the unfavourable areas of the field so that he could fight and deploy his elephants on level ground. He put many archers and slingers between the elephants and charged in compact formation. The Romans could not use sidelong shifts or make counter-movements as on the previous day. They had to fight on level ground in a frontal attack. They fought fiercely with their swords against the Macedonian pikes, in an attempt to repulse the enemy troops before the elephants could charge. Despite their resistance, they were eventually driven back by the elephants and fled to their camp. Cassius Dio's account Cassius Dio wrote that the two sides avoided each other for several days. There were rumours that Publius Decius Mus (one of the two consuls for 279 BC) was getting ready to devote himself like his father and grandfather. In a devotio a Roman commander sacrificed his life by launching himself into the enemy ranks as a vow to the gods in exchange for victory when the Roman troops were overwhelmed. This galvanised the Roman soldiers. The rumour alarmed the Italic followers of Pyrrhus, who believed that Decius' death would ruin them. Pyrrhus endeavoured to reassure them and ordered them to seize alive anyone who wore the garments the Decii family used when devoting themselves. He sent a man to tell Publius Decius that he would not succeed in his intent and after being taken alive he would die miserably. The Roman consuls replied that there was no need to resort to a devotio because the Romans would defeat him without it. In Cassius Dio's version of the battle, the river between the two camps was not easy to ford. The Romans asked whether Pyrrhus would choose to cross it unmolested or whether he would allow them to do so unharmed so that the two forces would fight intact, thus giving an accurate test of their valour. Pyrrhus, confident of the strength of his elephants, allowed the Romans to cross the river. However, the Romans deployed their wagons against the elephants, shooting fire and missiles. The Romans gradually forced the Epirotes back until Pyrrhus moved the elephants to the other end of the line, away from the wagons. He used them to charge the Roman cavalry, which was routed by the elephants before they even got close. Meanwhile, some Dauni had set out against the camp of the Epirotes. This