Demetrius

But with Demetrius, even the work of his hands was kingly, and his method had grandeur about it, since what he produced displayed loftiness of purpose and spirit combined with elegance and ingenuity, so that men thought it worthy, not only to be designed and paid for by a king, but actually to be wrought by his hand. For its magnitude terrified even his friends, and its beauty delighted even his enemies. And this has still more truth in it than elegance of diction.

His enemies would stand on shore and admire his galleys of fifteen or sixteen banks of oars as they sailed along past, and his city-takers were a spectacle to those whom he was besieging, as the actual facts testify. For Lysimachus, although he was the bitterest enemy Demetrius had among the kings, and had arrayed himself against him when he was besieging Soli in Cilicia, sent and asked Demetrius to show him his engines of war, and his ships in full career; and when Demetrius had shown them, Lysimachus expressed his admiration and went away.

The Rhodians also, after they had been for a long time besieged by Demetrius and had come to terms with him, asked him for some of his engines of war, that they might keep them as a reminder of his power as well as of their own bravery.

Now, he made war upon the Rhodians[*](In 305-304 B.C. The siege lasted about a year.) because they were allies of Ptolemy, and brought up against their walls his greatest city-taker. Its base was square, and each of its sides measured at the bottom forty-eight cubits. It rose to a height of sixty-six cubits, and tapered from base to summit.