The Rhodians were not indolent during these formidable preparations, but employed their time in raising a counter wall on the tract of ground where Demetrius intended to batter the walls of the city with the helepolis; and for this purpose they demolished the wall which surrounded the theatre, as also several neighbouring houses, and even some temples, having solemnly promised the gods to build magnificent structures for the celebration of their worship after the siege should be raised.
When they learnt that the enemy had quitted the sea, they sent out nine of their best ships of war, divided into three squadrons, commanded by three of their best officers. These returned with a rich prize of some galleys and several smaller vessels, with a great number of prisoners. They had likewise seized a galley richly laden, in which were large quantities of tapestry and other furniture, with a variety of rich robes, sent by Phila as a present to her husband Demetrius, accompanied with letters from her own hand. The Rhodians sent the whole, even the letters, to Ptolemy, which exceedingly exasperated Demetrius. In this proceeding, says Plutarch, they did not imitate the polite conduct of the Athenians, who, having once seized some of the couriers of Philip, with whom they were at war, opened all the packets but those of Olympias, which they sent to Philip with the seals unbroken. There are some rules of decency and honour which ought to be inviolably observed, even with enemies.
While the ships of the republic were employed in taking the above-named prizes, a great commotion arose in Rhodes respecting the statues of Antigonus and Demetrius, which had been erected to their honour in the city, and till the present war had been held in much respect. Some of the citizens, in a public meeting, expressed a wish to have the statues of princes who had brought so much trouble upon them destroyed; but the people, who were, for a wonder, more moderate on this occasion than their chiefs, would not allow that purpose to be executed. This was prudent and judicious in the Rhodians; much importance was attached to statues in ancient times, and in case the city should be taken, Demetrius would be better pleased to find his and his father’s statues still respected.
Demetrius, having tried several mines without effect, from their being all discovered by the watchful activity of the besieged, gave orders and made preparation for a general assault, and the helepolis was moved to a situation whence the city might be battered with most effect. Each story of this formidable building was furnished with catapultas and balistas proportioned in their size to the dimensions of the place. It was likewise supported and fortified, on two of its sides, by four small machines called tortoises, each of which had a covered gallery, to secure those who should either enter the helepolis, or issue out of it to execute orders. On the two other sides was a battering-ram of a prodigious size, consisting of a piece of timber thirty fathoms in length, armed with iron terminating in a point, and as strong as the beak of a galley. These engines were mounted on wheels, and were driven forward to batter the walls during the attack, with incredible force, by nearly a thousand men.
When everything was ready, Demetrius ordered the trumpets to sound and the general assault to be given on all sides, both by sea and land. In the heat of the attack, and when the walls were already shaken by the battering-rams, ambassadors arrived from the Cnidians, earnestly soliciting Demetrius to suspend the assault, and giving him hopes that they should prevail upon the Rhodians to consent to an honourable capitulation. A suspension of arms was accordingly granted, but the Rhodians refusing to capitulate on the conditions proposed to them, the attack was renewed with so much fury, and all the machines co-operated so effectually, that a large tower, built with square stones, and the wall that flanked it, were battered down. The besieged fought with the utmost bravery in the breach, and repulsed their enemies.
In this conjuncture the vessels which Ptolemy had freighted with three hundred thousand measures of corn and different kinds of pulse, for the Rhodians, arrived very seasonably in the port, notwithstanding all the efforts of the enemy’s ships which cruised in the neighbourhood to intercept them. A few days after this relief, two other small fleets sailed into the port, one of which was sent by Cassander, with one hundred thousand bushels of barley; the other came from Lysimachus, with four hundred thousand bushels of wheat, and as much barley. This seasonable and abundant supply, which was received when the city began to feel the want of provisions, inspired the besieged with new courage, and they resolved not to surrender till the last extremity.
Whilst in this state of renewed spirits, they attempted to fire the enemy’s machines, and with this view, a numerous body of soldiers marched out of the city towards midnight, with torches and flaming brands. These troops advanced to the batteries, and set them on fire, whilst clouds of arrows were poured from the walls to annoy those who endeavoured to extinguish the flames. The besiegers lost great numbers of men on this occasion, from being incapable in the night to see or avoid the volleys of arrows discharged upon them. Several plates of iron happening to fall from the helepolis during the action, the Rhodians advanced with the hopes of setting it on fire; but, as the troops within quenched it with water as fast as the flames were kindled, they could not effect their design. Demetrius, however, alarmed for his machines, caused them to be removed to a distance.
Being curious to know what number of machines the besieged had employed in casting arrows, Demetrius caused all that had been shot from the place in the course of that night to be collected; and when they were counted and a proper computation made, he found that the inhabitants must have more than eight hundred engines of different dimensions, for discharging fires, and about fifteen hundred for arrows. He was struck with consternation at the number, as he had never thought the city could have made such formidable preparations. He buried his dead, gave strict charge with respect to the care of the wounded, and promptly repaired his injured machines.
The besieged took advantage of the temporary absence of the machines to fortify themselves against a fresh attack. To this purpose, they opened a wide and deep ditch behind the breach, to obstruct the passage of the enemy into the city; after which, they raised a substantial wall, in the form of a crescent, along the ditch, which would create still more trouble.
Alive to every expedient, they at the same time detached a squadron of their best sailing ships, which captured a great number of vessels laden with provisions for Demetrius’s army. This supply was soon followed by a numerous fleet of small vessels, freighted with corn and other necessaries, sent them by Ptolemy, with fifteen hundred men commanded by Antigonus of Macedonia.