2 – Battle of Mylae (260 BC)
Victory at Agrigentum inspired Rome, and it wanted to conquer the whole of Sicily but realized it needed naval power. In true Roman fashion, no time was wasted as 100 quinqueremes, and 20 triremes were built in approximately 60 days. They probably used Greek and Carthaginian ships as the basis for the design. The rowers trained on specially-made benches on dry land during construction and the Romans added extra touches to their ships.
They added a rotating platform with a giant spike called the corvus which was around 11 meters long. It was designed to be loaded onto an enemy ship, and up to 120 men could board. As the Romans had little experience of naval warfare, they wanted to make sea battles similar to land conflicts to negate the Carthaginian advantage in knowledge. Its first naval battle at Lipari Islands was a disaster as Rome lost 17 ships and surrendered to Gisco. The corvus was only added after this defeat, and some sources suggest it could have been designed by the legendary Archimedes.
Rome finally experienced success at the Battle of Mylae in 260 BC when its fleet (ranging from 90 to 145 ships depending on the source) comprehensively defeated the Carthaginian fleet of 130 ships. The corvae worked brilliantly as it enabled Roman soldiers to board the first 30 enemy ships that got close. The Carthaginians tried to attack from the sides but couldn’t handle the mobile Roman ships and, after another 20 ships had been boarded, Gisco retreated. In total, Carthage lost 50 ships compared to just 11 Roman vessels and the Roman commander, Gaius Dullius, received a triumph.
Rather than following the retreating enemy, Dullius went to Sicily and saved the city of Segesta which was under attack from a Carthaginian army led by Hamilcar. Some historians believe Dullius should have pursued the enemy, but he probably made the right decision because a second encounter could have resulted in defeat. For the next couple of years, Rome consistently raided Sardinia and Corsica. In 258 BC, they met the enemy in another naval battle at Salcis and secured another victory. Gisco was arrested by his own men and crucified as punishment for his failure.