ABSTRACT
Following Diodorus’ comments about Syracusan rearmament at the end of the 440s, there is no further mention of Sicilian and specifi cally Syracusan aff airs until 427, when the Athenians decided to send a small fl eet of 20 warships into Sicilian waters (Th uc. 3.86.1).1 Diodorus (12.41.1) states that he had used Ephorus as his source for the cause of the war between Athens and Sparta that began in 431 and he does not appear to have employed Th ucydides for his narrative.2 It is therefore useful here to have two independent accounts of events in Sicily, but diff erences between them will be the subject of discussion.
