and the people of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Abydus&groupId=268&placeId=523">Abydus</a>, when they heard the answer, summoned a public assembly and discussed the situation in a despairing mood.
They decided first of all to liberate the slaves, that they might have no pretext for refusing to assist them in the defence, in the next place to assemble all the women in the temple of Artemis and the children with their nurses in the gymnasium, and finally to collect all their gold and silver in the market-place and place all valuable articles of dress in the Rhodian quadrireme and the trireme of the Cyzicenians.
Having resolved on this they unanimously put their decree into execution, and then calling another assembly they nominated fifty of the older and most trusted citizens, men who possessed sufficient bodily strength to carry out their decision,
and made them swear in the presence of all the citizens that whenever they saw the inner wall in the possession of the enemy they would kill all the women and children, set fire to the ships I mentioned, and throw the gold and silver into the sea with curses.
After this, calling the priests before them they all swore either to conquer the foe or die fighting for their country.
Last of all they slew some victims and obliged the priests and priestesses to pronounce over the burning entrails curses on those who neglected to prince what they had sworn.
Having thus made sure of everything they stopped countermining against the enemy and came to the decision that as soon as the cross wall fell they would fight on its ruins and resist the assailants to the death.
Walbank Commentary