Attalus Abandons his Ship but Escapes
As the fleet of Attalus, however, was rapidly overpowering the right wing of Philip, and was now approaching the small islands, under cover of
Attalus intercepted by Philip, and forced to abandon his ship. |
which Philip was moored watching the result
of the battle, Attalus saw one of his quinqueremes staved in and in the act of being sunk by an
enemy's ship. He therefore hurried to its assistance with two
quadriremes. The enemy's ship turning to flight, and making
for the shore, he pursued it somewhat too eagerly in his
ardent desire to effect its capture. Thereupon Philip, observing that Attalus had become detached a considerable distance
from his own fleet, took four quinqueremes and three
hemioliae,
as well as all the galleys within reach, and darting out got between Attalus and his ships, and forced him in the utmost
terror to run his three ships ashore. After this mishap the
king himself and his crew made their way to Erythrae, while
Philip captured his vessels and the royal equipage on board
them. For in this emergency Attalus had employed an artifice. He caused the most splendid articles of the royal
equipage to be spread out on the deck of his ship; the consequence of which was that the first Macedonians who arrived on
the galleys, seeing a quantity of flagons and purple robes and
such like things, abandoned the pursuit, and turned their attention to plundering these. Thus it came about that Attalus
got safe away to Erythrae; while Philip, though he had distinctly got the worst of it in the general engagement, was so
elated at the unexpected reverse which had befallen Attalus,
that he put to sea again and exerted himself strenuously in
collecting his ships and restoring the spirits of his men by
assuring them that they were the victors. For when they
saw Philip put to sea towing off the royal ship, they very
naturally thought that Attalus had perished. But Dionysodorus, conjecturing what had really happened to the king, set
about collecting his own ships by raising a signal; and this
being speedily done, he sailed away unmolested
to their station in Asia.
Meanwhile those
Macedonians who were engaged with the
Rhodians, having been for some time past in evil case, were
gradually extricating themselves from the battle, one after the
other retiring on the pretence of being anxious to support their
comrades. So the Rhodians, taking in tow some of their
vessels, and having destroyed others by charging them, sailed
away to Chios.