<head>Philip Prepares to Invade Italy</head>In the course of the winter, Philip, taking into<note anchored="yes" place="marg" id="note222">Philip's preparation for an invasion of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a>.</note>consideration that he would want ships to carry out his designs, and men for rowing, not for fighting,—for he could never have even entertained a hope of fighting the Romans at sea,—but rather for the transport of soldiers, and to enable him to cross with greater speed to any point to which he might desire to go, and so surprise the enemy by a sudden appearance, and thinking that the Illyrian build was the best for the sort of ships he wanted, determined to have a hundred galleys built; which hardly any Macedonian king had ever done before.<note anchored="yes" place="marg" id="note223">B. C. 216</note>Having had these fitted out, he collected his forces at the beginning of the summer; and, after a brief training of the Macedonians in rowing them, put to sea. It was just at the time that just at the time that Antiochus crossed Mount Taurus when Philip, after sailing through the <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Euripus&groupId=586&placeId=1094">Euripus</a> and rounding Cape <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Malea&groupId=730&placeId=1337">Malea</a>, came to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cephallenia&groupId=450&placeId=838">Cephallenia</a> and Leucas, where he dropped anchor, and awaited anxiously the movements of the Roman fleet. Being informed that it was at anchor off <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Lilybaeum&groupId=690&placeId=1261">Lilybaeum</a>, he mustered up courage to put to sea, and steered for <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Apollonia&groupId=1066&placeId=1873">Apollonia</a>.
Walbank Commentary