University of Virginia Library

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.