Theste ; and the Egyptians were routed with a loss so considerable,
that few of them escaped to bear the tale of their defeat *. In the
reign of Arcesilaus the third, who succeeded the last-mentioned
Battus, dissensions appear to have taken place among the colonists,
and the brothers of the king abjured his authority, and left Cyrene
with their followers. After some consultation among themselves
with respect to their future proceedings, they are said by Herodotus
to have founded the city of Barca, and established themselves in
that part of the country.
Not content with this measure, the founders of Barca endeavoured
to gain over the Libyan tribes to their party, and to stir up dissen-'
sions between them and the Cyreneans, in which they partially^
succeeded; Arcesilaùs, in consequence, made war upon both,and the
* The whole of the table-land in the neighbourhood of Cyrene, as well as that upon
which the -city was bnilt, may probably have been called Irasa , and the fountain of
Theste may reasonably be imagined to have been that which we have formerly mentioned
a t Gobba, where remains of antiquity still exist. We are led to this conclusion, from
the nature o f th e ground in the neighbourhood of the fountain . in question; for it is
there that the table-land ceasés altogether, and the Cyrenaip range descends so abruptly
as to be in most places inaccessible. We have mentioned the difficulty which we ourselves
experienced in leading our horses down one of the passes near Derna, considered,
of course, to b e a practicable one ; and can readily imagine the disadvantage which an
army would labour under in having so formidable a barrier to surmount, as any of the
passes alluded..to would present ; in front of an enemy whose lines were drawn up on the
summit of the range, and on the edge of the ascent by which they were advancing.
This position in fact is one, of all others, which would naturally be selected as a line of
defence against forces advancing from Derna and Egypt ; and the Greeks would hardly
have neglected to avail themselves of it, supposing them to be a t all acquainted with .the
country, which c anhardly .be doubted a t the period in question, after so long a residence
on the mountain.
Libyans, either fearing to meet him in the field, or wishing to draw
the Cyreneans from their heights to attack them with mòre advantage
in the plains, retreated to the eastward, and joined the native
tribes which occupied the country between Cyrene and Egypt.
Here they were imprudently followed by the king, and art engagement
took place, in . which the Cyreneans were defeated, and seven
thousand of their heavy-armed troops were left dead upon the field
of battle- The consequences of this defeat were fatal to Arcesilaus ;
for soon after his return to Cyrene he was strangled by his brother
Learchus, when disabled by weakness resulting from indisposition ;
the murderer, however, did not long survive him, for he was himself
put to death by means of a stratagem, concerted, we are told, by
Eryxo, the wife of Arcesilaus, who revenged in this manner the
loss of her hùsband. To Arcesilaus succeeded another Battus, who
is said by Herodotus to have been lame ; and in his reign ambassadors
were sent to Mantinea (according to the advice ofthe Oracle),
to entreat the mediation of the Arcadians, in the disputes which had
already been the cause of so much bloodshed. Hemonax was in
consequence selected by the Mantineans, a person highly, respected
for his probity ; who, on arriving at Cyrene, divided the Greeks into
three separate classes, according to the countries from which they
originally came, and gave them a new form of government, which
continued in force during Battus’ reign. The son of this Battus,
however, Arcesilaus, refused to acknowledge the new constitution,
by which many privileges of the,former kings of Cyrene had been
transferred to the body of the people. Insurrections of the populace
i c