History of Rome, Vol III by Titus Livius

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20. As the consul was leading his army through Phocis and Boeotia, the
revolted states, conscious of their defection, and dreading lest they
should be exposed as enemies to the ravages of the soldiers,
presented themselves at the gates of their cities, with the badges of
suppliants; but the army proceeded, during the whole time, just as if
they were in the country of friends, without offering violence of any
sort, until they reached the territory of Coronea. Here a statue of
king Antiochus, standing in the temple of Minerva Itonia, kindled
their indignation, and permission was given to the soldiers to
plunder the lands adjacent to the edifice. But the reflection quickly
occurred, that, as the statue had been erected by a general vote
of all the Boeotian states, it was unreasonable to resent it on the
single district of Coronea. The soldiers were therefore immediately
recalled, and the depredations stopped. The Boeotians were only
reprimanded for their ungrateful behaviour to the Romans in return for
such great obligations, so recently conferred. At the very time of
the battle, ten ships belonging to the king, with their commander
Isidorus, lay at anchor near Thronium, in the Malian bay. To them
Alexander of Acarnania, being grievously wounded, made his escape, and
gave an account of the unfortunate issue of the battle; on which
the fleet, alarmed at the immediate danger, sailed away in haste to
Cenaeus in Euboea. There Alexander died, and was buried. Three other
ships, which came from Asia to the same port, on hearing the disaster
which had befallen the army, returned to Ephesus. Isidorus sailed over
from Cenaeus to Demetrias, supposing that the king might perhaps have
directed his flight thither. About this time Aulus Atilius, commander
of the Roman fleet, intercepted a large convoy of provisions going to
the king, just as they had passed the strait at the island of Andros:
some of the ships he sunk, and took many others. Those who were in the
rear turned their course to Asia. Atilius, with the captured vessels
in his train, sailed back to Piraeus, from whence he had set out, and
distributed a vast quantity of corn among the Athenians and the other
allies in that quarter.

21. Antiochus, quitting Chalcis before the arrival of the consul,
sailed first to Tenus, and thence passed over to Ephesus. When the
consul came to Chalcis, the gates were open to receive him: for
Aristoteles, who commanded for the king, on hearing of his approach,
had withdrawn from the city. The rest of the cities of Euboea also
submitted without opposition; and peace being restored all over the
island within the space of a few days, without inflicting punishment
on any city, the army, which had acquired much higher praise for
moderation after victory, than even for the victory itself, was led
back to Thermopylae. From this place, the consul despatched Marcus
Cato to Rome, that through him the senate and people might learn what
had been achieved from unquestionable authority. He set sail from
Creusa, a sea-port belonging to the Thespians, seated at the bottom of
the Corinthian Gulf, and steered to Patrae, in Achaia. From Patrae, he
coasted along the shores of Aetolia and Acarnania, as far as Corcyra,
and thence he passed over to Hydruntum, in Italy. Proceeding hence,
with rapid expedition, by land, he arrived on the fifth day at Rome.
Having come into the city before day, he went on directly from the
gate to Marcus Junius, the praetor, who, at the first dawn, assembled
the senate. Here, Lucius Cornelius Scipio, who had been despatched by
the consul several days before Cato, and on his arrival had heard that
the latter had outstripped him, and was then in the senate, came
in, just as he was giving a recital of the transactions. The two
lieutenant-generals were then, by order of the senate, conducted to
the assembly of the people, where they gave the same account, as
in the senate, of the services performed in Aetolia. Hereupon a
supplication of three days' continuance was decreed, and that the
praetor should offer sacrifice to such of the gods as his judgment
should direct, with forty victims of the larger kinds. About the same
time, Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, who, two years before, had gone into
Farther Spain, in the office of praetor, entered the city in ovation.
He carried in the procession a hundred and thirty thousand silver
denarii,[1] and besides the coin, twelve thousand pounds' weight of
silver, and a hundred and twenty-seven pounds' weight of gold.

[Footnote 1: 4097l. 16s. 4d.]

22. The consul Manius Acilius sent on, from Thermopylae, a message to
the Aetolians in Heraclea, admonishing them, "then at least, after the
experience which they had of the emptiness of the king's professions,
to return to their senses; and, by surrendering Heraclea, to endeavour
to procure from the senate a pardon for their past madness, or error:
that other Grecian states also had, during the present war, revolted
from the Romans, to whom they were under the highest obligations; but
that, inasmuch as, after the flight of the king, in reliance upon whom
they had departed from their duty, they had not added obstinacy to
their misbehaviour, they were re-admitted into friendship. In like
manner, although the Aetolians had not followed in the steps of the
king, but had invited him, and had been principals in the war,
not auxiliaries; nevertheless, if they could bring themselves to
repentance they might still insure their safety." As their answer to
these suggestions showed nothing like a pacific disposition, and it
was evident that the business must be determined by force of arms, and
that, notwithstanding the defeat of the king, the war of Aetolia
was as far from a conclusion as ever, Acilius removed his camp
from Thermopylae to Heraclea; and on the same day rode on horseback
entirely round the walls, in order to acquaint himself with the
localities of the city. Heraclea is situated at the foot of Mount
Oeta; the town itself is in the plain, but has a citadel overlooking
it, which stands on an eminence of considerable height, terminated on
all sides by precipices. Having examined every part which he wished to
see, the consul determined to make the attack in four places at once.
On the side next the river Asopus, where is also the Gymnasium, he
gave the direction of the works and the assault to Lucius Valerius.
He assigned to Tiberius Sempronius Longus the attack of a part of
the suburbs, which was as thickly inhabited as the city itself. He
appointed Marcus Baebius to act on the side opposite the Malian bay,
a part where the access was far from easy; and Appius Claudius on the
side next to another rivulet, called Melas; opposite to the temple of
Diana. By the vigorous emulation of these the towers, rams, and other
machines used in the besieging of towns, were all completed within a
few days. The lands round Heraclea, naturally marshy, and abounding
with tall trees, furnished timber in abundance for every kind of
work; and then, as the Aetolians had fled into the city, the deserted
suburbs supplied not only beams and boards, but also bricks and
mortar, and stones of every size for all their various occasions.

23. The Romans carried on the assault upon this city by means of works
more than by their arms; the Aetolians, on the contrary, maintained
their defence by dint of arms. For when the walls were shaken by the
ram they did not, as is usual, intercept and turn aside the strokes
by the help of nooses formed on ropes, but sallied out in large armed
bodies, with parties carrying fire, which they threw into the works.
They had likewise arched passages through the parapet, for the purpose
of making sallies; and when they built up the wall anew, in the room
of any part that was demolished, they left a great number of these,
that they might rush out upon the enemy from many places at once. In
several days at the beginning, while their strength was unimpaired,
they carried on this practice in numerous parties, and with much
spirit, but afterwards in smaller numbers and more languidly. For
though they had a multiplicity of difficulties to struggle with, what
above all things utterly consumed their vigour was the want of sleep,
as the Romans, having plenty of men, relieved each other regularly in
their posts; while among the Aetolians, their numbers being small, the
same persons had their strength consumed by unremitting labour night
and day. During a space of twenty-four days, without any time being
unemployed in the conflict, their toil was kept up against the attacks
carried on by the enemy in four different quarters at once. When the
consul, from computing the time, and from the reports of deserters,
judged that the Aetolians were thoroughly fatigued, he adopted the
following plan:--At midnight he gave the signal of retreat, and
drawing off all his men at once from the assault, kept them quiet in
the camp until the third hour of the next day. The attacks were then
renewed, and continued until midnight, when they ceased, until the
third hour of the day following. The Aetolians imagined that the
Romans suspended the attack from the same cause by which they felt
themselves distressed,--excessive fatigue. As soon, therefore, as
the signal of retreat was given to the Romans, as if themselves were
thereby recalled from duty, every one gladly retired from his post,
nor did they again appear in arms on the walls before the third hour
of the day.

24. The consul having put a stop to the assault at midnight, renewed
it on three of the sides, at the fourth watch, with the utmost vigour;
ordering Tiberius Sempronius, on the fourth, to keep his party alert,
and ready to obey his signal; for he concluded assuredly, that in the
tumult by night the enemy would all run to those quarters whence the
shouting was heard. Of the Aetolians, such as had gone to rest, with
difficulty roused their bodies from sleep, exhausted as they were with
fatigue and watching; and such as were still awake, ran in the dark
to the places where they heard the noise of fighting. Meanwhile the
Romans endeavoured some to climb over the ruins of the walls, through
the breaches; others, to scale the walls with ladders; while the
Aetolians hastened in all directions to defend the parts attacked.
In one quarter, where the buildings stood outside the city, there
was neither attack nor defence. A party stood ready, waiting for the
signal to make an attack, but there was none within to oppose them.
The day now began to dawn, and the consul gave the signal; on which
the party, without any opposition, made their way into the town; some
through parts that had been battered, others scaling the walls where
they were entire. As soon as the Aetolians heard them raise the shout,
which denoted the place being taken, they every where forsook their
posts, and fled into the citadel. The victors sacked the city;
the consul having given permission, not for the sake of gratifying
resentment or animosity, but that the soldiers, after having been
restrained from plunder in so many cities captured from the enemy,
might at last, in some one place, enjoy the fruits of victory. About
mid-day he recalled the troops, and dividing them into two parts,
ordered one to be led round by the foot of the mountain to a rock,
which was of equal height with the citadel, and seemed as if it had
been broken off from it, leaving a hollow between; but the summits of
these eminences are so nearly contiguous that weapons may be thrown
into the citadel from the top of the other. With the other half of the
troops the consul intended to march, up from the city to the citadel,
and waited to receive a signal from those who were to mount the rock
on the farther side. The Aetolians in the citadel could not support
the shout of the party which had seized the rock, and the consequent
attack of the Romans from the city; for their courage was now broken,
and the place was by no means in a condition to hold out a siege
of any continuance; the women, children, and great numbers of other
helpless people, being crowded together in a fort, which was scarce
capable of containing, much less of affording protection to such a
multitude. On the first assault, therefore, they laid down their
arms and submitted. Among the rest was delivered up Damocritus, chief
magistrate of the Aetolians, who at the beginning of the war, when
Titus Quinctius asked for a copy of the decree passed by the Aetolians
for inviting Antiochus, told him, that, "in Italy, when the Aetolians
were encamped there, it should be delivered to him." On account of
this presumptuous insolence of his, his surrender was a matter of
greater satisfaction to the victors.

25. At the same time, while the Romans were employed in the reduction
of Heraclea, Philip, by concert, besieged Lamia. He had an interview
with the consul, as he was returning from Boeotia, at Thermopylae,
whither he came to congratulate him and the Roman people on their
successes, and to apologize for his not having taken an active part in
the war, being prevented by sickness; and then they went from thence,
by different routes, to lay siege to the two cities at once. The
distance between these places is about seven miles; and as Lamia
stands on high ground, and has an open prospect, particularly towards
the region of Mount Oeta, the distance seems very short, and every
thing that passes can be seen from thence. The Romans and Macedonians,
with all the emulation of competitors for a prize, employed the utmost
exertions, both night and day, either in the works or in fighting; but
the Macedonians encountered greater difficulty on this account, that
the Romans made their approaches by mounds, covered galleries, and
other works, which were all above ground; whereas the Macedonians
worked under ground by mines, and, in that stony soil, often met a
flinty rock, which iron could not penetrate. The king, seeing that his
undertaking succeeded but ill, endeavoured, by conversations with the
principal inhabitants, to prevail on the townspeople to surrender the
place; for he was fully persuaded, that if Heraclea should be taken
first, the Lamians would then choose to surrender to the Romans rather
than to him; and that the consul would take to himself the merit of
relieving them from a siege. Nor was he mistaken in that opinion; for
no sooner was Heraclea reduced, than a message came to him to desist
from the assault; because "it was more reasonable that the Roman
soldiers, who had fought the Aetolians in the field, should reap the
fruits of the victory." Thus was Lamia relieved, and the misfortune of
a neighbouring city proved the means of its escaping a like disaster.

26. A few days before the capture of Heraclea, the Aetolians, having
assembled a council at Hypata, sent ambassadors to Antiochus, among
whom was Thoas, the same who had been sent on the former occasion.
Their instructions were in the first place, to request the king again
to assemble his land and marine forces and cross over into Greece;
and, in the next place, if any circumstance should detain him, then to
send them supplies of men and money. They were to remind him, that "it
concerned his dignity and his honour, not to abandon his allies; and
it likewise concerned the safety of his kingdom, not to leave the
Romans at full leisure, after ruining the nation of the Aetolians,
to carry their whole force into Asia." What they said was true, and
therefore made the deeper impression on the king; in consequence
of which, he immediately supplied the ambassadors with the money
requisite for the exigencies of the war, and assured them, that
he would send them succours both of troops and ships. One of the
ambassadors, namely, Thoas, he kept with him, by no means against his
will, as he hoped that, being present, he might induce the performance
of the king's promises.

27. But the loss of Heraclea entirely broke the spirits of the
Aetolians; insomuch that, within a few days after they had sent
ambassadors into Asia for the purpose of renewing the war, and
inviting the king, they threw aside all warlike designs, and
despatched deputies to the consul to sue for peace. When these began
to speak, the consul, interrupting them, said, that he had other
business to attend to at present; and, ordering them to return to
Hypata, granted them a truce for ten days, sending with them Lucius
Valerius Flaccus, to whom, he desired, whatever business they intended
to have proposed to himself might be communicated, with any other that
they thought proper. On their arrival at Hypata, the chiefs of the
Aetolians held a consultation, at which Flaccus was present, on
the method to be used in treating with the consul. They showed an
inclination to begin with addressing themselves wholly to the ancient
treaties, and the services which they had performed to the Roman
people; on which Flaccus desired them to "speak no more of treaties,
which they themselves had violated and annulled." He told them, that
"they might expect more advantage from an acknowledgment of their
fault, and entreaty. For their hopes of safety rested not on the
merits of their cause, but on the clemency of the Roman people. That,
if they acted in a suppliant manner, he would himself be a solicitor
in their favour, both with the consul and with the senate at Rome;
for thither also they must send ambassadors." This appeared to all the
only way to safety: "to submit themselves entirely to the faith of the
Romans. For, in that case, the latter would be ashamed to do injury to
suppliants; while themselves would, nevertheless, retain the power
of consulting their own interest, should fortune offer any thing more
advantageous."

28. When they came into the consul's presence, Phaeneas, who was at
the head of the embassy, made a long speech, designed to mitigate the
wrath of the conqueror by various considerations; and he concluded
with saying, that "the Aetolians surrendered themselves, and all
belonging to them, to the faith of the Roman people." The consul, on
hearing this, said, "Aetolians, consider well whether you will yield
on these terms:" and then Phaeneas produced the decree, in which the
conditions were expressly mentioned. "Since then," said the consul,
"you submit in this manner, I demand that, without delay, you deliver
up to me Dicaearchus your countryman, Menetas the Epirot," who had,
with an armed force, entered Naupactum, and compelled the inhabitants
to defection; "and also Amynander, with the Athamanian chiefs, by
whose advice you revolted from us." Phaeneas, almost interrupting the
Roman while he was speaking, answered,--"We surrendered ourselves, not
into slavery, but to your faith; and I take it for granted, that, from
not being sufficiently acquainted with us, you fall into the mistake
of commanding what is inconsistent with the practice of the Greeks."
"Nor in truth," replied the consul, "do I much concern myself, at
present, what the Aetolians may think conformable to the practice
of the Greeks; while I, conformably to the practice of the Romans,
exercise authority over men, who just now surrendered themselves by
a decree of their own, and were, before that, conquered by my arms.
Wherefore, unless my commands are quickly complied with, I order
that you be put in chains." At the same time he ordered chains to
be brought forth, and the lictors to surround the ambassadors. This
effectually subdued the arrogance of Phaeneas and the other Aetolians;
and, at length, they became sensible of their situation. Phaeneas then
said, that "as to himself and his countrymen there present, they knew
that his commands must be obeyed: but it was necessary that a council
of the Aetolians should meet, to pass decrees accordingly; and that,
for that purpose, he requested a suspension of arms for ten days."
At the intercession of Flaccus on behalf of the Aetolians, this was
granted, and they returned to Hypata. When Phaeneas related here,
in the select council, called Apocleti, the orders which they had
received, and the treatment which they had narrowly escaped; although
the chiefs bemoaned their condition, nevertheless they were of
opinion, that the conqueror must be obeyed, and that the Aetolians
should be summoned, from all their towns, to a general assembly.

29. But when the assembled multitude heard the same account, their
minds were so highly exasperated, both by the harshness of the order
and the indignity offered, that, even if they had been in a pacific
temper before, the violent impulse of anger which they then felt would
have been sufficient to rouse them to war. Their rage was increased
also by the difficulty of executing what was enjoined on them; for,
"how was it possible for them, for instance, to deliver up king
Amynander?" It happened, also, that a favourable prospect seemed to
open to them; for Nicander, returning from king Antiochus at that
juncture, filled the minds of the people with unfounded assurances,
that immense preparations for war were going on both by land and sea.
This man, after finishing the business of his embassy, set out on his
return to Aetolia; and on the twelfth day after he embarked, reached
Phalara, on the Malian bay. Having conveyed thence to Lamia the money
that he had brought, he, with a few light troops, directed, in the
evening, his course toward Hypata, by known paths, through the country
which lay between the Roman and Macedonian camps. Here he fell in with
an advanced guard of the Macedonians, and was conducted to the king,
whose dinner guests had not yet separated. Philip, being told of his
coming, received him as a guest, not an enemy; desired him to take a
seat, and join the entertainment; and afterwards, when he dismissed
the rest, detained him alone, and told him, that he had nothing to
fear for himself. He censured severely the conduct of the Aetolians,
in bringing, first the Romans, and afterwards Antiochus, into Greece;
designs which originated in a want of judgment, and always recoiled
on their own heads. But "he would forget," he said, "all past
transactions, which it was easier to blame than to amend; nor would he
act in such a manner as to appear to insult their misfortunes. On the
other hand, it would become the Aetolians to lay aside, at length,
their animosity towards him; and it would become Nicander himself,
in his private capacity, to remember that day, on which he had been
preserved by him." Having then appointed persons to escort him to a
place of safety, Nicander arrived at Hypata, while his countrymen were
consulting about the peace with Rome.

30. Manius Acilius having sold, or given to the soldiers, the booty
found near Heraclea, and having learned that the counsels adopted
at Hypata were not of a pacific nature, but that the Aetolians had
hastily assembled at Naupactum, with intention to make a stand there
against the whole brunt of the war, sent forward Appius Claudius, with
four thousand men, to seize the heights of the mountains, where the
passes were difficult; and he himself, ascending Mount Oeta, offered
sacrifices to Hercules, in the spot called Pyra,[1] because there the
mortal part of the demi-god was burned. He then set out with the main
body of the army, and marched all the rest of the way with tolerable
ease and expedition. But when they came to Corax, a very high mountain
between Callipolis and Naupactum, great numbers of the beasts of
burden, together with their loads, tumbled down the precipices, and
many of the men were hurt. This clearly showed with how negligent an
enemy they had to do, who had not secured so difficult a pass by a
guard, and so blocked up the passage; for, even as the case was, the
army suffered considerably. Hence he marched down to Naupactum; and
having erected a fort against the citadel, he invested the other parts
of the city, dividing his forces according to the situation of the
walls. Nor was the siege likely to prove less difficult and laborious
than that of Heraclea.

[Footnote 1: The funeral pile.]

31. At the same time, the Achaeans laid siege to Messene, in
Peloponnesus, because it refused to become a member of their body: for
the two states of Messene and Elis were unconnected with the Achaean
confederacy, and sympathized with the Aetolians. However, the Eleans,
after Antiochus had been driven out of Greece, answered the deputies,
sent by the Achaeans, with more moderation: that "when the king's
troops were removed, they would consider what part they should take."
But the Messenians had dismissed the deputies without an answer, and
prepared for war. Alarmed, afterwards, at their own situation,
when they saw the enemy ravaging their country without control,
and pitching their camp close to their city, they sent deputies to
Chalcis, to Titus Quinctius, the author of their liberty, to acquaint
him, that "the Messenians were willing, both to open their gates,
and surrender their city, to the Romans, but not to the Achaeans."
On hearing this Quinctius immediately set out, and despatched from
Megalopolis a messenger to Diophanes, praetor of the Achaeans,
requiring him to draw off his army instantly from Messene, and to come
to him. Diophanes obeyed the order; raising the siege, he hastened
forward himself before the army, and met Quinctius near Andania, a
small town between Megalopolis and Messene. When he began to explain
the reasons for commencing the siege, Quinctius, gently reproving him
for undertaking a business of that importance without consulting him,
ordered him to disband his forces, and not to disturb a peace
which had been established advantageously to all. He commanded the
Messenians to recall the exiles, and to unite themselves to the
confederacy of the Achaeans; and if there were any particulars to
which they chose to object, or any precautions which they judged
requisite for the future, they might apply to him at Corinth. He then
gave directions to Diophanes, to convene immediately a general council
of the Achaeans, that he might settle some business with them.