COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES. Ætolians. They enlarged with rhetorical exaggeration on the immense preparations which the king had made, both by land and sea, to overwhelm his enemies, and pompously enumerated the various distant nations which were to swell his countless host. All that they asked however of the Achæans was neutrality. Flamininus ridiculed their bombast with some humour, and pointed out the glaring contrast between the mighty armaments which they had described, and the paltry force with which Antiochus had actually landed in Greece. It was indeed much too small to put the fidelity of the Achæans to the test. The Assembly, without the slightest hesitation, resolved that they and the Roman - people would have both friends and enemies in common, and declared war against Antiochus and the Etolians, though the Romans themselves had not yet done so. They also, at the request of Quinctius, sent 500 men for the protection of Chalcis, and as many to Piræus; for Antiochus had found partizans at Athens, who were endeavouring to draw the needy multitude over to his side by the prospect of royal largesses, and the adherents of Rome thought it necessary to send for Quinctius, whose presence with that of the Achæan troops quelled the spirit of disaffection, and Apollodorus who had fomented it was condemned to banishment. Antiochus, when he heard of the vote of the Achæans, sent his general, Menippus, with 3000 men, and his whole fleet under Polyxenidas, to intercept all succours destined for Chalcis, and a few days after followed them with 6000 men of his own, and as many Etolians as he could collect at Lamia. They did not arrive until the Achæan troops, with some auxiliaries furnished by Eumenes, had been safely conducted into the town by Xenoclides; but Mictio, who had been sent to request an additional reinforcement from Quinctius, and had 375 CHAP. LXV. СПАР. LXV. of hos tilities. obtained 500 Romans1, on his return found the road to Aulis barred by Menippus, and he therefore turned Beginning aside to Delium. Here, before they found means of embarking for Euboea, while the men wandered about, some in the sacred grove, others for forage in the adjacent fields, apprehending no hostility, as war had not yet been begun or declared, and believing themselves sheltered by the sanctity of the place which possessed the privilege of an asylum, they were suddenly attacked by Menippus, and almost all cut to pieces or taken. A few escaped with Mictio in a small transport. The Romans hardly regretted a loss which enabled them to exclaim against Antiochus as the aggressor; and the Greeks thought it an ill omen that he had begun the war with an act of sacrilege.2 To him however it may not have been useless, as on his next summons, when he arrived at Aulis, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Mictio and Xenoclides, the Chalcidians opened their gates to him; and their example was followed by all the other towns in the island. At Chalcis he received an embassy from Epirus, headed by the same Charops, who had before stood almost alone on the side of the Romans. The Epirots, in cautiously guarded and somewhat perplexed language, intimated that they would gladly admit him into their harbours and towns, if he brought a fleet and an army to protect them; but, lying so near as they did to Italy, they could not venture sooner to declare themselves in his favour. The Eleans, professing to fear an invasion from the Achæans, solicited aid, and a body of 1000 men was sent for their defence. Antiochus himself then repaired to Thebes, where he was warmly welcomed, and though he still 1 Livy (xxxv. 50.) does not say whence these Romans came: perhaps it was from the fleet under Atilius. 2 Diodor. Exc. p. 574. PLANS OF HANNIBAL. 377 СНАР. LXV. Hannibal. affected only to ask that the Boeotians should receive him into their alliance without prejudice to their connection with Rome, a decree was passed which amounted to a declaration of war against her. He then returned to Demetrias, where he held a council with the Ætolian commissioners and Amynander, at which Hannibal, whom he had not for a long time before called in to take a share in his deliberations, was likewise present. The question for discussion was, whether an attempt should be made to gain the Thessalians, and, all being unanimous on this point, opinions were only divided as to the time and manner of the enterprise: some thought it best to try the effect of negotiation, others to make a display of force; whether immediately or not before the spring was another question. Hannibal had remained silent; but Plans of when his advice was asked he pointed out the futility of all that the king had hitherto done in Greece, and of the measure which was then the subject of debate ; how little it imported toward the issue of the war, whether he had the Thessalians or any other Greeks, -who would always be with the strongest,-on his side; how great a mistake he had committed, when he came over with so small a force, trusting to the promises of the Etolians; that the only power on that side of the Adriatic which could either serve or injure him materially was Macedonia. The sum of his advice was, that his forces should be brought over as early as possible from Asia; that Philip should either be won by persuasion, or, if he adhered to the Romans, should be kept occupied in his own dominions by attacks which Seleucus might make from Lysimachia on his north-east frontier; that one division of the Syrian fleet should infest the south coast of Italy, while the rest was stationed at Corcyra, and Antiochus himself with all his land forces took up a position in Epirus, threatening, and always ready if occasion CHAP. LXV. This was indeed the plan which the Romans dreaded, and against which they had been endeavouring to shield themselves by timely precautions. But Antiochus and his other counsellors were too jealous of the sagacity which exposed their shortsightedness to profit by it, and the only result of Hannibal's advice was, that Polyxenidas was sent to hasten the passage of the armament from Asia. Envoys were sent to the Thessalian assembly at Larissa, while Antiochus moved against Pheræ, where he was joined by Amynander and the Etolians. Here he committed a fatal mistake. He sent a body of 2000 men to collect the bones of the slain at Cynoscephalæ, and interred them with magnificent obsequies; and he assigned the command in this expedition to Philippus, the pretender to the Macedonian crown, a choice which probably rendered this invidious ostentation of sympathy doubly offensive to Philip. He had hitherto wavered, and had taken no decisive step, but he now invited the Roman proprætor, M. Bæbius, who was wintering with his army at Apollonia, to a conference, that they might concert measures to check the progress of Antiochus in Thessaly. Antiochus, when the Thessalians rejected his overtures, made himself master of Pheræ and Scotussa and several other towns, and proceeded to lay siege to Larissa. But he let himself be scared away by the stratagem of Ap. Claudius, who, after the meeting between Bæbius and Philip, was sent with a small detachment into Thessaly, and led the enemy to believe that the whole allied army was approaching. Antiochus took up his winter-quarters at Chalcis, that at Chalcis. he might gratify the passion he had conceived for the Antiochus daughter of one of the citizens, and having married her, as if he had no weightier business on his hands, gave himself up entirely to the celebration of festivities in honour of his nuptials. His officers, following his example, laid aside all military cares and exercises, BATTLE OF THERMOPYLE. and, when the army was re-assembled in the spring, it was found that in the long interval of ease and luxury discipline had been dissolved, and the habits of the camp were almost forgotten, so that Philopomen was heard to regret that he was not at this time General of the Achæans, to have surprised and cut down the Syrians as they roved from tavern to tavern.1 His first operation was an expedition to Acarnania, where through the treachery of two leading men whom he had corrupted by bribes he gained possession of Medion; but while he was besieging Thyrium he was alarmed by a report that the consul, M. Acilius Glabrio, had entered Thessaly with his army, and he immediately hastened back to Chalcis. 379 CHAP. LXV. Bæbius and Philip had previously united their forces, and were recovering the Thessalian towns which had submitted to Antiochus and the Athamanians, when the consul arrived. On his appearance all opposition ceased. The pretender Philippus surrendered to him, and after having suffered the mockery of his rival was sent in chains to Rome. Philip won the goodwill of the Athamanian prisoners by mild treatment, and through them, having dismissed them to their homes, soon after made himself master of Athamania. Amynander fled with his family to Ambracia. While Philip was thus occupied with his own interests, he permitted the consul to advance without him to the vale of the Spercheus, and afterwards, either being detained by illness or feigning it, did not overtake him until the crisis was past. An- B. C. 191. tiochus, as the enemy approached, sent messenger Battle of after messenger to Polyxenidas, to hasten the passage pylæ. of his forces from Asia; but with so little effect that when the Roman army, about 40,000 strong, had nearly reached Thermopylæ, he had only 10,000 foot and 500 horse to bring against them. The Etolians Thermo |
