Rhodian, Pergamese and Athenian delegations meanwhile travel…

Rhodian, Pergamese and Athenian delegations meanwhile travel to Rome to appear before the Senate and, when given an audience, inform the Senate about the treaty between Philip and Antiochus and complain of Philip's attacks on their territories.

The Romans respond to these complaints by sending to Egypt three ambassadors, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Gaius Claudius Nero and Publius Sempronius Tuditanus, with the orders to go to Rhodes after speaking with Ptolemy.

Philip while this is happening attacks and occupies the cities of Maronea, Cypsela, Doriscos, Serrheum and Aemus, which belong to Ptolemy.

The Macedonians then advance on the Thracian Chersonese where they capture the cities of Perinthus, Sestos, Elaeus, Alopeconnesus, Callipolis and Madytus.

Philip then descends to the city of Abydos, which is held by a combined Pergamese and Rhodian garrison.

Philip starts the siege by blockading the city by land and sea to stop attempts to reinforce or supply the city.

The Abydenians, full of confidence, dislodge some of the siege engines with their own catapults while some of Philip's other engines are burnt by the defenders.

The Macedonians, with their siege weaponry in tatters, start undermining the city's walls, eventually succeeding in collapsing the outer wall.

The situation is now grave for the defenders and they decide to send two of their most prominent citizens to Philip as negotiators.

These men, appearing before Philip, offer to surrender the city to him on the conditions that the Rhodian and the Pergamese garrisons be allowed to leave the city under a truce and that all the citizens be permitted to leave the city with the clothes they are wearing and go wherever they please.

Philip replies that they should "surrender at discretion or fight like men." (Polybius 16.30) The ambassadors, powerless to do more, carry this response back to the city.

Informed of this response, the city's leaders call an assembly to determine their course of action.

They decide to liberate all slaves to secure their loyalty, to place all the children and their nurses in the gymnasium and to put all the women in the temple of Artemis.

They also ask for everyone to bring forward their gold and silver and any clothes that are valuable so they can put them in the boats of the Rhodians and the Cyzicenes.

Fifty elder and trusted men are elected to carry out these tasks.

All the citizens then swear an oath.

As Polybius writes: “... whenever they saw the inner wall being captured by the enemy, they would kill the children and women, and would burn the above mentioned ships, and, in accordance with the curses that had been invoked, would throw the silver and gold into the sea.”(Polybius 16.31) After reciting the oath, they bring forward the priests and everyone swears that they will defeat the enemy or die trying.

When the interior wall falls, the men, true to their promise, spring from the ruins and fight with great courage, forcing Philip to send his troops forward in relays to the front line.

By nightfall the Macedonians retreat to camp.

That night, the Abydenians resolve to save the women and children and at daybreak they send some priests and priestess with a garland across the Macedonians, surrendering the city to Philip.

Meanwhile, Attalus sails across the Aegean to the island of Tenedos.

The youngest of the Roman ambassadors, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, had heard about the siege at Abydos while he was in Rhodes and he arrives at Abydos to find Philip.

Meeting the king outside the city, Lepidus informs him of the Senate's wishes.

Polybius writes: “The Senate had resolved to order him not to wage war with any Greek state; nor to interfere in the dominions of Ptolemy; and to submit the injuries inflicted on Attalus and the Rhodians to arbitration; and that if he did so he might have peace, but if he refused to obey he would promptly have war with Rome."

Upon Philip endeavoring to show that the Rhodians had been the first to lay hands on him, Marcus interrupted him by saying: "But what about the Athenians? And what about the Cianians? And what about the Abydenians at this moment? Did any one of them also lay hands on you first?"

The king, at a loss for a reply, said: "I pardon the offensive haughtiness of your manners for three reasons: first, because you are a young man and inexperienced in affairs; secondly, because you are the handsomest man of your time" (this was true); "and thirdly, because you are a Roman. But for my part, my first demand to the Romans is that they should not break their treaties or go to war with me; but if they do, I shall defend myself as courageously as I can, appealing to the gods to defend my cause.”

While Philip is walking through Abydos, he sees people killing themselves and their families by stabbing, burning, hanging, and jumping down wells and from rooftops.

Philip is surprised to see this, and publishes a proclamation announcing that "he gave three days' grace to those who wished to hang or stab themselves."

The Abydenians, who are bent on following the orders of the original decree, think that it would amount to treason to the people who have already died, and refuse to live under these terms.

Each family, apart from those in chains or similar restraints, individually hurries to their deaths.