Philip's Aetolian Campaign
When he heard what had happened in Macedonia, and
note
had thus paid on the spot for the selfishness
and folly of the Epirotes, Philip proceeded to
besiege Ambracus. By an energetic use of
earthworks, and other siege operations, he quickly terrified the
people into submission, and the place surrendered after a delay
of forty days in all. He let the garrison, consisting of five
hundred Aetolians, depart on fixed conditions, and gratified the
cupidity of the Epirotes by handing over Ambracus to them;
while he himself set his army in motion, and marched by way
of Charadra, being anxious to cross the Ambracian gulf
where it is narrowest, that is to say, near the Acarnanian
temple called Actium. For this gulf is a branch of the
Sicilian sea between Epirus and Acarnania, with a very narrow
opening of less than five stades, but expanding as it extends
inland to a breadth of a hundred stades; while the length of
the whole arm from the open sea is about three hundred
stades. It forms the boundary between Epirus on the north
and Acarnania on the south. Philip, therefore, having got his
army across this entrance of the gulf, and advanced through
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Acarnania, came to the city of Phoeteiae, which belonged to
the Aetolians; note having, during his march, been
joined by an Acarnanian force of two thousand
foot and two hundred horse. note Encamping
under the walls of this town, and making energetic and
formidable assaults upon it during two days, it was surrendered to him on terms, and the Aetolian garrison were
dismissed on parole. Next night, however, five hundred other
Aetolians, believing the town still untaken, came to its relief;
whose arrival being ascertained beforehand by the king, he
stationed some men in ambush at certain convenient spots,
and slew most of the new-comers and captured all but a very
few of the rest. After these events, he distributed a month's
rations of corn among his men from what had been captured,
for a large store was found collected at Phoeteiae, and then
continued his advance into the territory of Stratus. At
about ten stades from that town he pitched his camp on the
banks of the river Achelous; and from that began laying waste
the country without resistance, none of the enemy venturing
out to attack him.
