1 Early in the spring which succeeded the winter in which these transactions took place, the consul, Quintus Marcius Philippus, set out from Rome, with five thousand men, whom he was to carry over to reinforce his legions, and arrived at Brundusium. Marcus Popilius, of consular rank, and other young men of equal dignity, accompanied him, in the capacity of military tribunes for the legions in Macedonia. Nearly at the same time, Caius Marcius Figulus, the prætor, whose province was the fleet, came to Brundusium; and, both sailing from Italy, made Corcyra on the second day, and Actium, a port of Acarnania, on the third. The consul, then, disembarking at Ambracia, proceeded towards Thessaly by land. The prætor, doubling Cape Leucate, sailed into the gulf of Corinth; then, leaving his ships at Creusa, he went by land also through the middle of Bœotia, and, by a quick journey of one day, came to the fleet at Chalcis. Aulus Hostilius at that time lay encamped in Thessaly, near Palæpharsalus; and though he had performed no warlike act of any consequence, yet he had reformed his troops from a state of dissolute licentiousness, and brought them to exact military discipline; had faithfully consulted the interest of the allies, and defended them from every kind of injury. On hearing of his successor’s approach, he carefully inspected the arms, men, and horses; and then, with the army in complete order, he marched out to meet the consul. Their first meeting was such as became their own dignity and the Roman character; and in transacting business afterwards, they preserved the greatest harmony and propriety.[88] The proconsul, addressing himself to the troops, exhorted them to behave with courage, and with due respect to the orders of their commander. He then recommended them, in warm terms, to the consul, and, as soon as he had despatched the necessary affairs, set off for Rome.[88] A few days after, the consul made a speech to his soldiers, which began with the unnatural murder which Perseus had perpetrated on his brother, and meditated against his father; he then mentioned “his acquisition of the kingdom by nefarious practices; his poisonings and murders; his abominable attempt to assassinate Eumenes; the injuries he had committed against the Roman people; and his plundering the cities of their allies, in violation of the treaty.” “How detestable such proceedings were in the sight of the gods, Perseus would feel,” he said, “in the issue of his affairs; for the gods always favoured righteous and honourable dealings; by means of which the Roman people had risen to so great an exaltation.” He next compared the strength of the Roman people, which now embraced the whole world, with that of Macedonia, and the armies of the one with those of the other; and then added, “How much more powerful armies of Philip and Antiochus had been conquered by forces not more numerous than the present!”
2 Having animated the minds of his soldiers by such exhortations, he began to consult on a general plan of operations for the campaign; being joined by the prætor, Caius Marcius, who, after receiving the command of the fleet, came thither from Chalcis. It was resolved not to waste time by delaying longer in Thessaly; but to decamp immediately, and advance thence into Macedonia; and that the prætor should exert himself to the utmost, that the fleet might appear, at the same time, on the enemy’s coasts. The prætor then having been sent away, the consul, having ordered the soldiers to carry with them a month’s provisions, struck his tents, on the tenth day after he received the command of the army, and proceeded one day’s march. He then called together his guides, and ordered them to explain, in the presence of the council, by what road each of them proposed to lead him; then, having dismissed them, he asked the opinion of the council, as to what route he should prefer. Some advised the road through Pythium; others, that over the Cambunian mountains, by which the consul Hostilius had marched the year before; while others, again, preferred that which passed by the side of the Lake Ascuris. There was yet before him a considerable length of road common to each of these routes; the further consideration of this matter was therefore postponed until they should encamp near the place where the roads diverged. He then marched into Perrhæbia, and posted himself between Azorus and Doliche, in order to consider again which was the preferable road. In the mean time, Perseus, understanding that the enemy was marching towards him, but unable to guess what route he might take, resolved to secure all the passes by guards. To the top of the Cambunian mountains, called by the natives Volustana, he sent ten thousand light infantry, under the command of Asclepiodotus; ordering Hippias, with a detachment of twelve thousand Macedonians, to guard the pass called Lapathus, near a fort which stood over the Lake Ascuris. He himself, with the rest of his forces, lay for some time in camp at Dium; but afterwards, as if he had lost the use of his judgment, and was incapable of forming any plan, he used to gallop along the coast, with a party of light horse, sometimes to Heracleum, sometimes to Phila, and then return with the same speed to Dium.
3 By this time the consul had determined to march through the pass near Octolophus, where, as we have mentioned, the camp of the king formerly stood. But he deemed it prudent to despatch before him four thousand men, to secure such places as might be useful: the command of this party was given to Marcus Claudius, and Quintus Marcius the consul’s son. The main body followed close after; but the road was so steep, rough, and craggy, that the advanced party of light troops, with great difficulty, effected in two days a march of fifteen miles; and then encamped. They call the place which they took, the tower of Eudicru. Next day they advanced seven miles; and, having seized on a hill at a small distance from the enemy’s camp, sent back a message to the consul, that “they had come up with the enemy; and had taken post in a place which was safe and convenient in every respect; urging him to join them with all possible speed.” This message came to the consul at the Lake Ascuris, at a time when he was full of anxiety, on account of the badness of the road on which he had entered, and for the fate of the small force he had sent forward into the midst of the posts of the enemy. His spirits were therefore greatly revived; and, soon effecting a junction of all his forces, he pitched his camp on the side of the hill that had been seized, where the ground was the most commodious. This hill was so high as to afford a wide-extended prospect presenting to their eyes, at one view, not only the enemy’s camp, which was little more than a mile distant, but the whole extent of territory to Dium and Phila, together with a large tract of the sea-coast; circumstances which greatly enlivened the courage of the soldiers, giving them so near a view of the grand theatre of the war, of all the king’s forces, and of the country of the enemy. So eager were they, that they pressed the consul to lead them on directly to the enemy’s camp; but, after the fatigue that they had suffered on the road, one day was set apart for repose. On the third day, the consul, leaving one half of his troops to guard the camp, drew out his forces against the enemy.
4 Hippias had been sent by the king, a short time before, to maintain that pass; and having employed himself, since he first saw the Roman camp on the hill, in preparing his men’s minds for a battle, he now went forth to meet the consul’s army as it advanced. The Romans came out to battle with light armour, as did the enemy; light troops being the fittest to commence the engagement. As soon as they met, therefore, they instantly discharged their javelins, and many wounds were given and received on both sides in a disorderly kind of conflict; but few of either party were killed. This only roused their courage for the following day, when they would have engaged with more numerous forces, and with greater animosity, had there been room to form a line; but the summit of the mountain was contracted into a ridge so narrow, as scarcely to allow space for three files in front; so that, while but few were fighting, the greater part, especially such as carried heavy arms, stood mere spectators of the fight. The light troops even ran through the hollows of the hill, and attacked the flanks of the light-armed troops of the enemy; and alike through even and uneven places, sought to come to action. That day, greater numbers were wounded than killed, and night put a stop to the dispute. The Roman general was greatly at a loss how to proceed on the third day; for to remain on that naked hill was impossible, and he could not return without disgrace, and even danger, if the enemy with the advantage of the ground, should press on his troops in their retreat: he had therefore no other plan left than to improve his bold attempt, by persevering resolution, which sometimes, in the issue, proves the wiser course. He had, in fact, brought himself into such a situation, that if he had had to deal with an enemy like the ancient kings of Macedon, he might have suffered a severe defeat. But while the king, with his horsemen, ran up and down the shore at Dium; and, though at a distance of twelve miles, he was almost within hearing of the shout and noise of his forces who were engaged, neither strengthened his forces by sending up fresh men to relieve the weary, nor, what was most material, appeared himself in the action; the Roman general, notwithstanding that he was above sixty years old, and unwieldy through corpulency, performed actively every duty of a commander. He persisted with extraordinary resolution in his bold undertaking; and, leaving Popilius to guard the summit, marched across, through trackless places, having sent forward a party to open a road. Attalus and Misagenes, with the auxiliary troops of their own nations, were ordered to protect them, while clearing the way through the forests. He himself, keeping the cavalry and baggage before him, closed the rear with the legions.
5 In descending the mountain, the men suffered inexpressible fatigue, besides the frequent falling of the cattle and their loads, so that, before they had advanced quite four miles, they began to think that their most eligible plan would be to return, if they could, by the way they had come. The elephants caused almost as much confusion among the troops as an enemy could; for, when they came to impassable steeps, they threw off their riders, and set up such a hideous roar, as spread terror through all, especially among the horses, until a method was contrived for bringing them down. They fastened in the earth, in the line of descent, some way from the top, two long, strong posts, distant from each other a little more than the breadth of the animal, on which were fastened beams thirty feet long, so as to form a kind of bridge, and covered it with earth; after a little intermediate space, a second and similar bridge was formed; then a third bridge, with several others one after another, where the rocks were precipitous. The elephant walked forward on solid footing upon the bridge; but before he came to the end, the posts underneath were cut, and the bridge falling, obliged him to slide down gently to the beginning of the next bridge, which some of them performed standing, others on their haunches. When they arrived at the level of another bridge, they were again carried down, by its falling in like manner; and so on until they came to more level ground. The Romans advanced that day scarcely more than seven miles; and even of this journey little was performed on foot. Their method of proceeding in general was rolling themselves down, together with their arms and other encumbrances, with every kind of discomfort; insomuch, that even their commander, who led them such a march, did not deny, but that tho whole army might have been cut off by a small party. During the night, they arrived at a small plain; but, as it was hemmed in on every side, there was no opportunity of discovering whether it was a position of danger or not. However, as they had, beyond their expectation, at length found good footing, they judged it necessary to wait, during the next day, in that deep valley for Popilius, and the forces left behind with him; who, though the enemy gave them no disturbance from any quarter, suffered severely from the difficulties of the ground,—as if they had been harassed by an enemy. These having joined the main body, the whole proceeded, on the third day, through a pass called by the natives Callipeuce. On the fourth day they marched down through places equally trackless, but more cleverly in consequence of their experience, and with more comfortable hopes, as they saw no enemy any where, and as they were coming nearer to the sea, into the plains, where they pitched their camp of infantry between Heracleum and Libethrus, the greater part being posted on hills, the rest occupying a valley and part of the plain where the cavalry encamped.
6 The king, it is said, was bathing, when he was informed of the enemy’s approach; on hearing which, he started up from his seat, and rushed out in a fright, crying out, that he was conquered without a battle; and afterwards, in a state of great perturbation, amidst plans and orders dictated by fear, he recalled two most intimate friends from his garrisons, and sent one to Pella, where his treasure was lodged, and the other to Parthus, and opened all the passes to the invasion of the enemy. He himself, having suddenly removed from Dium all the gilded statues, that they might not fall a prey to the enemy, ordered all the inhabitants to remove to Pydna; and thus made the conduct of the consul, in venturing into a situation out of which he could not retreat without the enemy’s permission, although it might have been deemed rash and inconsiderate, to wear the appearance of judicious boldness. For there were only two passes through which the Romans could remove from their present situation; one through Tempe into Thessaly, the other by Dium into Macedonia; and both these were occupied by parties of the king’s troops. So that if an intrepid commander had, only for ten days, maintained his ground, without yielding to the first appearance of an approaching terror, the Romans could neither have retreated by Tempe into Thessaly, nor have had any road open for the conveyance of provisions to their position. For Tempe is a pass of such a nature, that even supposing no obstruction was given by an enemy, it is difficult to get through it; being so narrow for the distance of five miles, that there is barely room for a loaded horse to pass: the precipices, also, on both sides, are so abrupt, that it is scarcely possible to look down from them, without a dizziness alike of the eyes and the mind; while the roaring and depth of the river Peneus, flowing through the middle of the glen, increases the terrific effect. This defile, in its nature so dangerous, was guarded by parties of the king’s troops, stationed in four different places: one near Gonnus, at the first entrance; another in an impregnable fortress at Condylos; a third near Lapathus, in a place called Charax; and the fourth on the road itself about midway, where the valley is narrowest, and might have been easily defended even by half a score men. All possibility either of retreating, or of receiving provisions through Tempe, being cut off, the Romans, in order to return, must have crossed over the same mountains from which they came down; but even though they might have been able to effect this by passing unobserved, they never could have accomplished it openly, and while the enemy kept possession of the heights; and besides, the difficulties which they had already experienced would have precluded every hope of the kind. In this rash enterprise they would have no other plan left than to force their way into Macedonia, through the midst of the enemy posted at Dium; and if the gods had not deprived the king of his understanding, this would have been extremely difficult For the space between the foot of Mount Olympus and the sea is not much more than a mile in breadth; one half of which is taken up by the mouth of the river Baphirus, which forms a large morass, and, of the remaining plain, a great share is occupied by the town and the temple of Jupiter: the rest, being a very small space, might have been shut up with a trench and rampart of no great length; or, so great was the plenty of stones and timber on the spot, that a wall might have been drawn across, and towers erected. But the king’s judgment was so entirely blinded by the sudden fright, that he reflected not upon any one of these circumstances; on the contrary, he evacuated all his strong posts, and leaving them open to the enemy, fled back to Pydna.
7 The consul, perceiving in the folly and sloth of the enemy a most favourable prospect, not only of safety, but of success, sent back a messenger to Larissa, with orders to Spurius Lucretius to seize on the deserted forts about Tempe; then, sending forward Popilius, to examine all the passes round Dium, and learning that all was clear, he marched in two days to that town, ordering the camp to be fixed under the walls of the temple, that no violation might be offered to that sacred place. He went himself into the city; and seeing it, though not large, yet highly ornamented with public buildings and abundance of statues, and remarkably well fortified, he could scarcely believe that there was not some stratagem concealed in the abandonment of such important advantages without cause. He waited therefore one day to examine all the country round; then he decamped; and supposing that he should find plenty of corn in Pieria, advanced to a river called the Mytis. On the day following, continuing his march, he received the voluntary surrender of the city of Agassæ; whereupon, in order to gain the good opinion of the rest of the Macedonians, he contented himself with receiving hostages, assuring the inhabitants, that he would leave them their city without a garrison, and that they should live free from taxes, and under their own laws. Proceeding thence one day’s march, he encamped at the river Ascordus; but, finding that the farther he removed from Thessaly, the greater was the scarcity of every thing, he returned to Dium; which clearly demonstrated how much he must have suffered if he had been cut off from Thessaly, since he found it unsafe to go to any great distance from it. Perseus, having drawn all his forces into one body, and assembled all his generals, reprimanded severely the commanders of the garrisons, and particularly Hippias, and Asclepiodotus; asserting that they had betrayed to the Romans the keys of Macedonia; of which charge no one was more truly guilty than himself. The consul, on seeing the fleet at sea, conceived hopes that they were coming with provisions, for every article had now become very dear and very scarce; but when the ships came into harbour, he was informed that the transports had been left behind at Magnesia. He was then under great perplexity to determine what measures to take; so hard did he find it to struggle with the difficulties of his situation, though not aggravated by any effort of the enemy; when, very seasonably, a letter arrived from Lucretius, acquainting him that he was in possession of all the forts about Tempe and Phila, and had found in them great plenty of corn and other necessaries.
8 The consul, highly delighted with this intelligence, removed his quarters from Dium to Phila, in order to strengthen that post, and, at the same time, to distribute corn to the soldiers, on the spot, as the carriage of it thence would be tedious. That march gave rise to opinions not at all favourable to his reputation: some said that he retired from the enemy through fear; because if he had staid in Pieria he must have risked a battle: others, that, not considering the daily changes produced by fortune in the affairs of war, he had let slip out of his hands advantages which threw themselves in his way, and which, in all probability, he could never regain. For, by giving up the possession of Dium, he at once roused the enemy to action; who at length saw the necessity of endeavouring to recover what he had lost before, through his own fault. On hearing of the consul’s departure, therefore, Perseus marched back to Dium, repaired whatever had been destroyed and laid waste by the Romans, rebuilt the battlements which they had thrown down, strengthened the fortifications all round, and then pitched his camp within five miles of the city, on the hither bank of the Enipeus, in order to have the river itself, the passage of which was extremely difficult, as a defence to his post. The Enipeus, which rises in a valley of Mount Olympus, is a small stream during the summer, but is raised by the winter rains to a violent torrent, when, as it runs over the rocks, it forms furious eddies, and, by sweeping away the earth at the bottom into the sea, makes very deep gulfs, while the sinking of the middle of the channel renders the banks both high and steep. Perseus, thinking that the advance of the enemy was sufficiently obstructed by this river, contemplated spending there the remainder of the summer. In the mean time, the consul sent Popilius, with two thousand men, from Phila to Heracleum. It is distant about five miles from Phila, midway between Dium and Tempe, and stands on a steep rock hanging over the river.