Each of the Thracian brothers received high commendation in his own army,the one because he had led an army by a secret path,the other because he had discovered the secret.Thus Brutus and Cassius by an astonishing act of audacity advanced to Philippi,where Tillius also disembarked,and the whole army was there assembled.Philippi is a city that was formerly called Datus,and before that Crenides,because there are many springs bubbling around a hill there.Philip fortified it because he considered it an excellent stronghold against the Thracians, and named it from himself, Philippi. It is situated on a precipitous hill and its size is exactly that of the summit of the hill.There is another hill not far from Philippi
which is called the Hill of Dionysus,in which are gold mines called the Asyla.Ten stades farther are two other hills,at a distance of eighteen stades from Philippi itself and eight stades from each other.On these hills Cassius and Brutus were encamped,the former on the southern and the latter on the northern of the two.They did not advance against the retreating army of Norbanus because they learned that Antony was approaching,Octavian having been left behind at Epidamnus on account of sickness.The plain was admirably suited for fighting and the hill-tops for camping,since on one side of them were marshes and ponds stretching as far as the river Strymon,and on the other gorges destitute of roads and impassable.
Between these hills, eight stades apart, lay the main pass from Europe to Asia as between gates. Across this space they built a fortification from camp to camp, leaving a gate in the middle, so that the two camps became virtually one. Alongside this fortification flowed a river, which is called by some the Ganga and by others the Gangites, and behind it was the sea, where they could keep their supplies and shipping in safety. Their depot was on the island of Thasos, 100 stades distant, and their triremes were anchored at Neapolis, at a distance of seventy stades.Brutus and Cassius were satisfied with the position and proceeded to fortify their camps,