The Barbarians about Messana, called Mamertines, were giving much annoyance to the Greeks, and had even laid some of them under contribution. They were numerous and warlike, and therefore had been given a name which, in the Latin tongue, signifies martial. Pyrrhus seized their collectors of tribute and put them to death, then conquered the people themselves in battle and destroyed many of their strongholds.
Edition :
Plutarch Lives IX: Demetrius and Antony, Pyrrhus and Caius Marius, Ed. Jeffrey Henderson, trans. Bernadotte Perrin (The Loeb Classical Library 101), Harvard University Press: Cambridge/MA - London 1968 (first ed. 1920).
Remark :
victim: Mamertini is only the self-assigned name these mercenaries of "former Oscan" origin gave themselves, see: https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/mamertini-e719960?s.num=0&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.brill-s-new-pauly&s.q=mamertini
