Aratus

But just as the foremost of them were near the wall, clouds ran up from the sea and enveloped the city itself and the region outside, which thus became dark. Then the rest of them sat down and took off their shoes, since men make little noise and do not slip if they are barefooted when they climb ladders; but Erginus, taking with him seven young men equipped as travellers, got unnoticed to the gate.

Here they slew the gate-keeper and the sentries who were with him. At the same time the ladders were clapped to the wall, and after getting a hundred men over in all haste, Aratus ordered the rest to follow as fast as they could; then he pulled his ladders up after him and marched through the city with his hundred men against the citadel, being already full of joy at his escape from detection and confident of success.

A little farther on they encountered a watch of four men with a light; they were not seen by them, being still in the shade of the moon, but saw them coming up in the opposite direction. So they drew back a little for shelter beneath some walls and buildings, and set an ambush for the men. Three of them they killed in their attack, but the fourth, with a sword-wound in his head, took to flight, crying out that the enemy were in the city.

And presently the trumpets were sounding, the city was in an uproar over what was happening, the streets were full of people running up and down, many lights were flashing, some in the city below and some in the citadel above, and a confused shouting broke forth on all hands.

Meanwhile Aratus was struggling up the steep with all his might, slowly and laboriously at first, unable to keep to the path and wandering from it, since it was everywhere sunk in the shadows of the jutting cliffs and had many twists and turns before it came out at the wall of the citadel. Then, marvellous to relate, the moon is said to have parted the clouds and shone out, making the most difficult part of the road plain, until he got to the wall at the spot desired; there the clouds came together again and everything was hidden in darkness.