249 BC, dawn
Dawn off Drepana
By dawn the Romans are close to Drepana, but in the dark the ships have lost station, and the 10,000 new oarsmen cannot keep time with the old crews. The fleet of more than 120 ships, by some accounts 200, is strung out in a long, ragged line along the coast. Pulcher’s flagship is near the rear.
Trapani, ancient Drepana, on its sickle-shaped peninsula seen from Erice, with the Aegates Islands beyondWikimedia Commons, Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Trapani BW 2025-04-30 12-08-03.jpg)
The Carthaginian commander Adherbal is taken by surprise, but his 100 to 130 ships are ready for sea. He takes the garrison on board as marines and leads the fleet out of the harbour. The leading Roman ships have reached the harbour mouth when Pulcher orders them back to form a line, and ships turning back foul those still coming on and shear off each other’s oars. Adherbal passes the confused Roman vanguard, slips between the city and two small islands into open water and turns south.
Sources
- Polybius, Histories, book 1, 49 to 50.
- John Lazenby, The First Punic War (1996).
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