§28.5.1principio aestatis eius, qua haec sunt gesta, P. Sulpicius proconsul et Attalus rex cum Aeginae, sicut ante dictum est, hibernassent, Lemnum inde classe iuncta — Romanae quinque et viginti quinqueremes, regiae quinque et triginta erant — transmiserunt.
At the beginning of the summer in which these things were done, Publius Sulpicius the proconsul and King Attalus, having wintered in Aegina as has been mentioned before, crossed from there to the island of Lemnos with their combined fleet — there were twenty-five Roman quinqueremes and thirty-five of the king's.
§28.5.2et Philippus, ut, seu terra seu maria obviam eundum hosti foret, paratus ad omnes conatus esset, ipse Demetriadem ad mare descendit, Larisam diem ad conveniendum exercitui edixit.
And Philip, in order to be prepared for all attempts, whether the enemy had to be met by land or by sea, descended himself to Demetrias by the sea, and proclaimed a day for the army to assemble at Larissa.
§28.5.3undique ab sociis legationes Demetriadem ad famam regis convenerunt.
From all sides, embassies from the allies assembled at Demetrias at the rumor of the king's arrival.
§28.5.4sustulerant enim animos Aetoli cum ab Romana societate tum post Attali adventum, finitimosque depopulabantur.
For the Aetolians had raised their spirits both because of their alliance with Rome and after the arrival of Attalus, and they were plundering their neighbors.
nec Acarnanes solum Boeotique §28.5.5et qui Euboeam incolunt in magno metu erant, sed Achaei quoque, quos super Aetolicum bellum Machanidas etiam Lacedaemonius tyrannus haud procul Argivorum fine positis castris terrebat.
And not only the Acarnanians and Boeotians, and those who inhabit Euboea, were in great fear, but also the Achaeans, whom, in addition to the Aetolian war, Machanidas the Lacedaemonian tyrant was also terrifying, having pitched his camp not far from the border of the Argives.
§28.5.6hi omnes, suis quisque urbibus, quae pericula terra marique portenderentur, memorantes auxilia regem orabant.
All of these, reminding him of what dangers were threatened by land and sea to their respective cities, begged the king for assistance.
§28.5.7ne ex regno quidem ipsius tranquillae nuntiabantur res: et Scerdilaedum Pleuratumque motos esse, et Thracum maxime Maedos, si quod longinquum bellum regem occupasset, proxima Macedoniae incursuros.
Not even from his own kingdom was peaceful news reported: both that Scerdilaedus and Pleuratus were in motion, and that the Maedi, most of all the Thracians, would invade the nearest parts of Macedonia if any distant war should occupy the king.
§28.5.8Boeoti quidem et interiores Graeciae populi Thermopylarum saltum, ubi angustae fauces coartant iter, fossa valloque intercludi ab Aetolis nuntiabant, ne transitum ad sociorum urbes tuendas Philippo darent.
Indeed, the Boeotians and the inland peoples of Greece reported that the pass of Thermopylae, where the narrow gorge constricts the road, was being blocked with a ditch and rampart by the Aetolians, so that they might not grant Philip a passage to defend the cities of his allies.
§28.5.9vel segnem ducem tot excitare tumultus circumfusi poterant.
Even a sluggish leader could have been aroused by so many surrounding tumults.
legationes dimittit pollicitus, prout tempus ac res sineret, omnibus laturum se auxilium; §28.5.10in praesentia, quae maxime urgebat res, Peparethum praesidium urbi mittit, unde allatum erat Attalum ab Lemno classe transmissa omnem circum urbem agrum depopulatum.
He dismissed the embassies, having promised that, as far as time and circumstances permitted, he would bring assistance to them all; for the present, which was the most pressing matter, he sent a garrison to the city of Peparethus, whence news had been brought that Attalus, having crossed with his fleet from Lemnos, had laid waste all the territory around the city.
§28.5.11Polyphantam cum modica manu in Boeotiam, Menippum item quendam ex regiis ducibus cum mille peltastis — pelta caetrae haud dissimilis est — Chalcidem mittit; §28.5.12additi quingenti Agrianum, ut omnes insulae partes tueri posset.
He sent Polyphantas with a moderate force into Boeotia, and likewise a certain Menippus, one of the king's officers, with a thousand peltasts — the pelta is not unlike the caetra — to Chalcis; five hundred Agrianes were added, so that he might be able to defend all parts of the island.
ipse Scotussam est profectus, eodemque ab Larisa Macedonum copias traduci iussit.
He himself set out for Scotussa, and ordered the Macedonian forces to be brought thither from Larissa.
§28.5.13eo nuntiatum est concilium Aetolis Heracleam indictum regemque Attalum ad consultandum de summa belli venturum.
There it was announced that a council had been summoned for the Aetolians at Heraclea, and that King Attalus would come to consult on the supreme conduct of the war.
§28.5.14hunc conventum ut turbaret subito adventu, magnis itineribus Heracleam duxit.
In order to disrupt this assembly by a sudden arrival, he led his army by forced marches to Heraclea.
§28.5.15et concilio quidem dimisso iam venit; segetibus tamen, quae iam prope maturitatem erant, maxime in sinu Aenianum evastatis Scotussam copias reducit.
And indeed he arrived when the council had already been dismissed; nevertheless, having thoroughly devastated the crops, which were now near maturity, especially in the gulf of the Aenianes, he led his forces back to Scotussa.
ibi exercitu omni relicto cum cohorte regia Demetriadem sese recipit.
Leaving his entire army there, he retired to Demetrias with the royal cohort.
§28.5.16inde ut ad omnes hostium motus posset occurrere, in Phocidem atque Euboeam et Peparethum mittit, qui loca alta eligerent, unde editi ignes apparerent; §28.5.17ipse in Tisaeo — mons est in altitudinem ingentem cacuminis editi — speculam posuit, ut ignibus procul sublatis signum, ubi quid molirentur hostes, momento temporis acciperet.
From there, so that he might be able to meet all movements of the enemy, he sent messengers into Phocis, Euboea, and Peparethus, who were to choose high places from which fires raised aloft would be visible; he himself established a watchtower on Tisaeum — a mountain of immense height with a lofty peak — so that, when fires were raised in the distance, he might receive the signal in an instant of time wherever the enemy were attempting anything.
Romanus imperator §28.5.18et Attalus rex a Peparetho Nicaeam traiecerunt; inde classem in Euboeam ad urbem Oreum tramittunt, quae ab Demetriaco sinu Chalcidem et Euripum petenti ad laevam prima urbium Euboeae posita est.
The Roman general and King Attalus crossed from Peparethus to Nicaea; thence they sent the fleet across to Euboea to the city of Oreus, which is situated as the first of the cities of Euboea on the left to one heading from the Demetrian Gulf towards Chalcis and the Euripus.
§28.5.19ita inter Attalum ac Sulpicium convenit, ut Romani a mari, regii a terra oppugnarent.
Thus it was agreed between Attalus and Sulpicius that the Romans should attack from the sea, and the king's forces from the land.