Lucius Aemilius Regillus, who succeeded to the command of the fleet, was met at the Piraeus by Epicrates. On hearing of the defeat of the Rhodians, as he himself had only two quinqueremes, he took Epicrates and his four ships with him to Asia, and some ships from Athens accompanied him. He crossed the Aegean to Chios. Timasicrates the Rhodian arrived there in the dead of night with two quinqueremes from Samos, and on being conducted to Aemilius, explained that he had been sent as an escort because the king's ships made those waters dangerous for transports by their constant excursions from the Hellespont and from Abydos. Whilst Aemilius was crossing from Chios to Samos he was met by two Rhodian quadriremes sent to him by Livius, and Eumenes also met him with two quinqueremes. On his arrival at Samos, Aemilius took over the fleet from Livius, and after the customary sacrifices had been duly offered he called a council of war. Livius was first asked for his opinion. He said that no one could give more sincere advice than the man who advised another to do what he would himself do, were he in his place. He had had it in his mind to sail to Ephesus with the whole of his fleet, including a number of transports loaded with ballast, and sinking these at the entrance RH302 of the harbour. This barrage would not involve much trouble because the mouth of the harbour was like that of a river, long, narrow and full of shoals. In this way he would have prevented the enemy from operating by sea and made his fleet useless.
[37.15]This suggestion found no supporters. Eumenes asked: "What do you mean? When you have barred access to the sea with the sunken ships whilst your own fleet is free, are you going to sail away to assist your friends and spread alarm amongst your enemies, or are you going to continue your blockade of the harbour just the same? If you leave the place, who can have the slightest doubt that the enemy will raise the sunken obstacles and open the harbour with less trouble than it will take us to close it? And if you have to remain here, what good will the closing of the harbour do? Nay, on the other hand, they will spend the summer in the peaceful enjoyment of a harbour perfectly safe and a city filled with wealth, with all the resources of Asia at their command, whilst the Romans, exposed to waves and storms on the open sea and deprived of all supplies, will have to maintain a constant watch and will be themselves more tied up and debarred from doing what ought to be done than the enemy, in spite of their barriers." Eudamus, the commandant of the Rhodian fleet, expressed his disapproval of the plan without saying what he thought ought to be done. Epicrates gave it as his opinion that for the time being they ought to leave Ephesus out of account and send a portion of the fleet to Lycia to gain Patara, the capital of the country, as an ally. That course would possess two great advantages: the Rhodians with a friendly country opposite their island would be able to devote their undivided strength to the war with Antiochus, and his fleet which was being assembled in Cilicia would be prevented from joining Polyxenidas. This proposal weighed most with the council; it was, however, decided that Regillus should take the whole fleet to the port of Ephesus to overawe the enemy.
[37.16]C. Livius was sent to Lycia with two Roman quinqueremes, four Rhodian quadriremes and two undecked ships from Smyrna. His instructions were to visit Rhodes on his way and communicate his plans to the government. The cities which he passed on his voyage - Miletus, Myndus, Halicarnassus, Cnidus and Cos - fully met all his requirements. When he arrived in Rhodes he explained the object of his expedition, and asked their opinion on it. It was universally approved and three additional quadriremes were supplied for his fleet. He then set sail for Patara. A favourable wind carried them right up to the city, and they hoped that the suddenness of their appearance might frighten the citizens into deserting Antiochus. Afterwards the wind veered round and a heavy cross-sea arose. They succeeded by dint of hard rowing in holding the land, but there was no safe anchorage near the city and they could not lie off the harbour mouth in such a rough sea and with night coming on. Sailing past the city walls they made for the port of Phoenicus rather less than two miles away. This harbour afforded a safe shelter from the violence of the waves, but it was surrounded by high cliffs which the townsmen together with the king's troops who formed the garrison promptly occupied. Though the shore 70-282 was rocky and landing difficult, Livius sent the contingent from Issa and the Smyrnean light infantry to dislodge them. As long as these light troops had only few to deal with they kept up the contest with missiles and desultory skirmishing more than with hand-to-hand fighting, but as more and more came out of the city in a constant stream and at last the whole of the able-bodied population were pouring out, Livius began to feel apprehensive lest his light troops should be cut off and the ships assailed from the shore. So he sent into the fight the whole of his troops, the seamen and even the rowers, armed with whatever weapons they could get hold of. Even then the battle hung in suspense and not only were a good many soldiers killed, but L. Apustius was amongst those who fell in this promiscuous fighting. The Lycians, however, were routed and driven back to their city and the Romans returned, victorious, but with considerable losses, to their ships. All idea of making any further attempt on Patara was abandoned; the Rhodians were sent home and Livius, sailing along the coast of Asia, crossed over to Greece to meet the Scipios who were in Thessaly at the time. Then he returned to Italy.
[37.17]Stress of weather had compelled Aemilius to abandon his station at Ephesus and he returned, without having effected anything, to Samos. Here he learnt that Livius had abandoned the Lycian campaign and left for Italy. He looked upon the failure at Patara as a humiliation and decided to sail thither with his whole fleet and attack the city with his full strength. Sailing past Miletus and the other friendly cities on the coast, he landed at Jasus in the bay of Bargyliae. The city was held by the king's troops; the Romans treated the country round as hostile and ravaged it. Then they tried to open negotiations with the magistrates and leading citizens with the view of inducing them to surrender, but after they assured him that they had no power whatever he prepared to storm the place. There were with the Romans some refugees from Jasus. These men went in a body to the Rhodians and implored them not to allow a city which was a neighbour and of the same nationality as they were to perish through no fault of its own. They pleaded that they had been expelled from their native town solely because of their fidelity to Rome, and those who still remained there were forcibly held down by the king's troops lust as they had been forcibly expelled. The one desire in the breast of everyone in Jasus was to escape from their slavery to Antiochus. Moved by their entreaties and supported by Eumenes, the Rhodians urged upon the consul their ties of common nationality with the besieged and the wretched plight of the city, beleaguered by the king's garrison. They succeeded in persuading him to desist from attacking it. Sailing away from there, as all the other cities were friendly, the fleet skirted the Asiatic shore and reached Loryma, a harbour opposite Rhodes. Here remarks were made by the military tribunes, in their private conversations, which at last reached the ears of Aemilius, to the effect that the fleet was withdrawn from Ephesus, its proper theatre of war, so that the enemy, left with full liberty of action, was able to make attempts on all the cities in his neighbourhood which were allied with Rome. Aemilius was so far influenced by what he heard that he summoned the Rhodians and inquired of them whether the whole of the fleet could find room in the harbour of Patara. On their assuring him that it could not, he made this a ground for abandoning his project, and took his ships back to Samos.
[37.18]During this time Seleucus, who had kept his army in Aeolis all the winter, engaged partly in rendering assistance to his allies and partly in ravaging the territories of those cities which he failed to win over, decided now to cross the frontiers of Eumenes whilst he was at a distance from home, engaged in attacking the maritime cities of Lycia in conjunction with the Romans and Rhodians. He began by threatening an attack on Elea, then abandoning the siege he ravaged the surrounding district, and then went on to attack Pergamum, the capital and stronghold of the kingdom. Attalus posted troops in front of the city and sent forward skirmishers of 642-432 cavalry and light infantry to harass the enemy without meeting him in a regular engagement. When he found in these encounters that he was in no way a match for his foe, he retired within his walls and the investment of the city commenced. Antiochus left Apamea just about this time and encamped first at Sardis and then at the head of the Caicus, not far from Seleucus' camp, with a vast army drawn from various nations, the most formidable of whom were the Gaulish mercenaries, about 4000 strong. These, with a small admixture of other troops, were sent to devastate every part of the territory of Pergamum. As soon as news of this reached Samos, Eumenes, summoned home by this war within his borders, sailed direct to Elea, where a body of cavalry and light infantry were in readiness. Feeling himself safe with these, he hurried on to Pergamum before the enemy were aware or had made any movement to oppose him. Here again the fighting was confined to skirmishes, as Eumenes firmly declined to risk a decisive action. A few days later the Roman and Rhodian fleets moved from Samos to Elea to support the king. When Antiochus received intelligence that troops were landed at Elea and that such a large naval force was concentrated in a single harbour, and at the same time learnt that the consul and his army were already in Macedonia, and that all preparations were being made for crossing the Hellespont, he thought that the time had come for discussing terms of peace, before he was beset both by land and sea. There was some rising ground over against Elea, and he selected this for the site of his camp. Leaving all his infantry there, and his cavalry, of which he had 6000, he went down into the plain which extended to the walls of Elea, and sent a herald to Aemilius to inform him that he wished to open up negotiations for peace with him.

During these operations in the Hellespont, Polyxenidas, the king's lieutenant and a Rhodian refugee, received tidings of the departure from home of his country's fleet and also of the insolent and contemptuous way in which the commandant, Pausistratus, had spoken of him in public. This made the contest between them a personal one, and Polyxenidas thought of nothing else night or day but how to give the lie to the man's bombast by his deeds. He sent a man who was well known to Pausistratus to tell him that if Polyxenidas were allowed to do so he might be of great service to Pausistratus and to his country. Pausistratus was much surprised and inquired in what way this could be brought about. When he had given his word at the other's request that he would either co-operate in the scheme or conceal it in silence, the intermediary informed him that Polyxenidas would betray to him the whole of the king's fleet or at all events the greater part of it, and that the only reward he claimed for so great a service was the restoration to his native land. The offer was too important a one for Pausistratus either to place full confidence in or absolutely to decline. He sailed to Panhormus, a harbour in Samos, and stayed there to examine the proposal more closely. PMI-001 Messages passed to and fro between them, but Pausistratus was not quite reassured until Polyxenidas had, in the presence of the messenger, written down with his own hand the terms of the promise he made, and affixed his seal to the document. Pausistratus thought that by a definite pledge like that the traitor would be at his mercy, for as Polyxenidas was living under an autocrat he would never dare to give what he had signed with his own hand as evidence against him. Then the plan of the pretended treachery was arranged. Polyxenidas said that he would not make any further preparations whatever, he would not keep any large number of rowers with the fleet, some of the vessels he should haul up on land, ostensibly for repairs, others he should disperse in neighbouring ports, a few he should keep at sea outside the port of Ephesus, so that if circumstances compelled him to go out he could expose them to battle. When Pausistratus heard that Polyxenidas was going to disperse his fleet in this way, he followed suit. One division of his fleet he sent to Halicarnassus for supplies, another he despatched to Samos . . . so that he might be ready to attack on receiving the signal from the traitor. Polyxenidas still further misled him by hauling up a certain number of ships and repairing the dockyards as though intending to haul up others. When the rowers were called up from their winter quarters, they were not sent to Ephesus but assembled secretly at Magnesia.
[37.11]A soldier out of Antiochus' army happened to come to Samos on private business. He was arrested as a spy and brought before the commandant at Panhormus. When questioned as to what was going on at Ephesus, either through fear or acting as traitor to his countrymen he disclosed everything, and asserted that the fleet was lying in the harbour completely equipped and ready for action, that all the rowers had been sent to Magnesia, that very few ships had been hauled up, that the dockyards were closed and that the naval service had never been more carefully looked after. Pausistratus was so completely obsessed by the deception practiced upon him and the vain hopes it had aroused that he would not believe what he heard. When all his preparations were made, Polyxenidas brought up the rowers from Magnesia by night and hastily launched the ships which had been beached. He remained there through the day not to complete his dispositions so much as to prevent the fleet from being seen when it left the harbour. Starting after sunset with seventy decked ships, he put into the port of Pygela before daybreak as the wind was against him. Remaining there for the day for the same reason - to escape observation - he set sail at night for the nearest point on Samian territory. From there he ordered a man named Nicander, a pirate chieftain, to sail with five ships to Palinurus and take the troops from there by the shortest route across country to Panhormus in the rear of the enemy, whilst he himself proceeded thither with his fleet divided into two squadrons, so that he could hold the entrance to the harbour on either side.
Pausistratus was at first somewhat perturbed by this unexpected turn of events, but the old soldier soon pulled himself together and thinking that the enemy could be more easily checked on land than on the sea he sent two divisions of his troops to occupy 1Y0-259 the headlands which curving inward from the sea like two horns, form the harbour. He expected to repulse the enemy easily by attacking him from both sides, but the sight of Nicander on the land above upset his plan, and suddenly changing his tactics he ordered all to go on board. There was terrible confusion amongst the soldiers and seamen, and something like a flight to the ships took place when they found themselves surrounded landwards and seawards at the same time. Pausistratus saw that his only chance of safety lay in his being able to force a passage through the harbour into the open sea, and as soon as he saw all his men on board he ordered the fleet to follow him while he led the way with his vessel rowed at full speed towards the mouth of the harbour. Just as he was clearing it Polyxenidas closed round him with three ships, and his vessel, struck by their beaks, was sunk, the defenders were overwhelmed by a hail of missiles and Pausistratus, who fought most gallantly, was killed. Of the remaining ships some were taken outside the harbour, others within, and some were captured by Nicander while they were trying to put off from the shore. Only five Rhodian vessels and two from Cos escaped. They had kindled fires in braziers which they hung from poles projecting over the bows, and the terrifying sight of these flames enabled them to clear a way through the crowded ships. The Erythraean triremes which were coming to reinforce the Rhodian fleet met the fugitive vessels not far from Samos, and thereupon changed their course to the Hellespont to join the Romans. Just before this Seleucus captured through an act of treachery the city of Phocaea; one of its gates was opened to him by a soldier on guard. The alarm this created led Cyme and other cities on that coast to go over to him.
[37.12]Whilst these events were occurring in Aeolis, Abydos had for several days been standing a siege, and the king's garrison had been defending the walls. At last, when all were weary of the struggle, the commandant, Philotas, entrusted the magistrates with the task of opening negotiations with Livius with a view to surrender. Matters were delayed by their being unable to agree as to whether the garrison should be allowed to depart with their arms or without them. Whilst they were discussing this point news arrived of the Rhodian defeat. This took the question out of their hands, for Livius, fearing lest Polyxenidas after such an important success should surprise the fleet at Canae, instantly abandoned the siege of Abydos and the protection of the Hellespont and put to sea the vessels which had been drawn up on the land there. Eumenes went to Elea and Livius sailed for Phocaea with the whole of his fleet and two ships which had joined him from Mitylene. On being informed that the place was held by a strong garrison for the king and that Seleucus was encamped not very far away, he raided the coast and hastily conveyed the spoil, mostly prisoners, on board his ships. He only waited till Eumenes came up with his fleet and then started for Samos. At Rhodes the tidings of the disaster caused widespread grief and alarm, for in addition to the loss in ships and men they had lost the flower and strength of their youth, for many of their nobles had amongst other motives been attracted by the character of Pausistratus which stood deservedly very high amongst his compatriots. But their grief gave place to anger at the thought of their having been the victims of treachery and, worst of all, at the hands of their own fellow-countrymen. They at once despatched ten ships and a few days later ten more, all under the command of Eudamus, a man by no means the equal of Pausistratus in other military qualities, but one who, they believed, would prove a more cautious leader, as possessing a less adventurous spirit. The Romans and Eumenes brought up the fleet first at Erythrae, where they stayed one night. The day following they kept their course to the headland of Corycus. From there they intended to cross over to the nearest point of Samos, but as they did not wait for the sunrise, from which the pilots could note the state of the sky, they sailed into uncertain weather. When they were half-way the north-east wind backed into the north and they began to toss on the waves of an angry sea.
[37.13]Polyxenidas suspected that the enemy would make for Samos in order to form a junction with the Rhodian fleet. Putting out from Ephesus he first stood off Myonnesus, and from there sailed on to an island called Macris for the purpose of catching any stragglers from the fleet as it sailed past, or attacking, at advantage the hindmost ships. When he saw that the fleet was scattered by the storm he thought that his chance of attacking them had come, but in a short time the gale increased in violence and raised a heavy sea, making it impossible for him to approach them. He now steered for the island of Aethalia, intending to attack them the next day while they were putting into Samos. Towards evening a few Roman ships gained a deserted harbourage in the island, and the rest of the fleet, after tossing on the deep the whole night through, reached the same haven. Here they learnt from the peasants that the enemy's fleet was lying at Aethalia, and a council of war was held to decide whether they should seek a decision at once or wait for the Rhodian contingent. It was decided to put off the encounter and they returned to their base at Corycus. Polyxenidas also, after waiting in vain, returned to Ephesus. Now that the sea was clear of the hostile ships the Romans sailed to Samos. The Rhodian fleet arrived a few days later, and to show that the Romans had only been waiting for 70-298 them, they left at once for Ephesus to bring about a decisive battle, or if the enemy declined battle, to force an admission that he was afraid to fight, which would very materially influence the attitude of the various cities. They lay off the entrance to the harbour with the ships all abreast in a long line. As no enemy appeared, one division of the fleet anchored at the harbour mouth, the other disembarked its marines who proceeded to devastate the country far and wide. While they were bringing back an enormous amount of plunder and passing near the walls, Andronicus, a Macedonian, who commanded the garrison of Ephesus, made a sortie, took a large part of the plunder from them and drove them back to the ships. The next day the Romans planted an ambuscade about half-way between the city and the coast and advanced in line of march towards the city in order to draw the Macedonian outside the walls. Suspecting what had happened no one came out, and they marched back to their ships. As the enemy shunned an encounter either on land or sea, the fleet returned to Samos. From this port the praetor despatched two vessels belonging to the Italian allies and two Rhodian ships under the command of Epicrates to the Strait of Cephallania. This sea was infested by pirates under the leadership of Hybristas a Lacedaemonian, and supplies from Italy were cut off.

The walls had, however, been shaken down in many places when news reached Acilius that his successor had landed in Apollonia, and was advancing through Epirus and Thessaly. The consul was coming with 13,000 infantry and 500 cavalry; he had already reached the Maliac Gulf, and had sent a detachment to Hypata to demand the surrender of that city. The reply was that the inhabitants refused to do so without the sanction of the national council of Aetolia. Not wishing to lose time in the siege of Hypata while Amphissa was still holding out, he sent his brother Africanus on in advance and marched on Amphissa. Just before their arrival the citizens had abandoned their city, which was now to a large extent denuded of its walls, and had retreated, combatants and non-combatants alike, into the citadel which they held to be impregnable. The consul encamped about six miles distant from the place. A deputation from Athens arrived there to intercede for the Aetolians, and went first to Publius Scipio, who had, as stated above, gone on in advance, and then to the consul. They 220-301 received a conciliatory reply from Africanus, who was keeping Asia and Antiochus in view and trying to find some honourable pretext for abandoning the Aetolian war. He told them that they must endeavour to persuade the Aetolians as well as the Romans to prefer peace to war. In consequence of the representations of the Athenians, a large deputation of Aetolians very soon came from Hypata and had an interview with Africanus. Their hopes of peace were considerably raised by what he said to them, as he pointed out how many tribes and nations in Spain and subsequently in Africa had thrown themselves on his protection, and how he had left everywhere nobler memorials of his clemency and kindness than of his military successes. They had to all appearance gained their end, when the consul, on being approached, gave them the very same answer as that with which they had been turned out of the senate. This unexpected treatment was a great blow to the Aetolians, for they saw that they had gained nothing either through the intervention of the Athenians or the considerate reply of Africanus.
[37.7]They returned to Hypata without seeing any way out of their difficulties. They had no fund from which they could pay 1000 talents, and if they made an unconditional surrender they were afraid they might have to suffer in person. So they instructed the same deputation to go back to the consul and Africanus, and implore them, if they were willing really to grant them peace and not simply dangle it before their eyes and cheat the hopes of their unhappy nation, either to reduce the sum fixed for them to pay, or make the conditions of surrender such that they would not affect the personal safety of the citizens. They could not induce the consul to make any change in the conditions, and the deputation was again sent away with nothing gained. The Athenian deputation followed them to Hypata. The Aetolians had completely lost heart after so many rebuffs and were deploring in unavailing lamentation the hard fortune of their nation, when Echedemus, the leader of the Athenian deputation, recalled them to a more hopeful frame of mind by suggesting that they should ask for a six months' truce so that they might send envoys to Rome. The delay, he pointed out, would in no way aggravate their present distress which had reached the extreme point, and many things might happen in the interval to lighten it. Acting on his advice the same delegates were sent again. They first obtained an interview with P. Scipio and through his instrumentality they obtained from the consul a truce for the time they asked for.
Manius Acilius raised the siege of Amphissa and after handing over his army to the consul left Greece. The consul returned from Amphissa into Thessaly with the intention of marching through Macedonia and Thrace into Asia. On this Africanus observed to his brother: "The route which you are selecting I too quite approve of, but everything depends upon Philip's attitude. If he is faithful to us he will give us free passage, and furnish us with supplies and everything necessary for an army during a long march. If he proves untrustworthy you will find no part of Thrace safe. I think, therefore, that the king's intentions ought to be ascertained. That will be best done if your emissary pays him a surprise visit before he has taken any preparatory steps." Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, by far the ablest and most energetic young man of his time, was selected for the task, and by using relays of horses he travelled with incredible speed and reached Pella three days 642-552 after leaving Amphissa. He found the king at a banquet; he had drunk deeply, and the mere fact of his giving way to this self-indulgence removed any suspicion that he was contemplating any change in his policy. His guest received a courteous welcome and on the following day he saw provisions in lavish abundance ready for the army, bridges thrown over the rivers, and roads made where there were difficulties of transport. Returning as quickly as he had come, he met the consul at Thaumaci and reported what he had seen. The army felt more confident and hopeful and marched away in high spirits, to find everything prepared for them in Macedonia. On their arrival the king received them in royal state and accompanied them on their march. He displayed great tact and refinement, qualities which recommended him to Africanus, who, singularly distinguished as he was in other respects, did not object to politeness and courtesy if they were not accompanied by effeminacy. Philip accompanied them through Macedonia and through Thrace as well; he had everything that they required ready for them, and in this way they reached the Hellespont.
[37.8]After the sea-fight off Corycus Antiochus had the whole winter free for fresh preparations both on sea and land, but he devoted himself mainly to fitting out his fleet in order that he might not be deprived of all command of the sea. He reflected that his defeat occurred during the absence of the Rhodian fleet, and if they took part in the next battle - and he was sure they would not commit the fault of being too late again - he would need a large number of ships so as to be equal to the enemy in ships and men. He accordingly sent Hannibal to Syria to bring the Phoenician vessels, and he gave Polyxenidas orders to refit what ships there were and to construct fresh ones. The less his success in the past, the greater must be his energy in preparing for the future. Antiochus spent the winter in Phrygia and, summoning assistance from all sides, had even sent to Gallograecia. The population there were more warlike at that time than in later years; they still retained the Gaulish temperament as the original stock had not yet died out. Antiochus had left his son with an army in Aeolis to hold the cities on the coast which Eumenes on the one side from Pergamum and the Romans on the other from Phocaea and Erythrae were trying to win over. The Roman fleet, as already stated, was wintering at Canae, and Eumenes went there about mid-winter with 2000 infantry and 500 cavalry. He represented to Livius what an amount of plunder might be carried off from the enemy's country and he persuaded him to send him on an expedition with 5000 men, and in a few days they brought away an enormous amount.
[37.9]Meantime a revolutionary movement was started in Phocaea by certain individuals who tried to enlist the sympathies of the populace on the side of Antiochus. They had various grievances; the presence of the ships in their winter quarters was a grievance; the tribute of 500 togas and 50 tunics was a grievance; the scarcity of corn was an additional and a serious grievance. Owing to this scarcity the Roman force in occupation left the place, and now the party which were haranguing the plebs in favour of Antiochus were freed from all apprehensions. The senate and aristocracy were for maintaining the alliance with Rome, but the revolutionaries had more influence with the masses. The Rhodians made up for their slackness the previous summer by sending Pausistratus at the vernal equinox with six-and-thirty ships. Livius left Canae with thirty vessels and in addition the seven quinqueremes which Eumenes had brought with him, and set sail for the Hellespont in order to make preparations for the transport of the army which he was expecting to come overland. He first put into the harbour called "The Haven of the Achaeans." Here he went up to Ilium and offered sacrifice to Minerva, 350-018 after which he gave a gracious audience to deputations from the neighbouring towns of Elaeus, Dardanus and Rhoeteum, who came to place their respective localities under the protection of Rome. From there he sailed to the mouth of the Hellespont, and stationing ten ships opposite Abydos he sailed with the rest to the European shore to attack Sestus. His men were already approaching the walls when they were met by a body of hierophants known as "Galli" in their priestly robes who announced that they were the ministers of Mater Dea, the mother of the gods, and it was at her command that they had come to pray the Romans to spare the city and its walls. No violence was offered to any of them, and presently their senate and magistrates came forward to make a formal surrender of the city. From there the fleet sailed to Abydos. Here interviews took place with the citizens with the object of winning them over, but as no friendly response was given, the Romans made preparations for a siege.

After the new consuls had taken office and the obligations of religion had been discharged the position of the Aetolians took precedence of all other subjects of discussion in the senate. Their envoys pressed for an audience as the period of the armistice was drawing to a close, and they were backed up by T. Quinctius, who had by that time returned to Rome. Knowing that they had more to hope from the clemency of the senate than from the strength of their case, they adopted a suppliant attitude and brought up their former good services as a counterpoise to their recent misdoings. However, while in the House, they were subjected to a fire of questions from all sides, the senators endeavouring to force from them a confession of guilt rather than definite replies, and after they were ordered to withdraw they gave rise to a very lively debate. The feeling of resentment against them was stronger than that of compassion, for the senate were embittered against them not only as enemies, but as a wild race whose hand was against every man. The debate went on for 70-272 several days, and it was finally decided that peace should neither be granted to them nor refused. They were offered two alternatives: either to place themselves unreservedly in the hands of the senate or to pay a fine of 1000 talents and have the same friends and enemies as Rome. When they endeavoured to get some idea of the matters in regard to which they were to be at the senate's disposal they got no definite reply. The same day they were sent away from the City without having obtained peace and were ordered to leave Italy within the fortnight.
Then the question of the consular provinces came up. Both the consuls wanted Greece. Laelius possessed great influence in the senate, and when it was decided that the consul should either ballot or come to a mutual agreement about their provinces he observed that he and his colleague would act more gracefully if they left the matter to the judgment of the senate rather than to the chances of the ballot. Scipio said in reply that he should consider what he ought to do, and after a private conversation with his brother, who insisted upon his leaving the matter in the hands of the senate, he told his colleague that he would do what he advised. This method of procedure as being either unprecedented or resting on precedents of which no record survived was expected to lead to a debate, but P. Scipio Africanus declared that if the senate decreed Greece to his brother Lucius he would serve under him. This declaration met with universal approval and put an end to any further discussion. The senate were glad of the opportunity of finding out which would receive most help - Antiochus from the vanquished Hannibal or the consul and legions of Rome from his vanquisher Scipio, and they almost unanimously decreed Greece to Scipio and Italy to Laelius.
[37.2]The praetors then balloted fr their provinces. L. Aurunculeius received the urban and Cneius Fulvius the alien jurisdiction; L. Aemilius Regillus the command of the fleet; P. Junius Brutus the administration of Etruria; M. Tuccius, Apulia and Bruttium; and C. Atinius, Sicily. The consul to whom Greece had been decreed, in addition to the army of two legions which he was to take over from Manius Acilius, was further reinforced by 3000 Roman infantry and 100 cavalry and allied troops to the number of 5000 infantry and 200 cavalry. It was further decided that after he had arrived in his province he should, if he thought it expedient, take his army into Asia. The other consul was supplied with an entirely fresh army, two Roman legions and 15,000 infantry and 600 cavalry from the allies. Q. Minucius had written to say that his province was pacified and the whole of the Ligurians had made their surrender; he was now ordered to take his army into the country of the Boii and hand it over to P. Cornelius, who was acting as proconsul. The city legions which had been raised the previous year were to be withdrawn from the territory of which the Boii had been mulcted after their defeat and given to the praetor M. Tuccius. These, reinforced by 15,000 allied infantry and 600 cavalry, were to occupy Apulia and Bruttium. A. Cornelius, who had commanded in Bruttium as praetor during the past year, received instructions to transfer his legions to Aetolia if the consul approved and hand them over to Manius Acilius in case he wished to remain there, but if Acilius preferred to return to Rome, Cornelius was to keep that army in Aetolia. It was further arranged that C. Atinius Labeo should take over the province of Sicily and the army of occupation from M. Aemilius and raise reinforcements if he wished to do so in the island itself to the number of 2000 infantry and 100 cavalry. P. Junius Brutus was to raise a new army for service in Etruria consisting of one Roman legion and 10,000 infantry and 400 cavalry of allied troops. L. Aemilius, to whom the naval command had fallen, was to receive from his predecessor, M. Junius, twenty ships of war with their crews and to enlist in addition 1000 seamen and 2000 infantry soldiers to serve as marines. With his fleet thus manned he was to proceed to Asia and take over the fleet which C. Livius had commanded. The praetors commanding in the two Spains were continued in office and retained their armies. Sicily and Sardinia were each required to supply two-tenths of their corn harvest for the year; the whole of the corn from Sicily was to be transported to Aetolia for the use of the army, that from Sardinia was to go partly to Rome and partly to Aetolia, like the corn from Sicily.
[37.3]Before the consuls left for their provinces it was resolved that various portents should be expiated according to the directions of the pontiffs. The temple of Juno-Lucina in Rome was struck so seriously by lightning that the pediment and great doors were much damaged. At Puteoli, one of the gates and numerous portions of the wall were similarly struck and two men killed. At Nursea it was definitely reported that a thunderstorm suddenly burst out of a cloudless sky; there also two men were killed, both freemen. The people of Tusculum announced that a shower of earth had fallen in their district, and at Reate a mule was said to have had a foal. These 70-229 portents were duly expiated and the Latin Festival was celebrated a second time owing to the Laurentians not having received their due portion of the sacrifice. To allay the religious fears which these various incidents aroused, a solemn intercession was offered, as directed by the Keepers of the Sacred Books, to those deities which, after consulting the rolls, they named. Ten free-born boys and ten maidens, all of whose fathers and mothers were alive, were employed about that sacrifice, and the Keepers of the Sacred Books offered up sacrifices of sucklings in the night. Before his departure, P. Cornelius Scipio erected an arch on the Capitol facing the road up to the temple, with seven gilded human statues and two equestrian ones. He also set up in front of the arch two marble basins. During this time forty-three of the Aetolian leading men, including Damocritus and his brother, were brought to Rome by two cohorts sent by Manius Acilius. On their arrival they were thrown into the Lautumiae, and the cohorts were ordered to the army. A deputation came from Ptolemy and Cleopatra to offer their congratulations on the expulsion of Antiochus from Greece by the consul Acilius, and to urge the senate to send an army into Asia, as not only in Asia but even throughout Syria there was a universal feeling of alarm. The two sovereigns declared their readiness to carry out the behests of the senate, and a vote of thanks to them was passed. Each member of the deputation received a present of 4000 ases.
[37.4]When the business which he had to transact in Rome was finished, L. Cornelius gave notice in the Assembly that the men whom he had enlisted and those who were with A. Cornelius in Bruttium were all to assemble at Brundisium by 15th July. He also appointed three officers, Sextus Digitius, L. Apustius and C. Fabricius Luscinus, to collect the ships from all parts of the coast at the same place, and all his preparations being now completed, he set out from the city, wearing his paludamentum. As many as 5000 volunteers, Roman and allied troops who had served their time under P. Africanus, were waiting for the consul on his departure and gave in their names for active service. At the time of the consul's departure, whilst the Games of Apollo were being celebrated, the daylight was obscured, though the sky was clear, by the moon passing under the orb of the sun. L. Aemilius Regillus set out at the same time to take command of the fleet. L. Aurunculeius was commissioned by the senate to undertake the construction of thirty quinqueremes and twenty triremes. This step was due to a report that since the naval battle Antiochus was fitting out a considerably larger fleet than he had on that occasion. When the Aetolian envoys brought back word that there was no hope of peace, their government realised that the danger threatening them from Rome was more serious than the losses inflicted on them by the Achaeans who were harrying the whole of their sea-board which faced the Peloponnese. They had made up their minds that the Romans would return in the spring and lay siege to Naupactus, and in order to block their route they occupied Mount Corax. Acilius knew that this was what they were expecting, and he thought the better course would be to undertake something which they were not expecting; so he commenced an attack on Lamia. This place had almost been destroyed by Philip, and as the inhabitants were not apprehending any similar attempt, Acilius thought he might successfully surprise it. After leaving Elatia his first encampment on the enemy soil was by the Spercheus; from there he made a night march, and by dawn had completely invested the place.
[37.5]As was natural in a surprise attack, there was considerable confusion and alarm, but a stouter resistance was offered than any one would have believed possible in such sudden danger. The men fought from the walls, the women carried up to them stones and missiles of every description, and though the scaling-ladders were placed at very many points against the walls, the defence was maintained for that day. Towards noon Acilius gave the signal for 640-816 retiring, and took his troops back into camp, where they took food and rest. Before he dismissed his staff, he warned his men to be armed and ready before daybreak, and told them that till they had carried the city he should not take them back to camp. As on the previous day, he delivered several simultaneous assaults, and as the strength, the weapons, above all the courage, of the defenders began to fail, he took the city in a few hours. The booty found there was partly sold and partly divided amongst the soldiers. After the capture a council of war was held to decide what was to be done next. No one was in favour of going on to Naupactus as long as the Aetolians held Mount Corax. However, to avoid wasting the summer in inaction, and to prevent the Aetolians, after they had failed to obtain peace from the senate, from enjoying it through his own lack of enterprise, Acilius determined to attack Amphissa. He marched the army over Mount Oeta. and when he reached the city he did not, as at Lamia, attempt a combined assault upon the entire circuit of the walls, but he commenced a regular siege. The rams were brought up at several points, and though the walls were being battered, the townsmen made no attempt to prepare or invent anything to meet this kind of engine. All their hopes lay in their arms and their courage; they made frequent sorties and harassed the detached posts and even the men who were working the rams.

All this time Antiochus was stopping in Ephesus quite unconcerned about the war with Rome as though the Romans had no intention of landing in Asia. This apathy was due either to the blindness or the flattery of most of his councillors. Hannibal, who at that time had great influence with the king, was the only one who told him the truth. He said that so far from feeling any doubt about the Romans going, his only wonder was that they were not there already. The voyage, he pointed out, from Greece to Asia was shorter than from Italy to Greece, and Antiochus was a more dangerous foe than the Aetolians, nor were the arms of Rome less potent on sea than on land. Their fleet had been for some time cruising off Malea, and he understood that fresh ships and a fresh commander had come from Italy to take part in the war. He begged Antiochus therefore to give up all hopes of being left in peace. Asia would be the scene of conflict, for Asia itself he would have to fight by sea and by land, and either he must wrest the supreme power from those who were aiming at world-wide dominion or 70-297 else he must lose his own throne. The king realised that Hannibal was the only one who saw what was coming and told him the honest truth. Following his advice, he took all the ships that were ready for war to the Chersonese in order to strengthen the places there with garrisons in case the Romans came by land. Polyxenidas received instructions to fit out the rest of the fleet and put to sea, and a number of scouting vessels were sent to patrol the waters round the islands.
[36.42]C. Livius was in command of the Roman fleet. H proceeded with fifty decked ships to Neapolis, where the open vessels which the cities on that coast were bound by treaty to furnish had received orders to assemble. From there he steered for Sicily and sailed through the strait past Messana. When he had picked up the six vessels which had been sent by Carthage and the ships which Regium and Locris and the other cities under the same treaty obligation had contributed he performed the lustration of the fleet and put out to sea. On reaching Corcyra, which was the first Greek city he came to, he made inquiries as to the state of the war - for peace did not prevail throughout Greece - and the whereabouts of the Roman fleet. When he learnt that the consul and the king were encamped near the Pass of Thermopylae, and that the Roman fleet was lying in the Piraeus, he felt that for every reason he ought to lose no time and at once set sail for the Peloponnese. As Same and Zacynthus had taken the side of the Aetolians he devastated those islands and then shaped his course to Malea, and as the weather was favourable he reached the Piraeus in a few days and here he found the fleet. Whilst off Scyllaeum he was joined by Eumenes with three ships. Eumenes had remained for some time at Aegina, unable to make up his mind what to do, whether to return home and defend his kingdom, as he was constantly being told that Antiochus was concentrating naval and military forces at Ephesus. or whether to remain in close touch with the Romans, on whom he knew that his fate depended. A. Atilius handed over to his successor the twenty-four decked ships in the Piraeus, and then left for Rome. Livius sailed to Delos with eighty-one decked vessels and many smaller, some undecked and beaked, others without beaks, to be used as scouts.
[36.43]The consul was laying siege to Naupactus at the time. Livius was detained at Delos by contrary winds for several days; the seas round the Cyclades are liable to violent storms, owing to the numerous channels, some narrower, some wider, which separate the islands. Polyxenidas received intelligence through the scouting vessels which were patrolling those waters that the Roman fleet was lying at Delos, and he sent on the information to the king. Antiochus abandoned his designs in the Hellespont and returned to Ephesus with all possible speed, taking his warships with him. He at once called a council of war to decide whether he ought to risk an engagement. Polyxenidas was opposed to any delay, and said that they certainly ought to engage before Eumenes and the Rhodians joined the Roman fleet. In that case they would not be so very unequally matched in point of numbers and in everything else they would have the advantage, in the speed of their vessels and in various other respects, for the Roman ships were awkwardly built and slow, and as they were going to a hostile country they would be heavily laden with stores, whilst the king's ships, having none but friends all round them, would carry nothing but soldiers and their equipment. They would be greatly assisted, too, by their familiarity with the sea and the coasts and their knowledge of the winds; the enemy on the other hand, who was ignorant of all this, would be thrown into confusion by them. The council 646-204 unanimously approved of his proposal, since the man who made it was also the one who was to carry it out.
Two days were spent in preparations, on the third day they set sail for Phocaea with a fleet of a hundred ships, seventy decked, the rest open ships, but all smaller than the corresponding vessels of the enemy fleet. On hearing that the Roman fleet was approaching, the king, who had no intention of taking part in a naval battle, withdrew to Magnesia ad Sipylum to assemble his land forces, the fleet sailing on to Cissus, the port of Erythrae, as that appeared a more suitable place in which to await the enemy. The Romans had been detained at Delos for some days by northerly winds; when these subsided they put out from Delos and steered for the harbour of Phanae, at the southern end of Chios, facing the Aegean. They then brought their ships up to the city, and after taking in supplies sailed to Phocaea. Eumenes, who had gone to his fleet at Elea, returned in a few days with twenty-four decked ships and a larger number of open ones, and sailed on to Phocaea, where he found the Romans getting their ships ready and making every preparation for the coming naval contest. From Phocaea they put to sea with one hundred and five decked ships and about fifty open ones. At first they were driven towards the land by the northerly winds which blew across their course and were forced to sail in almost a single line; when the wind became less violent they endeavoured to make the harbour of Corycus, which lies beyond Cissus.
[36.44]When news was brought to Polyxenidas of the approach of the Roman fleet he was delighted at the prospect of a fight. Extending his left towards the open sea he ordered the captains of the right division to align their ships towards the land, and in this way he advanced to battle with a straight front. On seeing this the Roman commander took in sail, lowered his masts, and stowing away the tackle waited for the ships in the rear to come up. His front line now consisted of thirty ships, and in order to make it extend as far as the enemy's left he directed these vessels to set up their foresails and steer for the open sea; those behind, as they came up, were ordered to direct their course landward against the enemy's right. Eumenes was bringing up the rear, but as soon as he saw the hurried removal of the masts and rigging he urged his ships on with all possible speed. Full in view of both fleets were two Carthaginian vessels which outstripped the Roman fleet and three of the king's ships went to meet them. The inequality of numbers enabled two of these to close on one of the Carthaginian vessels, and after shearing off both banks of oars they boarded it and flinging overboard or killing the defenders captured the ship. The other Carthaginian ship which had only one opponent, seeing its sister-ship captured, fled back to the Roman fleet before the three could make a simultaneous attack upon it. Livius was furious and made straight in his flagship for the enemy, and as the two vessels which had overpowered the single Carthaginian ship bore down upon him, expecting the same success, he ordered the rowers to back water on both sides so that the way of the ship might be stopped. Then he ordered them to hook their grappling irons on to the enemy ships and when they had made a soldiers' battle of it to remember that they were Romans and not to look upon the slaves of Antiochus as men. This one ship now defeated and captured the two much more easily than the two had captured the single one previously. By this time the fleets were engaged along the whole line and as the fighting went on the ships became everywhere intermixed. Eumenes, who had come up after the battle had commenced seeing that Livius had thrown the enemy's left into confusion, attacked the right division where the struggle was still an equal one.
[36.45]It was not long before the enemy's left division took to flight, for when Polyxenidas saw that he was clearly worsted as far as the courage of his soldiers was concerned he lowered his foresails and fled away in disorder, and those who had been engaged with Eumenes near the land very soon did the same. As long as the rowers could hold out and there was any chance of harassing the hindmost ships Eumenes and the Romans kept up a vigorous pursuit. But when they found that owing to the speed of the enemy's ships, which were light as compared with theirs, loaded as they were with supplies, their attempt to overtake them was baffled, they desisted from the 70-236 pursuit, after capturing thirteen vessels with their troops and crews and sinking ten. The only vessel lost in the Roman fleet was the Carthaginian vessel, overpowered by the two assailants at the beginning of the battle. Polyxenidas did not stop his flight till he was in the harbour of Ephesus. The Romans remained for that day at Cissus, from which place the king's fleet had gone out to battle; the next day they continued to follow up the enemy. Midway on their course they were met by twenty-five decked ships from Rhodes under the command of Pausistratus. With their united fleets they still followed up the enemy and appeared in line of battle before the entrance of the harbour. After they had thus forced the enemy to admit his defeat, the Rhodians and Eumenes were sent home and the Romans started for Chios. They sailed past Phocaea, one of the Erythraean ports, and then anchored for the night. The next day they sailed up to the city itself. Here they stayed for a few days mainly to recruit the crews and then they proceeded to Phocaea. Here four quinqueremes were left to guard the city and the fleet went on to Canae, where as the winter was approaching the ships were drawn up on land and protected by a ring of entrenchments. At the close of the year the elections were held. The new consuls were L. Cornelius Scipio and C. Laelius, and all were looking upon Africanus to end the war with Antiochus. The praetors elected on the following day were M. Tuccius, L. Aurunculeius, Cn. Fulvius, L. Aemilius, P. Junius and C. Atinius Labeo.