During the winter Philip took into consideration that for his enterprise he would require ships and crews to man them, not it is true with the idea of fighting at sea —
for he never thought he would be capable of offering battle to the Roman fleet — but to transport his troops, land where he wished, and take the enemy by surprise.
Therefore, as he thought the Illyrian shipwrights were the best, he decided to build a hundred galleys, being almost the first king of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Macedonia&groupId=723&placeId=428">Macedonia</a> who had taken such a step.
Having equipped these fleets he collected his forces at the beginning of summer and, after training the Macedonians a little in rowing, set sail.
It was just at the time that Antiochus crossed the Taurus, when Philip sailing through the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Euripus&groupId=586&placeId=1094">Euripus</a> and round Cape <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Malea&groupId=730&placeId=1337">Malea</a> reached the neighbourhood of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cephallenia&groupId=450&placeId=838">Cephallenia</a> and Leucas, where he moored and awaited anxiously news of the Roman fleet.
Hearing that they were lying off <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Lilybaeum&groupId=690&placeId=1261">Lilybaeum</a>, he was encouraged to put to sea again and advanced sailing towards <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Apollonia&groupId=1066&placeId=1873">Apollonia</a>.
Walbank Commentary