King Philip on the Move King Philip of he Macedonians is beating a hasty retreat north towards Appollonia. Messengers sent ahead have warned the Macedonian garrison in Appollonia to secure a bridge across the Aous River, and the Macedonians are now well progressed in its crossing. Scattered reports from northern Macedonia tell of Dardanian successes, which undboutedly are putting pressure on the King forcing him to the defensive. Our expeditionary army is in hot pursuit, but was delayed due to the battle fatigue of the men and lack of action by some of the officers. In the Aegean our Athenian allies have sighted and skirmished with Macedonian war vessels headed for the Adriatic.

Praetor Minutus Manlius Falls Ill The famous Praetor Minutus Manlius has fallen ill this month due to his heroic excesses in quelling the Tarraconensian rebellions. Our army in the province, which has successfully reached Saguntum after a terrible march through hostile territory without substantial rations, has been demoralized by the affair and believes their sick commander as an ill omen. Manlius’ son Gnaeus Furius has been unable or refuses to perform his duties as race Aedile this month, much to the annoyance of the citizenry.

Pirates Strike Shipping Lanes! with the unseasonably fine weather this month came the terror of pirates strnger than ever recorded in years past. Merchant vessels from the Adriatic to the Pillars of Hercules have been making some substantial gains, including an entire fleet sent to Pontus by famous shipping merchant Lucius Antistius Vetus. Notable in the attacks are the sacking of a number of villages and coves across Sicilia. Praetor Favonius Cornelius is conducting measure sagainst the pirates with the spread of garrison troops, but can do little without a navy. Investors in Rome are demaning that the Senate take some action against these pirate incursions before they get out of hand.

Mosaic Artists Compete for Primacy in Rome! In a frenzy to out do fellow Romans, a number of our citizens have funded extravagant works of art the likes of which on one in Rome has seen before. The craze started with Caius Livius Drusus and his purchase of two masters of art: the renowned Greek sculptor Phyidias and the less well known Fortunus, an Etruscan mosaicist. Spending no less than a princely fortune of 250 D, Livius Drusus has financed Rome’s finest private artwork to date. Those who have been fortunate enough to enter the Pro=Praetor’s villa urbana tell of a large bathing pool lined with a full size mosaic of a sea battle with Neptune at its centre, which is bordered with marble paving and a shaded colonnade and has a carbed marble fountain in the centre featuring naked nymphs seemingly puring water from amphorae into the pool perpetually. Some who have seen the spectacle told of their embarrassment at the lifelike and fully nude nymphs. One senator, invited to a dinner party, left in disgust at the ‘shocking profanity.’ Not to be outdone, many other Romans have also purchased masters to create great works. The most successful of these has is Marcus Aemilius Scaurus and his Mosaics. While Livius Drusus may win in sheer spectacle, Aemilius Scaurus has Rome beat in novelty and breathtaking lifelike reality. Art critics, (those brave enough to admit it) mention Scaurus’ mosaics as matching the avant guarde of art work even in Greece. This craze of opulence has been popular with the lesser members of the aristocracy, however many gray hairs in the Senate have voiced outrage at the imoorality of such attempts. Marcus Porcius Cato and Favonius Cornelius Pola have publicly condemned these artworks as corruptive to the state’s morality. Pola questioned the value of mosaics and statues during a time of the Republic’s fiscal hardships, and has declared then an insult to the state.