32.4
At this
time Philip was pressing the siege of Thaumaci with the utmost energy. His
mounds were completed and his vineae in full working order and he was on
the point of bringing his battering-rams up to the walls when the sudden
arrival of a body of Aetolians compelled him to desist. Under the leadership
of Archidamus they made their way through the Macedonian guard and
entered the town. Day and night they made constant sorties, at one time
attacking the outposts, at another, the siege-works of the Macedonians. The
nature of the country helped them. To one approaching Thaumaci from the
south by Thermopylae and round the Malian Gulf and through the country of
Lamia, the place stands out on a height overlooking what they call Thessalia
Coele. When you have made your way by winding paths over the broken
ground and come up to the city itself, the whole plain of Thessaly suddenly
stretches out before you like a vast sea beyond the limits of vision. From the
wonderful view which it affords comes its name of Thaumaci. The city was
protected not only by its elevated position but also by the precipitous sides
of the height on which it stood. In the face of these difficulties Philip did not
think its capture worth all the toil and danger involved and accordingly gave
up the task. The winter had already begun when he withdrew from the place
and returned to his winter quarters.