Civil Wars

Such were the terms of the treaty, to which they attached their names and seals and sent it to Rome to be placed in the custody of the Vestal virgins. Then they entertained each other, casting lots to determine the order of the ceremony. The first banquet took place on Pompeius' six-banked ship, moored alongside the mole. On succeeding days Antony and Octavius gave banquets in tents pitched on the mole, on the pretext that thus all might participate, but perhaps really for their better security and to quiet apprehensions; for they did not even then neglect precautions. Their ships were moored alongside and guards were stationed around them, and the banqueters were girded with concealed daggers. It is said that, while the three were feasting in the ship, Menodorus sent a message to Pompeius advising him to entrap these men and avenge the wrongs of his father and his brother, and to avail himself of this most favorable occasion to resume the sway that his father had exercised, saying that he, with his own ships, would take care that nobody should escape; but that Pompeius replied, in a manner worthy of his family and his position, "Would that Menodorus had done this without my knowledge. False swearing may become Menodorus, but not Pompeius."[*](Plutarch relates this tale in nearly the same language. He says that "while the banquet was at its height, and they were cracking jokes about Cleopatra and Antony, Menas the pirate approached Pompeius, and whispered to him so that the others could not hear: 'Do you wish me to cut loose from the ship's anchors and make you master, not of Sicily and Sardinia only, but of the whole Roman empire?' Pompeius, after hearing him, waited a brief space, and said: ' O Menas, you might have done so without telling me beforehand! Now we must be satisfied with present conditions, for I cannot break my oath.'" (Life of Antony, 32.)) At this banquet the daughter of Pompeius and granddaughter of Libo was betrothed to Marcellus, the stepson of Antony and nephew of Octavius. On the following day they designated the consuls for the next four years, viz., for the first year Antony and Libo, Antony being privileged to substitute whomsoever he liked in his own place; next Octavius and Pompeius; next Ahenobarbus and Sossius; and, finally, Antony and Octavius again; and as they would then have been consuls the third time it was expected that they would restore the government to the people.

Having finished this business they separated, Pompeius

going to Sicily by sea, Octavius and Antony to Rome by land. When the Romans and Italians learned the news 3 there was universal rejoicing at the return of peace and at their deliverance from intestine war, from the conscription of their sons, from the arrogance of guards, from the running away of slaves, from the pillage of fields, from the ruin of agriculture, and, above all, from the famine that had pressed upon them with the greatest severity. As the triumvirs were proceeding on their journey sacrifices were offered in their honor as to saviours. The city would have given them a magnificent reception, had they not entered secretly by night in order to avoid jealousies. The only ones disappointed were those to whom had been allotted lands belonging to men who were to be restored with Pompeius. They thought that they should have irreconcilable enemies dwelling alongside of them as landlords, who would do them injury whenever they could. The exiles who were with Pompeius, all but a few, took leave of him at Puteoli and set sail for Rome. Their coming was to the people a new source of joy and acclamations, so great a number of illustrious men having been unexpectedly saved from death.

After these events Octavius set forth on an expedition to Gaul, which was in a disturbed state, and Antony started for the war against the Parthians. The Senate having voted to ratify all that he had done or should do, Antony again despatched his lieutenants in all directions and arranged everything else as he wished. He set up kings here and there as he pleased, on condition of their paying a prescribed tribute: in Pontus, Darius, the son of Pharnaces and grandson of Mithridates; in Idumea and Samaria, Herod; in Pisidia, Amyntas; in a part of Cilicia, Polemon, and others in other countries. Desiring to enrich as well as to exercise the soldiers, who were to go with him into winter quarters, he sent some of them against the Partheni, an Illyrian tribe near Epidamnus, who had been very much attached to Brutus; others against the Dardani, another Illyrian tribe, who were forever making.incursions into Macedonia. Others he ordered to remain in Epirus, in order to have them all within reach, as he intended to pass the winter himself in Athens. He sent Furnius to Africa to bring four legions, that were under the command of Sestius, for service against the Parthians. He did not know as yet that Lepidus had deprived Sestius of the command of these troops.

Having made these dispositions, he spent the winter at Athens with Octavia just as he had spent the previous one at Alexandria with Cleopatra, merely looking over the reports sent from the army, exchanging the display of a commander for the simplicity of private life, wearing the square-cut pallium and the Attic shoe, and without formal company. He went out, in like manner, without the insignia of office, accompanied by two friends and two attendants, to the discussions and lectures of the public teachers. He took his meals in the Greek fashion, passed his leisure time with Greeks, and enjoyed their festivals in company with Octavia, with whom he was very much in love, being [*](Y.R. 716) by nature excessively fond of women. At the end of the [*](B.C. 38) winter he was like another man. He changed his clothing, and with his clothing his whole appearance. There was straightway a crowd around his doors composed of lictors, army officers, guards, and all things that inspire terror and awe. Embassies were received which had previously been kept waiting by his orders, lawsuits were decided, ships were launched, and all other preparations for the campaign were put in motion.

While Antony was thus occupied the treaty existing beween Octavius and Pompeius was broken for other reasons, as was suspected, than those avowed by Octavius, which were the following: Antony had ceded Peloponnesus to Pompeius on condition that the tribute then due from the Peloponnesians should either be given over at once, or that it should be guaranteed by Pompeius to Antony, or that the former should wait till the collection had been made. Pompeius had not accepted it on these conditions. He thought that it had been given to him with the amount of tribute then due. Vexed, as Octavius said, whether at this state of things, or from his general faithlessness, or his jealousy because the others had large armies, or because Menodorus had prompted him to consider the agreement as a truce rather than a lasting peace, he began to build ships, and recruit crews, and once harangued his soldiers, telling them they must be prepared for everything. Private robbery again infested the sea, and there was little or no relief from the famine among the Romans, who cried out that the treaty had brought no deliverance from their sufferings, but only a fourth partner to the tyranny. Octavius having caught certain pirates and put them to torture, they said that Pompeius had sent them out, and Octavius proclaimed this to the people and wrote it to Pompeius himself, who disavowed it and made a counter complaint respecting the Peloponnesus.

Those of the nobility who were still with Pompeius, seeing him always under the influence of his freedmen, bribed some of them, either for their own purposes or to gratify Octavius, to incite their master against Menodorus, who was still governing Corsica and Sardinia.[*](e)cotru/nein e)pi\ *mhnodw/rw| *ku/rnou kai\ *sardou=s e)/ti a)/rxonti, to\n despo/thn. All the codices except one omit the words *ku/rnou kai\ *sardou=s, leaving the passage hopeless. Mendelssohn was so fortunate as to find the true reading in the Vatican MS.) The freedmen did this gladly, because they were envious of the power of Menodorus. In this way Pompeius was brought to an estrangement with Menodorus. About the same time Philadelphus, a freedman of Octavius, made a voyage to Menodorus to procure corn, and Micylio, the closest friend of Menodorus, visited Octavius to arrange for the desertion of Menodorus. The latter promised to hand over to him Sardinia, Corsica, three legions of soldiers, and a large number of light-armed troops. Whether this was the work of Philadelphus, or was a consequence of the calumnies against Menodorus, which Pompeius had listened to, Octavius accepted the offer, not immediately, but soon, since he considered the peace broken in fact. He invited Antony to come from Athens and meet him at Brundusium on an appointed day, in order to take counsel with him about the war. At the same time he brought war-ships from Ravenna and an army from Gaul, and the remainder of his apparatus, rapidly to Brundusium and Puteoli, intending to sail from both sides of Italy to Sicily if Antony should agree in opinion with him.

Antony came at the appointed day with a small escort, but not finding Octavius there he did not wait, either because he did not approve of the war, considering it a violation of the treaty, or because he observed Octavius' great preparations (for the desire to be the sole ruler did not permit their fears to slumber at any time), or because he was alarmed by a prodigy. 'It was found that one of the guards who slept around his tent had been devoured by wild beasts except his face only, as though this had been left for the purpose of recognition, and that he had uttered no cry, nor did any of those who were asleep with him know of it. The Brundusians said that a wolf had been seen just before daybreak running away from the tents. Nevertheless Antony wrote to Octavius not to violate the treaty, and he threatened Menodorus with punishment as his own fugitive slave; for the latter had been the slave of Pompey the Great, whose property Antony had bought when it was sold under the law of war.

Octavius sent officers to receive Sardinia and Corsica, which Menodorus turned over to them. He strengthened the Italian coast with numerous towers to prevent Pompeius from raiding it again. He ordered the building of new triremes at Rome and Ravenna, and he sent for a large army from Illyria. When Menodorus came he made the latter a free citizen instead of a freedman, and put him in command, under the admiral Calvisius, of the ships which he had brought with him. When he had finished these preparations and brought together a still larger amount of war material he yet delayed, and he reproached Antony for not waiting. He ordered Cornificius to bring with him to Tarentum everything that was now in readiness. While Cornificius was making the voyage a storm overtook him which destroyed only the admiral's ship, which had been built for Octavius himself. This was considered an omen of what was to take place. As the belief still prevailed that this war was a violation of the treaty, Octavius sought to dispel the suspicion. He wrote to the city and he told his soldiers that Pompeius had violated the treaty by encouraging piracy, that the pirates had confessed this, that Menodorus had revealed the whole design, and that Antony knew it, and for that reason had refused to give up the Peloponnesus.

When all things were in readiness he set sail for Sicily, going himself from Tarentum, while Calvisius, with Sabinus and Menodorus, sailed from Etruria. The infantry was sent on the march to Rhegium and great haste was displayed in all quarters. Pompeius had scarcely heard of the desertion of Menodorus when Octavius was already moving against him. While the hostile fleets were advancing from both sides, he awaited the attack of Octavius at Messana, and ordered his freedman Menecrates, who was the bitterest enemy of Menodorus, to advance against Calvisius and Menodorus with a large fleet. Menecrates was observed by his enemies near nightfall on the open sea. They retired into the bay near Cumæ, where they passed the night, Menecrates proceeding to Ænaria. At daybreak they drew up their fleet, in the form of a crescent, as close to the shore as possible, in order to prevent the enemy from breaking through it. Menecrates again showed himself, and immediately came on with a rush. As his enemies would not advance to the open sea, and he could do nothing of importance there, he made a charge in order to drive them upon the land. They beached their ships and fought back against the attacking prows. Menecrates had the opportunity to draw off and renew the attack as he pleased, and to bring up fresh ships by turns, while the enemy were distressed by the rocks, on which they had grounded, and by the inability to move. They were like infantry contending against sea forces, unable either to pursue or retreat.

In this situation Menodorus and Menecrates came in sight of each other; and, abandoning the rest of the fight, drove against each other with fury and shouting, as though they had staked the issue of the battle on this encounter, whichever should be the victor. Their ships came into violent collision and were badly damaged, Menodorus losing his prow and Menecrates his oar-blades. Grapplingirons were thrown by both, and the ships, being fastened together, could no longer manœuvre, but the men, as in a battle on land, failed not in deeds of valor. Showers of javelins, stones, and arrows were discharged, and bridges for boarding were thrown from one ship to the other. As the ship of Menodorus was higher than the other his bridges made a better passageway for his daring crew, and his missiles were more effective for the same reason. Many men were already slain, and the remainder wounded, when Menodorus was pierced in the arm with a dart, which was, however, drawn out. Menecrates was struck in the thigh with a Spanish javelin, made wholly of iron with numerous barbs, which could not be readily extracted. Although Menecrates could no longer take part in the fight, he remained there all the same, encouraging the others, until his ship was captured, when he plunged into the depths of the sea. Menodorus towed the captured ship to the land, but was able to do nothing more himself.

This took place on the left wing of the naval fight. Calvisius directed his course from the right to the left and cut off some of Menecrates' ships from the main body, and when they fled pursued them to the open sea. Demochares, who was a fellow-freedman of Menecrates and his lieutenant, fell upon the remainder of Calvisius' ships, put some of them to flight, broke others in pieces on the rocks, and set fire to them after the crews had abandoned them. Finally Calvisius, returning from the pursuit, led back his own fleeing ships and prevented the burning of any more. As night was approaching, all returned to their former station. Such was the end of this naval fight, in which the forces of Pompeius had much the best of it; but Demochares, grieving over the death of Menecrates as the greatest possible defeat (for those two, Menecrates and Menodorus, had been the foremost of Pompeius' sea captains), abandoned everything[*](a(/panta meqei\s e)k xeirw=n: abandoned everything. All the codices read e)k ke/rwn (from the wings), which, being nonsense, led to much conjecture in the learned world. Schweighäuser solved the difficulty by striking them out, and marking a lacuna at that place. Tyrwhitt furnishes a happy solution (see preface to the Didot edition) by substituting xeirw=n for ke/rwn,, so that the phrase is equivalent to "released his hold" in English.) and sailed for Sicily immediately, mediately, as though he had lost not merely the body of Menecrates and one ship, but his whole, fleet.

Calvisius, as long as he expected that Demochares would renew his attack, remained at his station, unable to fight in the open sea, for his best ships had been destroyed and the others were unfit for battle. When he learned that his antagonist had gone to Sicily, he repaired his ships and coasted along the shore exploring the bays. Octavius, in the meantime, proceeded from Tarentum to Rhegium, with a large fleet and army, and near Messana came up with Pompeius, who had forty ships only. Octavius' friends advised him to improve this most favorable opportunity and attack Pompeius with his great fleet, while the latter had so few ships and before the rest of his naval force should arrive. He did not follow this advice, but waited for Calvisius, saying that it was not good policy to run a risk when he was expecting reinforcements. When Demochares arrived at Messana, Pompeius appointed him and Apollophanes, another of his freedmen, admirals in place of Menodorus and Menecrates.