Manlius all this time was engaged in winning over Pisidia, Lycaonia, and Pamphylia, and a large district of Galatia in Asia. For there exists in that region too a race of Gauls which broke off from the European stock. Years ago with their king, Brennus, at their head they overran Greece and Thrace, and crossing thence to Bithynia they detached certain portions of Phrygia, Paphlagonia, Mysia adjacent to Olympus, and Cappadocia, and took up their residence in them; and they constitute to-day a separate nation bearing the name of Gauls. This people caused Manlius trouble, but he managed to overcome them too, capturing their city Ancyra by assault and gaining control of the rest of the towns by capitulation. This effected, he set sail for home after he had received a large price for peace from Ariarathes, king of Cappadocia.
IX, 21.—The Ætolians when they had sent ambassadors to Rome the second time in regard to peace themselves raised the standard of rebellion. Hence the Romans immediately dismissed the ambassadors and referred the conduct of affairs in Greece to Marcus Fulvius. He set out first for the large city of Ambracia (it had once been the royal residence of Pyrrhus and was now occupied by the Ætolians) and proceeded to besiege it. So the Ætolians held a conference with him about peace, but finding him disinclined to a truce they sent a part of their army into Ambracia. The Romans undertook to capture the town by an underground passage and pushed their mine straight forward, temporarily eluding the notice of the besieged party; but the latter began to suspect the true state of affairs when the excavated earth attained some dimensions. As they were not aware in what direction the trench was being dug, they kept applying a bronze shield to the surface of the ground all about the circuit of the walls. By means of the resonance they found out the place and went to work in their turn to dig a tunnel from inside and approached the Romans, with whom they battled in obscurity. Finally they devised the following sort of defence. They filled a huge jar with feathers and put fire in it. To this they attached a bronze cover that had a number of holes bored in it. Then, after carrying the jar into the mine and turning the mouth of it toward the enemy, they inserted a bellows in the bottom, and by blowing this bellows with vigor they caused a tremendous amount of unpleasant smoke, such as feathers would naturally create, to pour out, so that not one of the Romans could endure it. Hence the Romans in despair of succeeding made a truce and raised the siege. When they had agreed to treat, the Ætolians also changed their course and secured an armistice. Subsequently they obtained a peace from the People by the gift of considerable money and many hostages. Fulvius induced Cephallenia to capitulate and reduced to order the Peloponnesus, which was in a state of factional turmoil.
B.C. 187
(a.u. 567)
B.C. 183
(a.u. 571)After a little, in the consulship of Gaius Flaminius and Æmilius Lepidus, Antiochus died and his son Seleucus succeeded him. Much later, at the demise of Seleucus, the Antiochus who spent some time as a hostage in Rome became king. And Philip had courage enough to revolt because he had been deprived of some towns in Thessaly and of Ænus and Maronea besides, but he was unable to do so on account of his age and what had happened to his sons.—Some Gauls crossed the Alps and desired to found a city to the south of the mountains. Marcus Marcellus took away their arms and everything that they had brought: the Romans in the capital, however, upon receiving an embassy from them restored everything on condition that they should at once retire.
These years also saw the death of Hannibal. Envoys had been sent from Rome to Prusias, monarch of Bithynia, and a part of their errand was to make him give up Hannibal, who was at his court. The Carthaginian had advance information of the facts and being unable to escape committed suicide. cp. Frag. 64.an oracle had once announced to him that he should die in the land of libyssa, and he was expecting to die in libya, his native country, but, as it happened, his demise occurred while he chanced to be staying in a certain place called libyssa. Scipio Africanus also died at this time.
(BOOK 20, BOISSEVAIN.)
B.C. 179
(a.u. 575)IX, 22.—Philip, king of Macedonia, had put to death his son Demetrius and was about to slay his other son Perseus, when death overtook him. Because Demetrius had gained the affection of the Roman people through his sojourn as hostage and because he himself and the rest of the Macedonian people hoped that he would secure the kingdom after Philip was done with it, Perseus, who was his elder, became jealous of him and falsely reported him to be plotting against his father. Thus Demetrius was forced to drink poison and perished. Philip not long after ascertained the truth and desired to take measures against Perseus; he did not, however, possess sufficient strength and death overtook him. Perseus succeeded to the kingdom. The Romans confirmed his claims to it and renewed the compact of friendship enjoyed by his father.
In the period immediately following some events of importance took place, yet they were not of so vital a character that one should deem them worthy of record. Still later Perseus put himself in the position of an enemy to the Romans, and in order to delay actual warfare until he should reach a state of preparation he sent envoys to Rome presumably to make a defence on the charges which were being pressed against him. These messengers the Romans would not receive within the wall, but they transacted business with them in the space before the city; and no other answer was vouchsafed them than that they would send a consul with whom he might confer on whatever topics he pleased. They also caused them to depart the same day, having given them guides to prevent their associating with anybody. And Perseus was forbidden in the future to set foot on the soil of Italy.
The Romans next sent out Gnæus Sicinius, a prætor, with a small force (they had not yet made ready their greater armament) and Perseus made a tentative invasion of Thessaly in which he won over the greater part of that country. B.C. 171
(a.u. 583)When spring opened they sent Licinius Crassus against him as well as a prætor, Gaius Lucretius, in charge of the fleet. The latter first encountered Perseus near Larissa and was worsted in a cavalry skirmish: later, though, he got the best of him and Perseus accordingly retreated into Macedonia. As for Crassus, he assailed the Greek cities which were held in subjection by Philip and was repulsed from the majority of them, although he did get possession of a few. Some he razed to the ground and sold the captives. When the inhabitants of Rome learned these details, they became indignant and later they imposed a money fine on Crassus, liberated the captured cities, and bought back from the purchasers such of their inhabitants as had been sold and were then found in Italy.
So fared the Romans in these undertakings, but in the war against Perseus as a whole they suffered many great reverses and their fortunes at many points were at a low ebb. Perseus occupied the greater part of Epirus and Thessaly, having gathered a large body of troops. As a measure of defence against the Romans' elephants he had trained a phalanx of heavy-armed warriors whose shields and helmets he had taken care should be studded with sharp iron nails. Also, in order to make sure that the beasts should not prove a source of terror to the horses he constructed images of elephants that were smeared with some kind of ointment to give them a fearful odor and were frightful both to see and to hear (for a mechanical device enabled them to emit a roar resembling thunder); and he kept continually leading the horses up to these representations until they took courage. Perseus, then, as a result of all this had acquired great confidence and entertained hope that he might surpass Alexander in glory and in the size of his domain; the people of Rome B.C. 169
(a.u. 585)when they learned this sent out with speed Marcius Philippus, who was consul. He, on reaching the camp in Thessaly, drilled the Romans and the allies so that Perseus, becoming afraid, remained quietly in Dium of Macedonia and close to Tempe, and continued to keep watch of the pass. Philippus, encouraged by this behavior of his, crossed the mountain range in the center and occupied some possessions of Perseus. But as he was progressing toward Pydna he fell short of provisions and turned back to Thessaly. Perseus gained boldness anew, recovered the places that Philippus had occupied, and with his fleet damaged the Romans at numerous points. He also secured allies Frag. 651and hoped to eject the romans from greece altogether, but through his excessive and inopportune parsimony and the consequent contempt of his allies he became weak once more. so soon as roman influence was declining slightly and his own was increasing, he was filled with scorn and thought he had no further need of his allies, and would not give them the money which he had offered. the zeal of some accordingly became blunted and others abandoned him entirely, whereupon he was so overwhelmed by despair as actually to sue for peace. and he would have obtained it through eumenes but for the presence of rhodians also in the embassy. they, by adopting a haughty tone with the romans, prevented him from obtaining peace.