Syracuse and Carthage, and became allies of Rome. Hiero, king of Syracuse,
seeing that he was upon the losing side, deserted the cause of the
Carthaginians, and formed an alliance with the Romans, and ever after
remained their firm friend.

THE ROMANS GAIN THEIR FIRST NAVAL VICTORY (260 B.C.).--Their experience
during the past campaigns had shown the Romans that if they were to cope
successfully with the Carthaginians, they must be able to meet them upon
the sea as well as upon the land. So they determined to build a fleet. A
Carthaginian galley that had been wrecked upon the shores of Italy, served
as a pattern. It is affirmed that, within the almost incredibly short
space of sixty days, a growing forest was converted into a fleet of one
hundred and twenty war galleys.

The consul C. Duillius was entrusted with the command of the fleet. He met
the Carthaginian squadron near the city and promontory of Mylae, on the
northern coast of Sicily. Now, distrusting their ability to match the
skill of their enemy in naval tactics, the Romans had provided each of
their vessels with a drawbridge. As soon as a Carthaginian ship came near
enough to a Roman vessel, this gangway was allowed to fall upon the
approaching galley; and the Roman soldiers, rushing along the bridge, were
soon engaged in a hand-to-hand conflict with their enemies, in which
species of encounter the former were unequalled. The result was a complete
victory for the Romans.

The joy at Rome was unbounded. It inspired in the more sanguine splendid
visions of maritime command and glory. The Mediterranean should speedily
become a Roman lake, in which no vessel might float without the consent of
Rome.