[2] Inspired by success in the battle of Agrigentum, the Romans sought to win all of Sicily, but required naval power to do so.

In order to challenge the already prominent Carthaginian naval forces, Rome built a fleet of one hundred quinqueremes and twenty triremes.

[3] The famous Greek historian Polybius wrote that Rome used a wrecked Carthaginian quinquereme captured at Messina as a model for the entire fleet, and that the Romans would have otherwise had no basis for design.

[6] However, Scipio's first encounter with the enemy in the Battle of the Lipari Islands led to the loss of 17 ships and an embarrassing surrender to the Carthaginians under the general Senator Boodes and the naval commander Hannibal Gisco.

After Scipio Asina's surrender, the remaining fleet was placed in the hands of Duilius, and the foot soldiers were turned over to military tribunes.

[13] Modern historians have wondered at Duilius' decision not to immediately follow up with another naval attack, but Hannibal's remaining 80 ships were probably still too strong for Rome to conquer.

The inscription reports that during the Battle of Mylae Duilius captured 31 ships, sunk 13 more, and took booty of gold and silver worth at least 2,100,000 sesterces.

[15] He also built a Temple of Janus in the Forum Holitorium, some of which can still be seen in the walls of the church of San Nicola in Carcere.

In T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land, Part I, "The Burial of the Dead" ends with the following passage: There I saw one I knew, and called him, crying: Stetson!