Battle of Mylae

Battle of Mylae, strategic sea battle of 260 bc, fought in the first of the Punic Wars. In this battle, the first large naval fleet ever built by the Romans engaged a Carthaginian squadron at Mylae, a seaport of northern Sicily (now Milazzo). Under the leadership of the Roman consul Gaius Duilius (flourished 3rd century bc), the newly built navy of Rome defeated the superior Carthaginian force by bold tactics involving the use of grappling hooks and the boarding of enemy vessels. The victory gave Rome sufficient control of the seas to land a force on Corsica and expel the Carthaginians from that island.