After this the Carthaginians, wearied by so many evils, decided that peace must be sought from the Romans. For this purpose they thought that Atilius Regulus, formerly a Roman general, whom they had now been holding captive for five years, should above all be sent among the other envoys; and when he returned from Italy without obtaining peace, they cut off his eyelids, bound him in a machine, and killed him by keeping him awake.
1 Post haec fessi tot malis Carthaginienses petendam esse pacem a Romanis decreuerunt. ad quam rem Atilium Regulum antea ducem Romanum, quem iam per quinque annos captiuum detinebant, inter ceteros legatos praecipue mittendum putauerunt: quem non impetrata pace ab Italia reuersum resectis palpebris inligatum in machina uigilando necauerunt.
Then another Atilius Regulus and Manlius Vulso, both consuls for the second time, set out for Lilybaeum with a fleet of two hundred ships and four legions. The Romans tried to besiege that town, which is situated on a promontory, but were defeated when Hannibal, the son of Hamilcar, came upon them; and having lost the greater part of their army, the consuls themselves barely escaped.
2 alter deinde Atilius Regulus et Manlius Vulsco, ambo bis consules, cum classe ducentarum nauium et quattuor legionibus Lilybaeum profecti: quod oppidum in promuntorio situm Romani obsidere conati, superueniente Hannibale qui Hamilcaris filius fuit uicti, maiore exercitus sui parte perdita ipsi aegre euaserunt.
After them the consul Claudius set out against the enemy with a fleet of 120 ships to the harbour of Drepanum; there he was soon met by the fleet of the Carthaginians and defeated. He himself fled with thirty ships to the camp at Lilybaeum; all the rest, that is ninety, were either captured or sunk; eight thousand soldiers are reported to have been slain and twenty thousand captured. Gaius Junius too, the colleague of Claudius, lost his entire fleet by shipwreck.1
3 post hos Claudius consul cum classe centum uiginti nauium ad Drepani portum contra hostem profectus: ubi mox exceptus classe Poenorum superatusque est. et ipse quidem cum triginta nauibus Lilybaeum in castra confugit, reliquae omnes, id est nonaginta, aut captae aut demersae fuerunt; octo milia militum caesa, uiginti milia capta referuntur. Gaius quoque Iunius collega Claudi uniuersam classem naufragio amisit.
1The consul of 249 BC was Lucius Junius Pullus; Orosius gives the praenomen Gaius.
In the following year as well, the Punic fleet crossed into Italy and laid waste very many parts of it far and wide.
4 Anno etiam consequenti classis Punica in Italiam transiit eiusque plurimas partes longe lateque uastauit.
Meanwhile Lutatius crossed into Sicily with a fleet of three hundred ships; and while he was stirring up the fight among the foremost at the city of Drepanum, he was pierced through the thigh, and was rescued with the greatest difficulty when he was already being overwhelmed.
5 interea Lutatius cum classe trecentarum nauium in Siciliam transuectus dum apud Drepanam ciuitatem pugnam inter primores ciet, transfixo femore aegerrime, cum iam obrueretur, ereptus est.
Next the Carthaginians hastened to Sicily with four hundred ships and great forces under the command of Hanno. Nor was Lutatius any slower; rather, he forestalled the plans of the Carthaginians with wonderful speed. After the fleets of both sides had lain all night very close to each other near the Aegates islands, with their anchors almost interlaced, at daybreak Lutatius was the first to give the signal for battle.
6 porro autem Poeni cum quadringentis nauibus magnisque copiis ad Siciliam duce Hannone concurrunt. nec Lutatius segnior, immo consilia Poenorum mira celeritate praeuenit. postquam proxime sibi utrorumque classes apud Aegades insulas per totam noctem intertextis propemodum anchoris constiterunt, orta luce prior Lutatius signum bello dedit.
As the battle grew fiercer, Hanno, defeated, turned his ship about and was the first to lead the flight. A considerable part of his army made for Africa with him; others fled to Lilybaeum. Of the Punic ships, 63 were captured and 125 sunk; 32,000 men were captured and 14,000 slain; of the Romans, however, 12 ships were sunk.
7 crudescente pugna uictus Hanno nauem auertit et dux fugae primus fuit. aliquanta cum eo pars exercitus sui Africam petiit, alii confugere Lilybaeum; sexaginta et tres Punicae naues captae sunt, centum uiginti quinque demersae, triginta duo milia hominum capta, caesa quattuordecim milia fuere; Romanorum autem duodecim naues demersae sunt.
Lutatius then came to the city of Eryx, which the Carthaginians held, and there, joining battle, he killed two thousand Carthaginians.
8 Lutatius deinde ad Erycinam ciuitatem quam Poeni tenebant, uenit ibique duo milia Carthaginiensium conserta pugna interfecit.