First Macedonian War - Philip Builds A Fleet

Philip Builds A Fleet

Philip spent the winter of 217–216 BC building a fleet of 100 warships and training men to row them, and according to Polybius, it was a practice that "hardly any Macedonian king had ever done before". Macedon probably lacked the resources to build and maintain the kind of fleet necessary to match the Romans. Polybius says that Philip had no "hope of fighting the Romans at sea", perhaps referring to a lack of experience and training.

At any rate, Philip chose to build lembi. These were the small fast galleys used by the Illyrians. They had a single bank of oars and were able to carry 50 soldiers in addition to the rowers. With these, Philip could hope to avoid or evade the Roman fleet, preoccupied as he hoped it would be with Hannibal, and based, as it was, at Lilybaeum in western Sicily.

Philip had in the meantime expanded his territories west along the Apsus and Genusus river valleys, right up to the borders of Illyria. Philip's plan was it seems, to first take the Illyrian coasts, conquer the area between the coasts and Macedon, and use the new land link to provide a rapid route for reinforcements across the narrow straits to Italy.

At the beginning of summer, Philip and his fleet left Macedon, sailed through the Euripus Strait, between the island of Euboea and Boeotia on the Greek mainland, and then rounded Cape Malea, before dropping anchor off the Islands of Cephalenia and Leucas, to await word of the location of the Roman fleet. Informed that it was still at Lilybaeum, he sailed north to Apollonia in Illyria.

However, as the Macedonian fleet neared the island of Sazan, Philip heard a report that some Roman quinqueremes had been seen headed for Apollonia. Convinced that the entire Roman fleet was sailing to apprehend him, Philip ordered an immediate return to Cephalenia. Polybius speaks of "panic" and "disorder" to describe the fleet's hasty retreat, and says that in fact the Romans had sent only a squadron of ten ships, and that because of "inconsiderate alarm", Philip had missed his best chance to achieve his aims in Illyria, returning to Macedon, "without loss indeed, but with considerable dishonour".