§37.26.1Antiochus postquam a spe societatis Prusiae decidit, Ephesum ab Sardibus est profectus ad classem, quae per aliquot menses instructa ac parata fuerat, §37.26.2visendam, magis quia terrestribus copiis exercitum Romanum et duos Scipiones imperatores videbat sustineri non posse, quam quod res navalis ipsa per se aut temptata sibi umquam feliciter aut tunc magnae et certae fiduciae esset.
After Antiochus lost hope of an alliance with Prusias, he set out from Sardis to Ephesus to inspect the fleet which had been equipped and made ready for several months, rather because he saw that the Roman army and the two generals, the Scipios, could not be withstood by his land forces, than because naval operations were either something he had ever successfully attempted before or were at that time a source of great and certain confidence.
§37.26.3erat tamen momentum in praesentia spei, quod et magnam partem Rhodiae classis circa Patara esse et Eumenen regem cum omnibus navibus suis consuli obviam in Hellespontum profectum audierat; §37.26.4aliquid etiam inflabat animos classis Rhodia ad Samum per occasionem fraude praeparatam absumpta.
Nevertheless, there was some ground for hope at present, because he had heard both that a large part of the Rhodian fleet was around Patara and that King Eumenes with all his ships had set out for the Hellespont to meet the consul; moreover, the destruction of the Rhodian fleet at Samos, brought about by treachery as opportunity offered, also puffed up their spirits to some extent.
§37.26.5his fretus, Polyxenida cum classe ad temptandam omni modo certaminis fortunam misso, ipse copias ad Notium ducit.
Relying on these circumstances, having sent Polyxenidas with the fleet to try the fortune of a battle in every way, he himself led his forces to Notium.
id oppidum Colophonium, mari imminens, abest a vetere Colophone duo ferme milia passuum.
This town belongs to Colophon, overhanging the sea, and is about two miles distant from old Colophon.
§37.26.6et ipsam urbem suae potestatis esse volebat, adeo propinquam Epheso, ut nihil terra marive ageret, quod non subiectum oculis Colophoniorum ac per eos notum extemplo Romanis esset, §37.26.7et hos audita obsidione non dubitabat ad opem sociae urbi ferendam classem ab Samo moturos; eam occasionem Polyxenidae ad rem gerendam fore.
He wished this city itself to be under his power, being so close to Ephesus that he could do nothing by land or sea without its being under the eyes of the Colophonians and immediately made known through them to the Romans; and he did not doubt that, when they heard of the siege, they would move the fleet from Samos to bring help to the allied city; that would be the opportunity for Polyxenidas to engage in action.
§37.26.8igitur operibus oppugnare urbem adgressus, ad mare partibus duabus pariter munitionibus deductis, utrimque vineas et aggerem muro iniunxit et testudinibus arietes admovit.
Therefore, having begun to assault the city with siege works, and having drawn fortifications in two directions equally to the sea, he joined the vineae and a mound to the wall from both sides, and brought up battering rams under testudines.
§37.26.9quibus territi malis Colophonii oratores Samum ad L. Aemilium, fidem praetoris populique Romani implorantes, miserunt.
Terrified by these disasters, the Colophonians sent envoys to Lucius Aemilius at Samos, imploring the protection of the praetor and the Roman people.
§37.26.10Aemilium et Sami segnis diu mora offendebat, nihil minus opinantem quam Polyxenidam, bis nequiquam ab se provocatum, potestatem pugnae facturum esse, §37.26.11et turpe existimabat Eumenis classem adiuvare consulem ad traiciendas in Asiam legiones, se Colophonis obsessae auxilio, incertam finem habituro, alligari.
Aemilius himself had long been annoyed by his sluggish delay at Samos, least of all expecting that Polyxenidas, whom he had twice challenged in vain, would offer an opportunity for battle, and he thought it shameful that, while the fleet of Eumenes was helping the consul to transport the legions into Asia, he himself should be tied down by the defense of besieged Colophon, which would have an uncertain end.
§37.26.12Eudamus Rhodius, qui et tenuerat eum Sami cupientem proficisci in Hellespontum, §37.26.13cunctique instare et: quanto satius esse vel socios obsidione eximere vel victam iam semel classem iterum vincere et totam maris possessionem hosti eripere, quam desertis sociis, tradita Antiocho Asia terra marique in Hellespontum, ubi satis esset Eumenis classis, ab sua parte belli discedere.
Eudamus the Rhodian, who had also held him back at Samos when he was eager to set out for the Hellespont, and everyone else urged him, saying: "How much better it is either to relieve our allies from a siege, or to defeat for a second time a fleet already once conquered and wrest the entire possession of the sea from the enemy, than to abandon our allies, hand over Asia by land and sea to Antiochus, and depart from our own part of the war to the Hellespont, where the fleet of Eumenes would be sufficient."