36.19
Flaccus was not so fortunate, his attempt
to reach the fortified posts on Tichius and Rhoduntia was a failure. The
Macedonians and the other troops in the king's camp could at first only make
out a moving mass of men in the distance, and were under the impression
that the Aetolians had seen the fighting from afar and were coming to their
assistance. When, however, they recognised the approaching standards and
arms and discovered their mistake, they were so panic-struck that they flung
away their weapons and fled. The pursuit was impeded by the entrenchments
of the camp and the confined space through which the pursuers had to pass,
but the elephants were the greatest hindrance, for it was difficult for the
infantry to get past them, and impossible for the cavalry; the frightened
horses created more confusion than in the actual battle. The plunder of the
camp still further delayed the pursuit. However, they followed up the enemy
as far as Scarphea, after which they returned to camp. Large numbers of men
and horses had been either killed or captured on the way, and even the
elephants, which they were unable to secure, had been killed. While the
battle was going on the Aetolians who had been holding Heraclea made an
attempt on the Roman camp, but they gained nothing from their enterprise,
which was certainly not lacking in audacity. At the third watch of the
following night the consul sent the cavalry to continue the pursuit, and at
daybreak he put the legions in motion. The king had gained a considerable
start, as he did not stop in his headlong ride till he reached Elatia. Here he
collected what was left of his army out of the battle and the flight and
retreated with a very small body of half-armed soldiers to Chalcis. The
Roman cavalry did not succeed in overtaking the king himself at Elatia, but
they cut off a large part of his army, who were unable to go any further
through sheer fatigue, or else had lost their way in an unknown country, with
none to guide them. Out of the whole army not a single man escaped beyond
the 500 who formed the king's bodyguard, an insignificant number even if we
accept Polybius' statement which I have mentioned above that the force the
king brought with him out of Asia did not exceed 10,000 men. What
proportion would it be if we are to believe Valerius Antias, that there were
60,000 men in the king's army, of whom 40,000 fell and over 5000 made
prisoners, and 230 standards captured? In the battle itself the Roman losses
amounted to 150, and in the defence of the camp against the Aetolians not
more than 50 were killed.
