cleared on Gelo's orders. The battle Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus give different versions of the battle, which are hard to reconcile. Diodorus provides a more detailed account. Herodotus on Himera The Greek and Punic armies fought from dawn to dusk, while Hamilcar watched the battle from his camp and offered sacrifices to Baal in a huge fire. No information on numbers, battle formation or battle site is given. When the Carthaginian army was routed towards dusk, Hamilcar jumped into the sacrificial fire. His body was never found and the Greeks erected a monument to his memory where he supposedly died. Herodotus noted that Sicilian tradition held that this battle and the battle of Salamis were fought on the same day. Diodorus Siculus and other sources The actions of the Greek cavalry in countering Carthaginian foragers prompted Hamilcar to send a letter to Selinus requesting them to send their cavalry to Himera on a given date that Hamilcar was to offer a sacrifice to Poseidon – a Greek deity whose worship probably required the presence of Greeks. The letter was intercepted by Gelo's men. Gelo planned to use his own cavalry to impersonate the Selinute reinforcement and infiltrate the Carthaginian camp, while his army attacked the land camp. Greeks attack the land camp Gelo's horsemen left their camp on the night before the appointed day, and at daybreak these horsemen arrived at the Carthaginian sea camp and were admitted into the camp. Greeks spotted them inside the Carthaginian camp from Himera and signaled Gelo. It is not known if the Syracusan army was inside Gelo's camp or had assembled somewhere outside at that time. The Greeks marched around the south end of Himera and moved towards the Carthaginian land camp. Theron and his army stayed put in Himera. The Carthaginian army left their camp and formed up on the hill, forcing the Greeks to fight an uphill battle. The struggle was fierce and long and neither side gained any advantages. Death of Hamilcar Sometime after the battle was joined, the disguised Greek horsemen killed Hamilcar while he was preparing the sacrifice, and then set fire to the beached ships, causing great confusion at the sea camp. It is not known what further role the Greek cavalry played in the battle. The Carthaginians rushed to launch whatever ships they could save and some of the ships, overcrowded with soldiers, left the site