Lucullus

Neoptolemus dashed out to meet him, and ordered his steersman to ram the enemy. Damagoras, however, fearing the weight of the royal ship and her rugged bronze armour, did not venture to engage head on, but put swiftly about and ordered his men to back water, thus receiving his enemy astern, where his vessel was depressed. The blow was harmless, since it fell upon the submerged parts of the ship.

At this point, his friends coming up, Lucullus gave orders to turn the ship about, and, after performing many praiseworthy feats, put the enemy to flight and gave close chase to Neoptolemus.

From thence he joined Sulla at the Chersonesus, where he was about to cross the strait into Asia;[*](84 B.C.) he rendered his passage safe, and assisted in transporting his troops. After peace had been made, Mithridates sailed away into the Euxine, and Sulla laid a contribution of twenty thousand talents upon Asia. Lucullus was commissioned to collect this money and re-coin it, and the cities of Asia felt it to be no slight assuagement of Sulla’s severity when Lucullus showed himself not only honest and just, but even mild in the performance of a task so oppressive and disagreeable.

The Mitylenaeans too, who had revolted outright, he wished to be reasonable, and to submit to a moderate penalty for having espoused the cause of Marius. But when he saw that they were possessed by an evil spirit, he sailed against them, conquered them in battle, and shut them up within their walls. After instituting a siege of their city, he sailed away in open day to Elaea, but returned by stealth, and lay quietly in ambush near the city.

When the Mitylenaeans sallied forth in disorder and with the confident expectation of plundering his deserted camp, he fell upon them, took a great number of them alive, and slew five hundred of those who offered resistance. He also carried off six thousand slaves, besides countless other booty.