Next he states that the phalanx, proving inferior in fighting power and pressed hard by the Aetolians, retreated slowly, but that the elephants were of great service in receiving them in their retreat and engaging the enemy.
It is not easy to see how this could happen in the rear of the phalanx, or how if it did happen great service was rendered.
For once the two phalanxes had met it was not possible for the elephants to distinguish friend from foe among those they encountered.
In addition to this he says the Aetolian cavalry were put out of action in the battle because they were unaccustomed to the sight of the elephants.
But the cavalry posted on the right remained unbroken from the beginning as he says himself, while the rest of the cavalry, which had been assigned to the left wing, had been vanquished and put to flight by Antiochus.
What part of the cavalry, then, was it that was terrified by the elephants in the centre of the phalanx, and where was the king all this time and what service did he render in the action with the horse and foot he had about him, the finest in the army? We are not told a single word about this.
Where again was the king's elder son, Antiochus, who had occupied positions overlooking the enemy with a part of the army?
Why! according to Zeno this young man did not even take part in the return to the camp after the battle; naturally not, for he supposes there were two Antiochi there, sons of the king, whereas there was only one with him in this campaign.
And can he explain how Scopas was both the first and the last to leave the field? For he tells us that when he saw the younger Antiochus returning from the pursue and threatening the phalanx from the rear he despaired of victory and retreated;
but after this the hottest part of the battle began, upon the phalanx being surrounded by the elephants and cavalry, and now Scopas was the last to leave the field.
Walbank Commentary