Graham, Alexander: Roman Africa: an outline of the history of the Roman occupation of North Africa ; based chiefly upon inscriptions and monumental remains in that country (London [u.a.], 1902)

6

Roman Africa

they had not played fair. A quarrel ensued, but the Philser
brothers, as the representatives of Carthage, stood firm, rootec
as it were, to the spot. To end the dispute without resorting t<
arms, the men of Cyrene said, ' You shall be buried alive on th
spot which you claim as the boundary for your people, or we
on the same condition, shall be allowed to proceed on ou
journey to whatever point we may think proper.' The Philaen
it is said, accepted the terms imposed upon them, and, sacrificin
themselves in the interest of their country, were forthwith buried
alive. If we are to assume that the Carthaginians started fronji
Carthage and the Greeks from the city of Cyrene, the w
story may be regarded as a fable, for the two mounds that once
marked the legendary spot are not midway, but about sevens-
ninths the distance between the alleged starting-points. We.'
may be permitted to suppose that the wind favoured the
Philseni, and that a sand-storm, such as is prevalent in those
parts, blew into the faces of their opponents and retarded their
progress. To give the tale an appearance of reality we may
imagine that the Carthaginians started from Leptis 1 and not
from Carthage, for the mounds or altars consecrated to these
heroic brothers were nearly midway between that city and
Cyrene. Now Leptis was, at that period, a city of wealth and
magnitude, and took rank with Utica as one of the chief
Phoenician colonies. Founded by Sidonians in a prehistoric
age, it grew into importance long before Carthage had attained
the climax of its prosperity, and was regarded by the Car-
thaginians as one of their choicest possessions. Whether this
old-world story of the Philaeni is to be read in the light of a
fable, or is based upon some incident in the settlement of a long-
disputed boundary, matters little after a lapse of more than
2,500 years. The historian and the geographer have accepted
the legend, and honoured it with a place in their records which
time will never obliterate. But whether true or not we may
receive the narrative in the form in which it has been handed
down. It is good for us to think that the spirit of patriotism
inspired men, in the old world as in the new, in the exercise of

1 Leptis Magna, now Lebda, was one of the earliest Phoenician settlements in
Africa. The fertility of the soil favoured colonisation, and the inhabitants, under
Roman rule, were allowed to retain their old laws and customs. Commercial
intercourse and intermarriage with Numidians forced them to alter their language
and to adopt the Numidian tongue. (Sallust, Jug. Ixxviii.)