The people of Siracusa had known nothing but war for many generations. The Greeks that built up their city were threatened by Athenians sailing from the homeland to take control of the port. Although the invaders were repulsed, a string of tyrants from Siracusa itself and from nearby Akragas continued to wage wars around the island, sparking fierce conflict from the people they invaded and turning the battles back on the Siracusans.
As Phaestus awoke in his bed in Siracuse, he assumed that the Carthaginian siege of the city was still on. It put pressure on him and his fellow citizens, a pressure that Hamilcar, the Carthaginian general, fully intended, and Phaestus wondered how much longer they could hold out. Their own general, Agathocles, decided not to challenge Hamilcar directly. Inste
