 | First Macedonian War: Encyclopedia II - First Macedonian War - Philip builds a fleet
First Macedonian War - Philip builds a fleet
Philip spent the winter of 217–216 BC building a fleet of 100 warships, something, according to Polybius "hardly any Macedonian king had ever done before", and training men to row them.8
Macedon probably lacked the resources to build and maintain the kind of fleet necessary to match the Romans.9 Polybius says that Philip had no "hope of fighting the Romans at sea",10 perhaps referring to a lack of experience and training.
At any rate, Philip chose to build lembi. These were the small fast galley used by the Illyrians. They had a single bank of oars and were able to carry 50 soldiers in addition to the rowers.11 With these, Philip could hope to avoid or evade the Roman fleet, preoccupied as he hoped it would be with Hannibal, and based, as it was, at Lilybaeum in western Sicily.12
Philip had in the meantime expanded his territories west along the Apsus and Genusus river valleys, right up to the borders with Illyria.13 Philips' plan was it seems, to first take the Illyrian coasts, conquer the area between the coasts and Macedon, and use the new land link to provide a route for reinforcements for a rapid crossing of the straits to Italy.14
At the beginning of summer, Philip and his fleet left Macedon, sailed through the Euripus Strait, between the island of Euboea and Boeotia on the Greek mainland, and then rounded Cape Malea, before dropping anchor off the Islands of Cephalenia and Leucas, to await word of the location of the Roman fleet. Informed that it was still at Lilybaeum, he sailed north to Apollonia in Illyria.
However as the Macedonia fleet neared the island of Sazon, Philip heard a report that some Roman quinqueremes had been seen headed for Apollonia. Convinced that the entire Roman fleet was sailing to apprehend him, Philip ordered an immediate return to Cephalenia. Polybius speaks of "panic" and "disorder" to describe the fleet's hasty retreat, and says that in fact the Roman's had sent only a squadron of ten ships, and that because of "inconsiderate alarm", Philip had missed his best chance to achieve his aims in Illyria, returning to Macedon, "without loss indeed, but with considerable dishonour".15
Other related archives205 BC, 206 BC, 207 BC, 208 BC, 209 BC, 210 BC, 211 BC, 212 BC, 213, 214 BC, 215 BC, 216 BC, 217, 217 BC, 219 BC, 229 BC, lembi, Achaean League, Adriatic, Aegean Sea, Aegina, Aegium, Aetolian League, Aetolians, Anticyra, Apollonia, Asia Minor, Athens, Attalus I, Boeotia, Bottiaea, Brundisium, Byzantium, Calabrian, Cannae, Cape Malea, Capua, Carthage, Cephalenia, Cephisus, Chalcis, Chios, Corcyra, Corinth, Cyllene, Dardania, Demetrias, Demetrius of Pharos, Dyme, Dyrrachium, Egypt, Elis, Epidamnus, Epirus, Euboea, Euripus Strait, First Illyrian War, Fourth Macedonian War, Greece, Hannibal, Heraclea, Illyria, June, Lake Trasimene, Lamia, Lemnos, Leucas, Lilybaeum, Locris, Lyncestis, Macedon, Maedi, Messenia, Military history of Greece, Mytilene, Naupactus, Opus, Paionia, Peace of Phoenice, Pelagonia, Pella, Peloponnesus, Pergamon, Pharos, Philip V of Macedon, Phocian, Pleuratus, Polybius, Prusias I, Publius Sulpicius Galba, Rhodes, Rome, Saronic Gulf, Scerdilaidas, Second Illyrian War, Second Macedonian War, Second Punic War, Sicily, Sicyon, Sparta, Syracuse, Tarentum, Tempe, Thessaly, Third Macedonian War, Thrace, Vjosë, Wars of Ancient Rome, consulship, legion, propraetor, quinqueremes, strategos, talents
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