§13.44.1μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἐπάνοδον τῶν πρεσβευτῶν Καρχηδόνιοι μὲν τοῖς Αἰγεσταίοις ἀπέστειλαν Λίβυάς τε πεντακισχιλίους καὶ τῶν Καμπανῶν ὀκτακοσίους.
After the return of the ambassadors, the Carthaginians sent to the Aegestaeans five thousand Libyans and eight hundred of the Campanians.
§13.44.2οὗτοι δʼ ἦσαν ὑπὸ τῶν Χαλκιδέων τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις εἰς τὸν πρὸς Συρακοσίους πόλεμον μεμισθωμένοι, καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἧτταν καταπεπλευκότες οὐκ εἶχον τοὺς μισθοδοτήσοντας· οἱ δὲ Καρχηδόνιοι πᾶσιν ἵππους ἀγοράσαντες καὶ μισθοὺς ἀξιολόγους δόντες εἰς τὴν Αἴγεσταν κατέστησαν.
These latter had been hired by the Chalcidians for the Athenians for the war against the Syracusans, and after the defeat, having sailed down, they had no one to pay their wages; but the Carthaginians bought horses for them all, gave them handsome wages, and stationed them in Aegesta.
§13.44.3οἱ δὲ Σελινούντιοι κατʼ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους εὐδαιμονοῦντες, καὶ τῆς πόλεως αὐτοῖς πολυανδρούσης, κατεφρόνουν τῶν Αἰγεσταίων.
The Selinuntians at that time, being prosperous and their city being populous, looked down upon the Aegestaeans.
καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐν τάξει τὴν ὅμορον χώραν ἐπόρθουν, πολὺ προέχοντες ταῖς δυνάμεσι, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα καταφρονήσαντες κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν χώραν ἐσκεδάσθησαν.
And at first, being far superior in forces, they plundered the neighboring territory in an orderly manner; but after this, having become contemptuous, they scattered all over the territory.
§13.44.4οἱ δὲ τῶν Αἰγεσταίων στρατηγοὶ παρατηρήσαντες αὐτοὺς ἐπέθεντο μετὰ τῶν Καρχηδονίων καὶ τῶν Καμπανῶν.
But the generals of the Aegestaeans, having watched them, attacked them together with the Carthaginians and the Campanians.
ἀπροσδοκήτου δὲ τῆς ἐφόδου γενομένης ῥᾳδίως ἐτρέψαντο τοὺς Σελινουντίους, καὶ τῶν μὲν στρατιωτῶν ἀνεῖλον περὶ χιλίους, τῆς δὲ λείας πάσης ἐκυρίευσαν.
Since the assault was unexpected, they easily routed the Selinuntians, slew about a thousand of their soldiers, and made themselves masters of all the booty.
μετὰ δὲ τὴν μάχην εὐθέως ἀπέστειλαν πρέσβεις, οἱ μὲν Σελινούντιοι πρὸς Συρακοσίους, οἱ δʼ Αἰγεσταῖοι πρὸς Καρχηδονίους, περὶ βοηθείας.
Immediately after the battle they sent ambassadors, the Selinuntians to the Syracusans and the Aegestaeans to the Carthaginians, for help.
§13.44.5ἑκατέρων δʼ ἐπαγγειλαμένων συμμαχήσειν, ὁ μὲν Καρχηδονιακὸς πόλεμος ταύτην ἔλαβεν ἀρχήν·
Since both sides promised to bring aid, the Carthaginian War thus took its beginning.
οἱ δὲ Καρχηδόνιοι προορώμενοι τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ πολέμου, τὴν ἐπιτροπὴν ἔδωκαν Ἀννίβᾳ τῷ στρατηγῷ περὶ τοῦ μεγέθους τῆς δυνάμεως, καὶ πάντα προθύμως ὑπηρέτουν.
The Carthaginians, foreseeing the magnitude of the war, gave the charge to Hannibal the general regarding the size of the force, and eagerly supplied everything.
§13.44.6ὁ δὲ Ἀννίβας τό τε θέρος ἐκεῖνο καὶ τὸν συνάπτοντα χειμῶνα πολλοὺς μὲν ἐξ Ἰβηρίας ἐξενολόγησεν, οὐκ ὀλίγους δὲ καὶ τῶν πολιτῶν κατέγραφεν· ἐπῄει δὲ καὶ τὴν Λιβύην ἐπιλεγόμενος ἐξ ἁπάσης πόλεως τοὺς κρατίστους, καὶ ναῦς παρεσκευάζετο, διανοούμενος τῆς ἐαρινῆς ὥρας ἐνισταμένης διαβιβάζειν τὰς δυνάμεις.
And Hannibal, during both that summer and the following winter, enlisted many mercenaries from Iberia, and enrolled not a few of the citizens; he also went about Libya, selecting the best men from every city, and prepared ships, intending to transport the forces when the spring season set in.
τὰ μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὴν Σικελίαν ἐν τούτοις ἦν.
Such, then, was the state of affairs in Sicily.