#damophilus

[gardenofkore]

"[....]But the beginning of the revolt was in this manner. There was one Damophilus of Enna, a man of great wealth, but of a proud and haughty disposition. This man above all measure was cruel and severe to his slaves; and his wife Megallis strove to exceed her husband in all kind of cruelty and inhumanity towards the slaves. The slaves, who had been so cruelly used, were enraged by this like wild beasts, and plotted together to rise in arms and cut the throats of their masters. To this end they consulted Eunus, and asked him whether the gods would give them success in their designs. He encouraged them and declared that they would prosper in their enterprise. He uttered conjuring words and expressions, as was his usual manner, and told them to be speedy in their execution. Therefore, after they had raised a body of four hundred slaves, at the first opportunity they suddenly armed themselves and broke into the city of Enna, led by their captain Eunus, who used his juggling tricks to breathe fire out of his mouth. Then entering the houses, they made such a great a slaughter, that they did not even spare even the suckling children, but plucked them violently from their mother's breasts and dashed them against the ground. It cannot be expressed how vilely and filthily, for the satisfying of their lusts, they used men's wives in the very presence of their husbands. These villains were joined by a multitude of the slaves who were in the city. They first executed their rage and cruelty upon their own masters, and then fell to murdering others. In the meantime Eunus heard that Damophilus and his wife were in an orchard near the city. Therefore he sent some of his rabble there, who brought them back with their hands tied behind their backs, taunting them as they passed along with much ill-treatment; but they declared that they would be kind in every respect to their daughter, because of her pity and compassion towards the slaves, and her readiness always to be helpful to them. This showed that the savage behaviour of the slaves towards others arose, not from their own cruel nature, but from a desire to have revenge for the wrongs they had suffered previously. The men that were sent for Damophilus and Megallis his wife brought them to the city and into the theatre, where all the rebellious rabble was assembled. There Damophilus pleaded earnestly for his life and moved many with what he said. But Hermeias and Zeuxis denounced him with many bitter accusations and called him a cheat and dissembler. Then without waiting to hear the decision of the people concerning him, the one ran him through with a sword and the other cut off his head with an axe." Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, book 34, 9-14

The First Servile War was a slave rebellion started in 136 bC in Enna (Sicily) against the Roman power. Its leader was a Syrian slave born in the city of Apameia called Eunus, who was owned by Sicilian noble Antigenes and who posed as a conjurer and self-proclaimed prophet.

"Before the revolt of the slaves this man boasted that the Syrian goddess had appeared to him, and told him that he should reign, and this he declared not only to others but often to his own master. As this became a common subject of laughter, Antigenes was so taken with the jest and the ridiculous conceit of the man, that he took Eunus (for such was his name) with him to feasts and dinners, and several questions being put to him concerning his future kingdom, he was asked how he would treat each person who was there present at the table". (Library of History, book 34, 7-8)

At the head of around 400 revolting slaves, Eunus managed to storm and occupy Enna. The city was sacked and the masters and their families assaulted and butchered. Damophilus was beheaded, while Megallis was handed over to the female slaves, who avenged themselves by torturing and tormenting their former mistress and abuser and later had the woman thrown down a steep precipice.

"[...]Damophilus had a young daughter of a very gentle and courteous disposition, who made it her business to relieve and heal those slaves that had been abused and scourged by her parents, and to bring sustenance to those who were shackled; so that she was wonderfully beloved by all the slaves. In remembrance of her former kindness, they all had pity on her, and were so far from offering any violence or injury to the young maid, that every one of them made it their business to preserve her chastity unviolated; and chose the most suitable men from their own company, of whom Hermeias was the most eager, to conduct her to Catana to some of her family." (Library of History, book 34, 39)

No mercy was instead offered to Eunus' former masters Antigenes and his wife Python who were killed by Eunus himself.

This success spurred many other slaves living in the area (a total of ca. 6000) to rebel and join his cause. As the goddess had predicted him, Eunus was proclaimed king. "At length, putting a diadem upon his head and graced with all the emblems of royalty, he caused his wife, who was a Syrian from the same city, to be called queen, and chose such as he judged to be most prudent to be his councillors". (Library of History, book 34, 16) In a tribute to his fellow Seleucid colleagues, he changed his name into Antiochus and started to call his followers Syrians. During his stay in Enna, he even minted a small bronze coin which bears the inscription "King Antiochus".

"In the mean time, a Cilician called Cleon instigated another defection of the slaves, and now all were hoping that this unruly rabble would come to blows one with another, and so Sicily would be rid of them through their mutual slaughters and destruction of each other. But contrary to all men's hopes and expectations, they joined forces together. Cleon followed the commands of Eunus in every respect, and served his prince as general, having five thousand of his own soldiers." (Library of History, book 34, 17).

It has been assumed that the slaves army grew to 200 thousands men according to Diodorus Siculus (70 thousands according to Orosius). Thanks to its numbers, they managed to occupy important strongholds like Catana (Catania) and Tauromenium (Taormina) in 135 BC and defeated in various occasions the Roman legions sent to stop them.

"But in Sicily the disorders increased more and more; for cities were taken, and their inhabitants made slaves, and many armies were routed by the rebels, until such time as [Publius] Rupilius the Roman general recovered Tauromenium. The besieged had been reduced to such an extremity of famine by a sharp and close siege, that they began to eat their own children, and the men their wives; and at length they butchered one another for food." (Library of History, book 34, 20).

The city was conquered thanks to the betrayal of a Syrian slave called Sarapion. Rupilius had the rebels first flogged and then thrown off a cliff. The Roman army then moved to retake Enna, who was also reconquered thanks to a betrayal. Unlike Cleon who thought with all his strenght and died a hero, King Antiochus decided to flee with 600 of his men. As they understood it was only a matter of time before Rupilius and his army caught them, the majority of the slaves decided to kill themselves.

"But Eunus the conjuring king out of fear hid himself in some caves, which he had discovered for that purpose; he was dragged out of there with four others of his gang - his cook, his barber, the man who rubbed him in the bath and the jester at his banquets. Finally he was thrown into prison, and there consumed by lice, and so ended his days at Morgantina by a death worthy of the former wickedness of his life. Rupilius afterwards with a small body of men marched all over Sicily, and presently cleared the country of thieves and robbers.

This Eunus king of the robbers called himself Antiochus and all his followers Syrians." (Library of History, book 34, 22-24)