by Polybius
61. Such was the state of things in the Peloponnese when King Philip, after crossing Thessaly, arrived in Epirus. Reinforcing his Macedonians by a full levy of Epirotes, and being joined by three hundred slingers from Achaia, and the five hundred Cretans sent him by the Polyrrhenians, he continued his march through Epirus and arrived in the territory of the Ambracians. Now, if he had continued his march without interruption, and thrown himself into the interior of Aetolia, by the sudden and unlooked-for attack of so formidable an army he would have put an end to the whole campaign: but as it was, he was over-persuaded by the Epirotes to take Ambracus first; and so gave the Aetolians an interval in which to make a stand, to take precautionary measures, and to prepare for the future. For the Epirotes, thinking more of their own advantage than of that of the confederacy, and being very anxious to get Ambracus into their power, begged Philip to invest the town and take it before doing anything else: the fact being that they regarded it as a matter of the utmost importance to recover Ambracia from the Aetolians; and thought that the only way of doing this was to become masters of this place, Ambracus, and besiege the town of Ambracia from it. For Ambracus is a place strongly fortified by walls and out-works, standing in the midst of marshes, and approached from the land by only one narrow raised causeway; and commanding by its situation both the district and town of Ambracia.
[1] τὴν παρασκευὴν τῶν πρὸς τὴν πολιορκίαν. Σκόπας δὲ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀναλαβὼν τοὺς Αἰτωλοὺς πανδημεί, καὶ ποιησάμενος τὴν πορείαν διὰ Θετταλίας, ἐνέβαλεν εἰς Μακεδονίαν, καὶ τόν τε σῖτον ἐπιπορευόμενος τὸν κατὰ τὴν Πιερίαν ἔφθειρε καὶ λείας περιβαλόμενος πλῆθος ἐπανῆγε, ποιούμενος τὴν πορείαν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ Δῖον. [2] ἐκλιπόντων δὲ τῶν κατοικούντων τὸν τόπον, εἰσελθὼν τὰ τείχη κατέσκαψε καὶ τὰς οἰκίας καὶ τὸ γυμνάσιον, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἐνέπρησε τὰς στοὰς τὰς περὶ τὸ τέμενος καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ διέφθειρε τῶν ἀναθημάτων, ὅσα πρὸς κόσμον ἢ χρείαν ὑπῆρχε τοῖς εἰς τὰς πανηγύρεις συμπορευομένοις: ἀνέτρεψε δὲ καὶ τὰς εἰκόνας τῶν βασιλέων ἁπάσας. [3] οὗτος μὲν οὖν εὐθέως κατὰ τὴν ἔνστασιν τοῦ πολέμου καὶ τὴν πρώτην πρᾶξιν οὐ μόνον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς θεοῖς πόλεμον ἐξενηνοχώς, ἐπανῄει. [4] καὶ παραγενόμενος εἰς Αἰτωλίαν, οὐχ ὡς ἠσεβηκώς, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἀγαθὸς ἀνὴρ εἰς τὰ κοινὰ πράγματα γεγονώς, ἐτιμᾶτο καὶ περιεβλέπετο, πλήρεις ἐλπίδων κενῶν καὶ φρονήματος ἀλόγου πεποιηκὼς τοὺς Αἰτωλούς: [5] ἔσχον γὰρ ἐκ τούτων διάληψιν ὡς τῆς μὲν Αἰτωλίας οὐδ᾽ ἐγγίζειν τολμήσοντος οὐδενός, αὐτοὶ δὲ πορθήσοντες ἀδεῶς οὐ μόνον τὴν Πελοπόννησον, καθάπερ ἔθος ἦν αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν Θετταλίαν καὶ τὴν Μακε
62. While Philip, then, by the persuasion of the Epirotes, pitching his camp near Ambracus, was engaged in making his preparations for the siege, Scopas raised a general levy of Aetolians, and marching through Thessaly crossed the frontiers of Macedonia; traversed the plain of Plena, and laid it waste; and after securing considerable booty, returned by the road leading to Dium. The inhabitants of that town abandoning the place, he entered it and threw down its walls, houses, and gymnasium; set fire to the covered walks round the sacred enclosure, and destroyed all the other offerings which had been placed in it, either for ornament, or for the use of visitors to the public assemblies, and threw down all the statues of the kings. And this man, who, at the very beginning and first action of the war, had thus turned his arms against the gods as well as men, was not treated on his return to Aetolia as guilty of impiety, but was honoured and looked up to. For he had indeed filled the Aetolians with empty hopes and irrational conceit. From this time they indulged the idea that no one would venture to set foot in Aetolia, while they would be able without resistance not only to plunder the Peloponnese, which they were quite accustomed to do, but Thessaly and Macedonia also.
[1] δονίαν. Φίλιππος δὲ τὰ περὶ τὴν Μακεδονίαν ἀκούσας, καὶ παραχρῆμα τῆς Ἠπειρωτῶν ἀγνοίας καὶ φιλονεικίας τἀπίχειρα κεκομισμένος, ἐπολιόρκει τὸν Ἄμβρακον. [2] χρησάμενος δὲ τοῖς τε χώμασιν ἐνεργῶς καὶ τῇ λοιπῇ παρασκευῇ ταχέως κατεπλήξατο τοὺς ἐνόντας, καὶ παρέλαβε τὸ χωρίον ἐν ἡμέραις τετταράκοντα ταῖς πάσαις. [3] ἀφεὶς δὲ τοὺς φυλάττοντας ὑποσπόνδους, ὄντας εἰς πεντακοσίους Αἰτωλῶν, τὴν μὲν τῶν Ἠπειρωτῶν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐπλήρωσε, παραδοὺς τὸν Ἄμβρακον, [4] αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἀναλαβὼν τὴν δύναμιν προῆγε παρὰ Χαράδραν, σπεύδων διαβῆναι τὸν Ἀμβρακικὸν καλούμενον κόλπον, οὗ στενώτατόν ἐστι, κατὰ τὸ τῶν Ἀκαρνάνων ἱερὸν καλούμενον Ἄκτιον. [5] ὁ γὰρ προειρημένος κόλπος ἐκπίπτει μὲν ἐκ τοῦ Σικελικοῦ πελάγους μεταξὺ τῆς Ἠπείρου καὶ τῆς Ἀκαρνανίας στενῷ παντελῶς στόματι — λείπει γὰρ τῶν πέντε σταδίων — [6] προβαίνων δ᾽ εἰς τὴν μεσόγαιαν κατὰ μὲν τὸ πλάτος ἐφ᾽ ἑκατὸν στάδια κεῖται, κατὰ δὲ τὸ μῆκος ἀπὸ τοῦ πελάγους προπίπτει περὶ τριακόσια στάδια: διορίζει δὲ τὴν Ἤπειρον καὶ τὴν Ἀκαρνανίαν, ἔχων τὴν μὲν Ἤπειρον ἀπὸ τῶν ἄρκτων, τὴν δ᾽ Ἀκαρνανίαν ἀπὸ μεσημβρίας. [7] περαιώσας δὲ κατὰ τὸ προειρημένον στόμα τὴν δύναμιν, καὶ διελθὼν τὴν Ἀκαρνανίαν, ἧκε τῆς Αἰτωλίας πρὸς τὴν καλουμένην πόλιν Φοιτίας, συμπαρειληφὼς Ἀκαρνάνων πεζοὺς δισχιλίους, ἱππεῖς δὲ διακοσίους. [8] περιστρατοπεδεύσας δὲ τὴν προειρημένην πόλιν, καὶ προσβολὰς ἐνεργοὺς καὶ καταπληκτικὰς ἐπὶ δύ᾽ ἡμέρας ποιησάμενος, παρέλαβε καθ᾽ ὁμολογίαν, ἀφεὶς ὑποσπόνδους τοὺς ἐνόντας τῶν Αἰτωλῶν. [9] τῆς δ᾽ ἐπιούσης νυκτός, ὡς ἔτι μενούσης ἀναλώτου τῆς πόλεως, ἧκον βοηθοῦντες πεντακόσιοι τῶν Αἰτωλῶν: ὧν τὴν παρουσίαν προαισθανόμενος ὁ βασιλεύς, καθεὶς ἐπί τινας τόπους εὐκαίρους ἐνέδρας, τοὺς μὲν πλείους αὐτῶν ἀπέκτεινε, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ὑποχειρίους ἔλαβε, πλὴν τελέως ὀλίγων. [10] μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα σιτομετρήσας εἰς τριάκονθ᾽ ἡμέρας τὴν δύναμιν ἐκ τοῦ περικαταληφθέντος σίτου — πολὺ γὰρ πλῆθος ἐν ταῖς Φοιτίαις εὑρέθη συνηθροισμένον — προῆγε ποιούμενος τὴν πορείαν εἰς τὴν Στρατικήν. [11] ἀποσχὼν δὲ τῆς πόλεως περὶ δέκα στάδια κατεστ�
�ατοπέδευσε περὶ τὸν Ἀχελῷον ποταμόν, ὁρμώμενος δ᾽ ἐντεῦθεν ἀδεῶς ἐπόρθει τὴν χώραν, οὐδενὸς ἐπεξιέναι τολμῶντος τῶν ὑπεναντίων.
63. When he heard what had happened in Macedonia, and 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 Acarnania, came to the city of Phoeteiae, which belonged to the Aetolians; having, during his march, been joined by an Acarnanian force of two thousand foot and two hundred horse. 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.
[1] οἱ δ᾽ Ἀχαιοὶ κατὰ τοὺς καιροὺς τούτους πιεζόμενοι τῷ πολέμῳ, τὸν δὲ βασιλέα πυνθανόμενοι σύνεγγυς εἶναι, πέμπουσι πρέσβεις, ἀξιοῦντες βοηθεῖν. [2] οἳ καὶ συμμίξαντες ἔτι περὶ Στράτον ὄντι τῷ Φιλίππῳ τά τε λοιπὰ διελέγοντο κατὰ τὰς ἐντολάς, καὶ τὰς ὠφελείας ὑποδεικνύντες τῷ στρατοπέδῳ τὰς ἐκ τῆς πολεμίας ἔπειθον αὐτὸν διαβάντα τὸ Ῥίον ἐμβαλεῖν εἰς τὴν Ἠλείαν. [3] ὧν ὁ βασιλεὺς διακούσας τοὺς μὲν πρεσβευτὰς παρακατέσχε, φήσας βουλεύσασθαι περὶ τῶν παρακαλουμένων, αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἀναζεύξας προῆγε, ποιούμενος τὴν πορείαν ὡς ἐπὶ Μητροπόλεως καὶ Κωνώπης. [4] οἱ δ᾽ Αἰτωλοὶ τὴν μὲν ἄκραν τῆς Μητροπόλεως κατεῖχον, τὴν δὲ πόλιν ἐξέλιπον. ὁ δὲ Φίλιππος ἐμπρήσας τὴν Μητρόπολιν προῄει κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἐπὶ τὴν Κωνώπην. [5] τῶν δ᾽ Αἰτωλῶν ἱππέων ἁθροισθέντων καὶ τολμησάντων ἀπαντᾶν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ποταμοῦ διάβασιν, ἣ κεῖται πρὸ τῆς πόλεως εἴκοσι στάδια διέχουσα, καὶ πεπεισμένων ἢ κωλύειν τελείως ἢ κακοποιήσειν πολλὰ τοὺς Μακεδόνας περὶ τὴν ἔκβασιν, [6] συννοήσας αὐτῶν τὴν ἐπιβολὴν ὁ βασιλεὺς παρήγγειλε τοῖς πελτασταῖς πρώτοις ἐμβαλεῖν εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἔκβασιν ἁθρόους κατὰ τάγμα συνησπικότας. [7] τῶν δὲ πειθαρχούντων, ἅμα τῷ τὴν πρώτην διαβῆναι σημαίαν βραχέα ταύτης καταπειράσαντες οἱ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν ἱππεῖς, ἐν τῷ ταύτην τε μεῖναι συνασπίσασαν καὶ τὴν δευτέραν καὶ τρίτην διαβαινούσας συμφράττειν τοῖς ὅπλοις πρὸς τὴν ὑφεστῶσαν, ἀπραγοῦντες καὶ δυσχρήστως ἀπαλλάττοντες ἀπεχώρουν πρὸς τὴν πόλιν. [8] καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἤδη τὸ μὲν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν φρόνημα συμπεφευγὸς εἰς τὰς πόλεις ἦγε τὴν ἡσυχίαν. [9] ὁ δὲ Φίλιππος ἐπιδιαβὰς τῷ στρατεύματι, καὶ πορθήσας ἀδεῶς καὶ ταύτην τὴν χώραν προῆγε ποιούμενος τὴν πορείαν εἰς τὴν Ἰθωρίαν: τοῦτο δ᾽ ἔστι χωρίον, ὃ κεῖται μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς παρόδου κυρίως, ὀχυρότητι δὲ φυσικῇ καὶ χειροποιήτῳ διαφέρει. [10] συνεγγίζοντος δ᾽ αὐτοῦ, καταπλαγέντες οἱ φυλάττοντες ἐξέλιπον τὸν τόπον: ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τοῦ τόπου κυριεύσας εἰς ἔδαφος καθεῖλε. [11] παραπλησίως δὲ καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς πύργους τοὺς κατὰ τὴν χώραν ἐπέταξε τοῖς προνομεύουσι
64. Meanwhile the Achaeans, being hard pressed by the war, and ascertaining that the king was not far off, sent ambassadors to him begging for help. They found Philip still in his camp near Stratus, and there delivered their commission: and besides the message with which they were charged, they pointed out to him the richness of the booty which his army would get from the enemy’s country, and tried to persuade him to cross to Rhium and invade Elis. The king listened to what they had to say, and kept the ambassadors with him, alleging that he must consider of their request; and meanwhile broke up his camp, and marched in the direction of Metropolis and Conope. The Aetolians kept possession of the citadel of Metropolis but abandoned the town: whereupon Philip set fire to Metropolis, and continued his advance against Conope. But when the Aetolian horse rallied and ventured to meet him at the ford of the Achelous, which is about twenty stades before you reach the town, believing that they would either stop his advance altogether, or inflict much damage on the Macedonians while crossing the river; the king, fully understanding their tactics, ordered his light-armed troops to enter the river first and to cross it in close order, keeping to their regular companies, and with shields interlocked. His orders were obeyed: and as soon as the first company had effected the crossing, the Aetolian cavalry attacked it; but they could make no impression upon it, standing as it did in close order, and being joined in similar close order, shield to shield, by a second and a third company as they crossed. Therefore they wheeled off discomfited and retired to the city. From this time forth the proud gallantry of the Aetolians was fain to confine itself to the protection of the towns, and keep quiet; while Philip crossed with his army, and after wasting this district also without resistance, arrived at Ithoria. This is a position completely commanding the road, and of extraordinary strength, natural as well as artificial. On his approach, however, the garrison occupying the place abandoned it in a panic; and the king, taking possession, levelled it to the ground: and gave orders to his skirmishing parties to treat all forts in the district in the same way.
[1] καταφέρειν. διελθὼν δὲ τὰ στενὰ τὸ λοιπὸν ἤδη βάδην καὶ πραεῖαν ἐποιεῖτο τὴν πορείαν, ἀναστροφὴν διδοὺς τῇ δυνάμει πρὸς τὰς ἀπὸ τῆς χώρας ὠφελείας. [2] γέμοντος δὲ τοῦ στρατοπέδου πάν
των τῶν ἐπιτηδείων, ἧκε πρὸς τοὺς [Ἀχαιοὺς] Οἰνιάδας. [3] καταστρατοπεδεύσας δὲ πρὸς τὸ Παιάνιον τοῦτο πρῶτον ἐξελεῖν ἔκρινε: ποιησάμενος δὲ προσβολὰς συνεχεῖς εἷλεν αὐτὸ κατὰ κράτος, πόλιν κατὰ μὲν τὸν περίβολον οὐ μεγάλην — ἐλάττων γὰρ ἦν ἑπτὰ σταδίων — κατὰ δὲ τὴν σύμπασαν κατασκευὴν οἰκιῶν καὶ τειχῶν καὶ πύργων οὐδ᾽ ὁποίας ἥττω. [4] ταύτης δὲ τὸ μὲν τεῖχος κατέσκαψε πᾶν εἰς ἔδαφος, τὰς δ᾽ οἰκήσεις διαλύων τὰ ξύλα καὶ τὸν κέραμον εἰς σχεδίας καθήρμοζε καὶ συνεχῶς κατῆγεν αὐτὰς τῷ ποταμῷ μετὰ πολλῆς φιλοτιμίας εἰς τοὺς Οἰνιάδας. [5] οἱ δ᾽ Αἰτωλοὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐπεβάλοντο διατηρεῖν τὴν ἄκραν τὴν ἐν τοῖς Οἰνιάδαις, ἀσφαλισάμενοι τείχεσι καὶ τῇ λοιπῇ κατασκευῇ: συνεγγίζοντος δὲ τοῦ Φιλίππου καταπλαγέντες ἐξεχώρησαν. [6] ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς παραλαβὼν καὶ ταύτην τὴν πόλιν, ἐξ αὐτῆς προελθὼν κατεστρατοπέδευσε τῆς Καλυδωνίας πρός τι χωρίον ὀχυρόν, ὃ καλεῖται μὲν Ἔλαος, ἠσφάλισται δὲ τείχεσι καὶ ταῖς λοιπαῖς παρασκευαῖς διαφερόντως, Ἀττάλου τὴν περὶ αὐτὸ κατασκευὴν ἀναδεξαμένου τοῖς Αἰτωλοῖς. [7] γενόμενοι δὲ καὶ τούτου κύριοι κατὰ κράτος οἱ Μακεδόνες, καὶ πᾶσαν κατασύραντες τὴν Καλυδωνίαν, ἧκον πάλιν εἰς τοὺς Οἰνιάδας. [8] ὁ δὲ Φίλιππος συνθεασάμενος τὴν εὐκαιρίαν τοῦ τόπου, πρός τε τἄλλα καὶ μάλιστα πρὸς τὰς εἰς Πελοπόννησον διαβάσεις, ἐπεβάλετο τειχίζειν τὴν πόλιν. [9] τοὺς γὰρ Οἰνιάδας κεῖσθαι συμβαίνει παρὰ θάλατταν, ἐπὶ τῷ πέρατι τῆς Ἀκαρνανίας τῷ πρὸς Αἰτωλοὺς συνάπτοντι, περὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ Κορινθιακοῦ κόλπου. [10] τῆς δὲ Πελοποννήσου τέτακται μὲν ἡ πόλις καταντικρὺ τῆς παραλίας τῆς τῶν Δυμαίων, ἔγγιστα δ᾽ αὐτῆς ὑπάρχει τοῖς κατὰ τὸν Ἄραξον τόποις: ἀπέχει γὰρ οὐ πλεῖον ἑκατὸν σταδίων. εἰς ἃ βλέψας τήν τε ἄκραν καθ᾽ αὑτὴν ἠσφαλίσατο, [11] καὶ τῷ λιμένι καὶ τοῖς νεωρίοις ὁμοῦ τεῖχος περιβαλὼν ἐνεχείρει συνάψαι πρὸς τὴν ἄκραν, χρώμενος πρὸς τὴν οἰκονομίαν ταῖς ἐκ τοῦ Παιανίου παρασκευαῖς.