36.15
Antiochus was all this time at Chalcis,
having at last discovered that he had gained nothing from Greece beyond a
pleasant winter at Chalcis and a disreputable marriage. He now accused the
Aetolians of having made empty promises and admired Hannibal, not only as
a man of prudence and foresight, but also as little short of a prophet, seeing
how he had foretold everything which was happening. In order that his
reckless adventure might not be ruined through his own inactivity, he sent a
message to the Aetolians requesting them to concentrate all their fighting
strength at Lamia, where he himself joined them with about 10,000 infantry,
made up largely of troops which had come from Asia, and 500 cavalry. The
Aetolians mustered in considerably smaller numbers than on any previous
occasion, only the leading men with a few of their dependents were present.
They said that they had done their utmost to call up as many as possible from
their respective cities, but their personal influence, their appeals, their official
authority, were alike powerless against those who declined to serve. Finding
himself deserted on all sides by his own troops, who were hanging back in
Asia, and by his allies, who were not doing what they undertook to do when
they invited him, he withdrew into the pass of Thermopylae. This mountain
range cuts Greece in two, just as Italy is intersected by the Apennines. To
the north of the pass are situated Epirus, Perrhaebia, Magnesia, Thessaly, the
Achaeans of Phthiotis, and the Maliac Gulf. South of it lie the greater part of
Aetolia, Acarnania, Locris, Phocis, Boeotia, the adjoining island of Euboea,
and Attica, which projects into the sea like a promontory; beyond these is
the Peloponnese. This range extends from Leucas on the western sea
through Aetolia to the eastern sea, and is so rugged and precipitous that
even light infantry -let alone an army -would have great difficulty in finding
any paths by which to cross it. The eastern end of the range is called Oeta,
and its highest peak bears the name of Callidromus. The road running
through the lower ground between its base and the Maliac Gulf is not more
than sixty paces broad and is the only military road which can be traversed
by an army, and then only if it meets with no opposition. For this reason the
place is called Pylae, and also Thermopylae, from the hot springs there, and
is famous for the battle against the Persians, but still more so for the glorious
death of the Lacedaemonians who fought there.
