But, though Perseus stood almost alone, he was no contemptible antagonist.  His army numbered 43,000 men; of these 21,000 were phalangites, and 4000 Macedonian and Thracian cavalry; the rest were chiefly mercenaries.  The whole force of the Romans in Greece amounted to between 30,000 and 40,000 Italian troops, besides more than 10,000 men belonging to Numidian, Ligurian, Greek, Cretan, and especially Pergamene contingents.  To these was added the fleet, which numbered only 40 decked vessels, as there was no fleet of the enemy to oppose it—­Perseus, who had been prohibited from building ships of war by the treaty with Rome, was only now erecting docks at Thessalonica—­but it had on board 10,000 troops, as it was destined chiefly to co-operate in sieges.  The fleet was commanded by Gaius Lucretius, the land army by the consul Publius Licinius Crassus.

The Romans Invade Thessaly

The consul left a strong division in Illyria to harass Macedonia from the west, while with the main force he started, as usual, from Apollonia for Thessaly.  Perseus did not think of disturbing their arduous march, but contented himself with advancing into Perrhaebia and occupying the nearest fortresses.  He awaited the enemy at Ossa, and not far from Larisa the first conflict took place between the cavalry and light troops on both sides.  The Romans were decidedly beaten.  Cotys with the Thracian horse had defeated and broken the Italian, and Perseus with his Macedonian horse the Greek, cavalry; the Romans had 2000 foot and 200 horsemen killed, and 600 horsemen made prisoners, and had to deem themselves fortunate in being allowed to cross the Peneius without hindrance.  Perseus employed the victory to ask peace on the same terms which Philip had obtained:  he was ready even to pay the same sum.  The Romans refused his request:  they never concluded peace after a defeat, and in this case the conclusion of peace would certainly have involved as a consequence the loss of Greece.

Their Lax and Unsuccessful Management of the War

The wretched Roman commander, however, knew not how or where to attack; the army marched to and fro in Thessaly, without accomplishing anything of importance.  Perseus might have assumed the offensive; he saw that the Romans were badly led and dilatory; the news had passed like wildfire through Greece, that the Greek army had been brilliantly victorious in the first engagement; a second victory might lead to a general rising of the patriot party, and, by commencing a guerilla warfare, might produce incalculable results.  But Perseus, while a good soldier, was not a general like his father; he had made his preparations for a defensive war, and, when things took a different turn, he felt himself as it were paralyzed.  He made an unimportant success, which the Romans obtained in a second cavalry combai near Phalanna, a pretext for reverting, as is the habit of narrow and obstinate minds, to his first plan and evacuating Thessaly.