Events in Greece .-'The ,var with Philip ,vhich had been for some time apprehended actually broke out this sUID;mer. The praetor, M. Valerius, ,vho had his base at Brundisium and ,vas cruising off the Calabrian coast, received information from Oricum that Philip had made an attempt on Apollonia by sending a fleet of 120 light vessels up the river Aous, and then finding that matters were moving too slowly, he had brought up his army by night to Oricum, and as the place lay in a plain and was not strong enough to defend itself either by its fortifications or its garrison, it was taken at the first assault. His informants begged him to send help and to keep off one who was unmistakably an enemy to RC¥Ile from injuring the cities on the coast which were in danger solely because they lay opposite to Italy. 1\1. Valerius complied with their request, and leaving a small garrison of 2000 men under P . Valerius, set sail with his fleet ready for action, and such soldiers as the warships had not room for he placed on the cargo boats. On the second day he reached Oricum, and as the king on his departure had only left a weak force to hold it, it was taken with very little fighting. \Vhilst he was there envoys came to him from Apollonia with the announcement that they ,vere undergoing a siege because they refused to break with l{ome, and unless the Romans protected them, they should be unable to ,vithstand the Macedonians any longer. Valerius promised to do what they wanted and he sent a picked force of 2000 men on warships to the mouth of the river under the command of Q. Naevius Crista, an active and experienced soldier. He disembarked his men and sent the ships back to rejoin the fleet at Oricum, whilst he marched at some distance from the river, \Tv-here he \vould be least likely to meet any of the king's troops, and entered the city by night, without being observed by any of the enemy. The following day they rested to give him an opportunity of making a thorough inspection of the armed force of Apollonia and the strength of the city. He was much encouraged by the result of his inspection and also by the account which his scouts gave of the indolence and negligence which prevailed amongst the enemy It 1\Iarching out of the city in the dead of the night, without the slightest noise or confusion, he got within the enemy's camp, which was so unguarded and open that it is credibly stated that more than a thousand men were inside the/.lines before they were detected, and if they had only refrained from using their swords they could actually have reached the king's tent. The slaughter of those nearest the camp gates aroused the enemy and such universal panic and terror ensued that no one seized his weapons or made any attempt to drive out the invaders. Even the king himself, suddenly wakened from sleep, fled halfdressed, in a state not decent for a common soldier, to say nothing of a king, and escaped to his ships in the river. 'fhe rest fled wildly in the same direction. The losses in killed and prisoners were under three thousand, the prisoners being much the most numerous. After the camp had been plundered the Apollonians removed the catapults, the bal1istae, and the other siege artil1ery, which had been put in readiness for the assault,t into the city for the defence of their own walls if such an emergency should ever occur again; all the other booty was given to the Romans. As soon as the ne\vs of this action reached Oricum, Valerius sent the fleet to the mouth of the river to prevent any attempt on the part of Philip to escape by sea. The king did not fee} sufficient confidence in risking a contest either by sea or land,. and hauled his ships ashore or burnt them and made his way to l\'Iacedonia by land, the greater part of his army having lost their arms and all their belongings. 1.1. Valerius \vintered with his fleet at Oricum.