise with the
Megarians of Sicily- after besieging their town and forcing them to
surrender, he took the rich men, who, having made the war, looked
now for nothing less than death at his hands, and carrying them to
Syracuse, established them there as citizens; while the common people,
who, as they had not taken any share in the struggle, felt secure that
no harm would be done to them, he carried likewise to Syracuse,
where he sold them all as slaves to be conveyed abroad. He did the
like also by the Euboeans of Sicily, making the same difference. His
conduct towards both nations arose from his belief that a "people" was
a most unpleasant companion. In this way Gelo became a great king.
When the Greek envoys reached Syracuse, and were admitted to an
audience, they spoke as follows-
"We have been sent hither by the Lacedaemonians and Athenians,
with their respective allies, to ask thee to join us against the
barbarian. Doubtless thou hast heard of his invasion, and art aware
that a Persian is about to throw a bridge over the Hellespont, and,