The Rhodian and Chian embassies now returned from Aetolia, where they had concluded a truce for thirty days. They reported that the Aetolians were ready to come to terms,
and stated that they had themselves named a day on which they begged Philip to meet the Aetolians at <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rhium&groupId=929&placeId=1662">Rhium</a>, when they undertook that the latter would make peace at any price.
Philip accepted the truce, and writing to his allies with the request to send commissioners to Patrae to meet him and confer about the conditions of peace with the Aetolians, proceeded there himself by sea from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Lechaeum&groupId=675&placeId=1234">Lechaeum</a>, arriving on the second day.
Just then certain letters were sent to him from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Phocis&groupId=892&placeId=1606">Phocis</a>, which Megaleas had addressed to the Aetolians exhorting them to persist in the war with confidence, since Philip\'s fortunes were at their last ebb owing to scarcity of supplies: the letters also contained certain accusations against the king coupled with venomous personal abuse.
On reading them and being convinced that all the mischief was originally due to Apelles, he placed him in custody and at once dispatched him to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Corinth&groupId=493&placeId=928">Corinth</a> together with his son and his minion,
sending at the same time Alexander to Thebes to arrest Megaleas and bring him before the magistrates to answer to his bail.
Upon Alexander's executing this order, Megaleas did not await the issue, but died by his own hand, and at about the same time, Apelles, his son and his favourite also ended their lives.
Thus did these men meet with the end they deserved, and it was chiefly their outrageous conduct to Aratus that brought them to ruin.
The Aetolians were on the one hand anxious to make peace, since the war told heavily on them and things were turning out far otherwise than they had expected.
Walbank Commentary