The ship of Attalus began the battle, and all those near it at once charged without orders.
Attalus engaged an octoreme and ramming her first and inflicting on her a fatal blow under water, after considerable resistance on the part of the troops on her deck finally sank the ship.
Philip's galley with ten banks of oars, which was the flag-ship, fell by a strange chance into the hands of the enemy.
Charging a trihemiolia which was in her path and ramming her with great force in the identical of her hull she stuck fast under the enemy's top bench of oars, the captain being unable to arrest the way she had on her.
So that as the ship was thus hanging on to the trihemiolia she was in a most difficult position and entirely incapable of moving.
Two triremes seized the opportunity to attack her, and striking her on both sides destroyed the ship and all the men on board her, among whom was Democrates, Philip's admiral.
Just at the same time Dionysodorus and Deinocrates, who were brothers and both of them admirals of Attalus, met with equally strange experiences in the battle.
Deinocrates engaged an octoreme and himself received his adversary's blow above water, as she was very high in the prow, but striking the enemy under her . . . could not at first get free of her although he repeatedly tried to back out.
So that, as the Macedonians also displayed gallantry, he was in the utmost peril.
But when Attalus came up to rescue him and by ramming the enemy set the two ships free, Deinocrates was unexpectedly saved,
and when the troops on the enemy's ship after a gallant resistance had all perished, she herself with no one left on board her was captured by Attalus.
Dionysodorus charging a ship at full speed, missed her, but in passing close alongside her lost all his right banks of oars, his turrets also being carried away.
Upon this the enemy completely surrounded her,
and amidst loud and excited cheers, the rest the crew and the ship itself were destroyed, but Dionysodorus and two others swam away to a trihemiolia which was coming up to help have.
Walbank Commentary