The Battle of Himera (480 BC), supposedly fought on the same day as the more famous Battle of Salamis (according to Herodotus 7.166) or on the same day as the Battle of Thermopylae (according to Diodorus Siculus 11.24.1), saw the Greek forces of Gelo, King of Syracuse, and Theron, the sole ruler of Agrigentum, defeating the Carthaginian force of Hamilcar, ending the Carthaginian threat to the Greek colonies on the island. Events King Xerxes I of Persia sets out to conquer Greece. ... Combatants Greek city-states Persia Halicarnassus Commanders Eurybiades of Sparta Themistocles of Athens Adeimantus of Corinth Aristides of Athens Xerxes I of Persia Ariamenes † Artemisia Strength 366-380 ships 1 1000 - 1207 ships [1]2 Casualties 40 ships 200-500 ships 1 Herodotus gives 378 of the alliance, but the... Combatants Greek city-states Persia Commanders Leonidas I of Sparta † Xerxes I of Persia Strength About 7,000 Greeks2 Modern estimates range from 200,000 to 500,0001 Casualties 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, 1,000 other Greek allies Modern estimates ~ 20,000, Ctesias implies more 1 Herodotus claims that the... Gelo (d. ... Agrigento (formerly Girgenti) is the name of a town on the southern coast of Italy, capital of the province of Agrigento. ... Ruins of Carthage Carthaginian settlements in the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. The term Carthage refers both to an ancient city in North Africa — located on the eastern side of Lake Tunis across from the center of modern Tunis in Tunisia — and to the civilization which developed... Hamilcar was a traditional name among the ruling families of Carthage. ...

Hamilcar had led an army of 300,000 from Carthage, Libya, Iberia, Liguria, Helisycia, Sardinia, and Corsica against the Sicilians. Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. ...

After winning the battle, Gelon could not find Hamilcar despite exhaustive searching. Herodotus maintains that Hamilcar, unable to obtain a favorable omen during his many sacrifices that day and having heard that his army was on the brink of defeat, leaped into the flames. His body was completely incinerated. Bust of Herodotus at Naples Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: , Herodotos) was a historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC-ca. ...

For years afterwards, the Carthaginians offered sacrifices to him and erected monuments of him in their various colonies and a splendid monument in Carthage.

The battle serves as a classic example of ancient greek bias, and the storytelling, literary, anti-barbarian, pro-Greece style of Herodotus. Carthage could not possibly muster a mercenary army of 300,000 men, and would not contribute the Carthaginian militia (if it still existed) for the purpose of supporting a dynastic puppet; Theron of Akragas. Theron also most likely had an army of his own. Carthage could muster 50,000 men at the most when the city was directly threatened as shown at Zama in 202BC; in which all possible forms of defence was situated in modern Tunisia. Through skilful diplomacy, on rare occasions Carthage has mustered larger armies, but 100,000 strong at the most. On the other hand, when Rome was directly threatened in 216BC, Rome used more populous Italy to still only muster 80,000 men into one army. Therefore, it is actually impossible that the trading empire of carthage would send 300,000 men for a skirmish-related campaign. Zama is: Zama, Kanagawa, a city of Kanagawa prefecture, Japan A former name of Tulum, Mexico The Battle of Zama This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

It is likely the army was substantial and strong, but probably at the very most 50,000 strong. Nevertheless we have no evidence to support anything but a 300,000-strong army, which would have been seen as an army of mythical size. Such an army could not be mustered, and more so, beaten by any ancient army, let along the armies of claimants to small city-states in Greek Sicily. If Hamilkar killed himself prior to the battle's climax, as implied, the Greeks not only won, they anhihilated the gargantuan force.

External links

• Livius Picture Archive: battle of Himera (480 BCE)

This article about a historical battle is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.