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Updated: June 13, 2025
Next came the elephants, trampling, tossing, tearing, goring; and a very complete victory they had made of it for Antiochus. The carnage was great, and all the Galatians were either killed or captured, with the exception of a quite small band which got off to the mountains; Antiochus's Macedonians sang the Paean, gathered round, and garlanded him with acclamations on the glorious victory.
When, again, the ambassadors of Antiochus were recounting to those of Achaea, the various multitudes composing their royal master's forces, and ran over a long catalog of hard names, "I supped once," said Titus, "with a friend, and could not forbear expostulating with him at the number of dishes he had provided, and said I wondered where he had furnished himself with such a variety; 'Sir, replied he, 'to confess the truth, it is all hog's flesh differently cooked. And so, men of Achaea, when you are told of Antiochus's lancers, and pikemen, and foot guards, I advise you not to be surprised; since in fact they are all Syrians differently armed."
Perhaps, on the whole, it is most probable that, nominally, he was Antiochus's ally in the war, but that, practically, he gave him little help, having no wish to see Syria aggrandized.
At a small distance from the town he landed his forces, which consisted of ten thousand foot, five hundred horse, and six elephants; a force scarcely sufficient to take possession of Greece alone, much less to sustain a war with Rome. The Aetolians, as soon as they were informed of Antiochus's arrival at Demetrias, convened a general council, and passed a decree, inviting him into their country.
Now it happened that in the reign of Antiochus the Great, who ruled over all Asia, that the Jews, as well as the inhabitants of Celesyria, suffered greatly, and their land was sorely harassed; for while he was at war with Ptolemy Philopater, and with his son, who was called Epiphanes, it fell out that these nations were equally sufferers, both when he was beaten, and when he beat the others: so that they were very like to a ship in a storm, which is tossed by the waves on both sides; and just thus were they in their situation in the middle between Antiochus's prosperity and its change to adversity.
This is attested by many worthy writers; Polybius of Megalopolis, Strabo of Cappadocia, Nicolaus of Damascus, Timagenes, Castor the chronotoger, and Apollodorus; who all say that it was out of Antiochus's want of money that he broke his league with the Jews, and despoiled their temple when it was full of gold and silver.
In the meantime Antiochus and the Romans had commenced hostilities, and the Rhodians were again involved in them: almost at their very commencement, their fleet was surprized by a stratagem of Antiochus's admiral, and of thirty ships of war of which it consisted, only seven escaped.
When Simon heard of Antiochus's breaking his league with him, although he were now in years, yet, provoked with the unjust treatment he had met with from Antiochus, and taking a resolution brisker than his age could well bear, he went like a young man to act as general of his army.
They soon, however, repaired their losses, and fitted out another fleet, with which they put to sea, for the purpose of preventing the junction of Hannibal with Antiochus's ships: the former had thirty-seven large ships; the Rhodian fleet was nearly equal in numbers, but inferior in size. The hostile fleets met off the coast of Pamphilia.
For Hannibal the African, a professed enemy to the Roman name, an exile from his own country, and not long since arrived at king Antiochus's court, was already stimulating that prince, not to be wanting to the good fortune that had been hitherto so propitious to his affairs; the magnitude of his successes having gained him the surname of the Great.
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