§14.41.1ὁρῶν δὲ τῶν Ἑλλήνων τινὰς εἰς τὴν ἐπικράτειαν τῶν Καρχηδονίων ἀποτρέχοντας τάς τε πόλεις καὶ τὰς κτήσεις κομιζομένους, ἐνόμιζε τῆς πρὸς Καρχηδονίους εἰρήνης μενούσης πολλοὺς τῶν ὑφʼ αὑτὸν ταττομένων βουλήσεσθαι κοινωνεῖν τῆς ἐκείνων ἀποστάσεως, ἐὰν δὲ πόλεμος γένηται, πάντας τοὺς καταδεδουλωμένους ὑπὸ Καρχηδονίων ἀποστήσεσθαι πρὸς αὐτόν· ἤκουσε δὲ καὶ τῶν Καρχηδονίων πολλοὺς ἐν Λιβύῃ διεφθάρθαι λοιμικῇ καταστάσει περιπεσόντας.
Seeing some of the Greeks fleeing to the territory of the Carthaginians, recovering both their cities and their possessions, Dionysius thought that, as long as the peace with the Carthaginians remained, many of those who were placed under his rule would wish to join in revolting to them, but if war should break out, all those who had been enslaved by the Carthaginians would revolt to him; and he also heard that many of the Carthaginians in Libya had perished, having fallen victim to a pestilential condition.
§14.41.2διὸ καὶ νομίζων εὔθετον ἔχειν καιρὸν τοῦ πολέμου, κατασκευὴν ἔκρινε δεῖν πρῶτον γίνεσθαι· ὑπελάμβανε γὰρ ἔσεσθαι μέγαν καὶ πολυχρόνιον τὸν πόλεμον, ὡς ἂν πρὸς τοὺς δυνατωτάτους τῶν κατὰ τὴν Εὐρώπην μέλλων διαγωνίζεσθαι.
Therefore, believing that he had a favorable opportunity for war, he decided that preparations must first be made; for he assumed that the war would be great and long-lasting, inasmuch as he was about to contend against the most powerful people in Europe.
§14.41.3εὐθὺς οὖν τοὺς τεχνίτας ἤθροιζεν ἐκ μὲν τῶν ὑπʼ αὐτὸν ταττομένων πόλεων κατὰ πρόσταγμα, τοὺς δʼ ἐξ Ἰταλίας καὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος, ἔτι δὲ τῆς Καρχηδονίων ἐπικρατείας, μεγάλοις μισθοῖς προτρεπόμενος.
Immediately, therefore, he assembled craftsmen, from the cities subject to his rule by command, and others from Italy and Greece, and further from the territory of the Carthaginians, attracting them with high wages.
διενοεῖτο γὰρ ὅπλα μὲν παμπληθῆ καὶ βέλη παντοῖα κατασκευάσαι, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ναῦς τετρήρεις καὶ πεντήρεις, οὐδέπω κατʼ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους σκάφους πεντηρικοῦ νεναυπηγημένου.
For he intended to manufacture arms in vast quantities and missiles of every kind, and in addition to these, quadriremes and quinqueremes, no five-banked vessel having ever been built up to those times.
§14.41.4συναχθέντων δὲ πολλῶν τεχνιτῶν, διελὼν αὐτοὺς κατὰ τὰς οἰκείας ἐργασίας κατέστησε τῶν πολιτῶν τοὺς ἐπισημοτάτους, προθεὶς δωρεὰς μεγάλας τοῖς κατασκευάσασιν ὅπλα.
When many craftsmen had assembled, having divided them according to their respective crafts, he appointed the most distinguished of the citizens over them, having offered great rewards to those who manufactured arms.
διέδωκε δὲ καὶ τῶν ὅπλων τὸν γένους ἑκάστου τύπον διὰ τὸ τοὺς μισθοφόρους ἐκ πολλῶν ἐθνῶν συνεστηκέναι· §14.41.5ἔσπευδε γὰρ ἕκαστον τῶν στρατευομένων κοσμῆσαι τοῖς οἰκείοις ὅπλοις, καὶ διελάμβανε τὸ στρατόπεδον πολλὴν ἕξειν κατάπληξιν διὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν καὶ κατὰ τὰς μάχας κάλλιστα χρήσεσθαι τῷ συνήθει καθοπλισμῷ πάντας τοὺς συναγωνιζομένους.
And he also distributed a model of each kind of arm, because his mercenaries were composed of many nations; for he was eager to equip each of the soldiers with their own native arms, and he believed that the army would inspire great terror for this reason, and that in battles all his fellow-combatants would make the best use of their customary armor.
§14.41.6συμπροθυμουμένων δὲ καὶ τῶν Συρακοσίων τῇ τοῦ Διονυσίου προαιρέσει, πολλὴν συνέβαινε γίνεσθαι τὴν φιλοτιμίαν περὶ τὴν τῶν ὅπλων κατασκευήν.
Since the Syracusans also shared the enthusiasm for Dionysius' purpose, there was great rivalry concerning the manufacture of arms.
οὐ μόνον γὰρ ἐν τοῖς προνάοις καὶ τοῖς ὀπισθοδόμοις τῶν ἱερῶν, ἔτι δὲ τοῖς γυμνασίοις καὶ ταῖς κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν στοαῖς, ἔγεμε πᾶς τόπος τῶν ἐργαζομένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ χωρὶς τῶν δημοσίων τόπων ἐν ταῖς ἐπιφανεστάταις οἰκίαις ὅπλα παμπληθῆ κατεσκευάζετο.
For not only in the vestibules and the back chambers of the temples, and further in the gymnasia and the colonnades in the marketplace, was every place filled with workers, but also, apart from public places, vast quantities of arms were being manufactured in the most distinguished houses.