legion. South of Chaeroneia was a hill called Thurium. This
Archelaus seized. Sulla then brought the rest of his troops across
the Cephissus, to form a junction with the legion in Chaeroneia and
dislodge the enemy from Thurium. He left Murena on the north of the
Cephissus to keep the enemy in check at Assia. Archelaus, however,
also brought his main army across the Cephissus after Sulla. Murena
followed him, and Sulla drew up his army with his cavalry on each
wing, himself commanding the right and Murena the left. The armies
were now opposite each other, Sulla to the south, then Archelaus, then
the Cephissus.

[Sidenote: Battle of Chaeroneia.] Sulla sent some troops round Thurium
to the hills behind Chaeroneia, and in the enemy's rear. The enemy ran
down in confusion from Thurium, where they were met by Murena with
Sulla's left wing, and were either destroyed or driven back upon the
centre of the line of Archelaus, which they threw into disorder. Sulla
on the right advanced so quickly as to prevent the scythed chariots
from getting any impetus, by which they were rendered useless, for the
soldiers easily eluded them when driven at a slow pace, and as soon as
they had passed killed the horses and drivers. Archelaus now extended
his right wing in order to surround Murena. Hortensius, whom Sulla had
posted on some hills to the left of his left wing on purpose to defeat
this manoeuvre, immediately pressed forward to attack this body on its
left flank. But Archelaus drove him back with some cavalry, and nearly
surrounded Hortensius.

[Illustration: First position of the two armies at CHAERONEIA.]
[Illustration: Second position of the two armies at CHAERONEIA.]

Sulla hastened to his aid, and Archelaus, seeing him coming, instantly
counter-marched and attacked Sulla's right in his absence, while
Taxiles assailed Murena on the left. But Sulla hastened back, too,
after leaving Hortensius to support Murena, and, when he appeared, the
right wing drove back Archelaus to the Cephissus. Murena was equally
triumphant on the left wing, and the barbarians fled pell-mell to the
Cephissus, only 10,000 of them reaching Chalcis in Euboea. [Sidenote:
Sulla's falsehood about the battle.] Appian says the Romans lost only
thirteen men, while Plutarch, on the authority of Sulla's Memoirs,
says that they lost four. This is absurd. Sulla seems to have told
some startling lies in his Memoirs, perhaps to prove that he had been
the favourite of