37.14
Lucius
Aemilius Regillus, who succeeded to the command of the fleet, was met at
the Piraeus by Epicrates. On hearing of the defeat of the Rhodians, as he
himself had only two quinqueremes, he took Epicrates and his four ships
with him to Asia, and some ships from Athens accompanied him. He crossed
the Aegean to Chios. Timasicrates the Rhodian arrived there in the dead of
night with two quinqueremes from Samos, and on being conducted to
Aemilius, explained that he had been sent as an escort because the king's
ships made those waters dangerous for transports by their constant
excursions from the Hellespont and from Abydos. Whilst Aemilius was
crossing from Chios to Samos he was met by two Rhodian quadriremes sent
to him by Livius, and Eumenes also met him with two quinqueremes. On his
arrival at Samos, Aemilius took over the fleet from Livius, and after the
customary sacrifices had been duly offered he called a council of war. Livius
was first asked for his opinion. He said that no one could give more sincere
advice than the man who advised another to do what he would himself do,
were he in his place. He had had it in his mind to sail to Ephesus with the
whole of his fleet, including a number of transports loaded with ballast, and
sinking these at the entrance of the harbour. This barrage would not involve
much trouble because the mouth of the harbour was like that of a river, long,
narrow and full of shoals. In this way he would have prevented the enemy
from operating by sea and made his fleet useless.
