Battle of Cape Ecnomus
A major naval battle fought off Sicily in 256 BC, in which Rome defeated Carthage during the First Punic War.
Roman naval tactics: The methods Roman fleets used to maneuver, board, and fight enemy ships. Roman squadrons advanced in a formation designed to protect the transports and concentrate attacks.
First Punic War: A war between Rome and Carthage from 264 to 241 BC, fought chiefly over Sicily and maritime power. Ecnomus was a decisive engagement within this prolonged conflict.
Battle of Adys: A Roman victory over Carthaginian forces in North Africa during the First Punic War, around 255 BC. After landing in Africa, the Roman expedition won another major engagement near Adys.
Polybius: A Greek historian of the second century BC whose surviving work narrates Rome’s rise and the Punic Wars. His account is the principal ancient narrative of the battle and its formations.
Corvus (boarding device): A Roman boarding bridge with a spike that fastened an enemy ship to a Roman vessel. The corvus helped Roman crews turn naval engagements into close combat, though its use at Ecnomus is uncertain.
Sicily: The large Mediterranean island south of the Italian peninsula, contested by Greek, Carthaginian, and Roman powers. The battle took place off Sicily, the war’s central prize.
Regulus: Marcus Atilius Regulus was a Roman consul and commander during the First Punic War. Regulus led the Roman campaign in Africa that followed the fleet’s passage from Ecnomus.
Diodorus Siculus: A Greek historian of the first century BC who wrote a universal history known as the Bibliotheca historica. Fragments of his account provide another ancient perspective on the First Punic War.
Quinquereme: An ancient warship whose oar system assigned five rowers to each unit of oars. Quinqueremes formed the principal heavy warships in the opposing fleets.
Carthage: An ancient Phoenician-founded city-state in North Africa that became a major Mediterranean power. Carthage sent its fleet to oppose Rome’s invasion plans and protect its position in Sicily.