Philip Prepares to Invade Italy
In the course of the winter, Philip, taking into
note
consideration that he would want ships to
carry out his designs, and men for rowing, not
for fighting,—for he could never have even
entertained a hope of fighting the Romans at sea,—but rather
for the transport of soldiers, and to enable him to cross with
greater speed to any point to which he might desire to go,
and so surprise the enemy by a sudden appearance, and
thinking that the Illyrian build was the best for the sort of
ships he wanted, determined to have a hundred galleys built;
which hardly any Macedonian king had ever done before. note
Having had these fitted out, he collected his
forces at the beginning of the summer; and, after
a brief training of the Macedonians in rowing them, put to sea.
It was just at the time that just at the time that Antiochus crossed Mount Taurus
when Philip, after sailing through the Euripus and rounding
Cape Malea, came to Cephallenia and Leucas, where he
dropped anchor, and awaited anxiously the movements of the
Roman fleet. Being informed that it was at anchor off Lilybaeum, he mustered up courage to put to sea, and steered for
Apollonia.
