In the surviving record, Cape Ecnomus is the largest naval battle when measured by the number of people engaged. Approximate totals place 140,000 personnel in the Roman fleet and 150,000 in the Carthaginian fleet, for a combined figure near 290,000. Reported deaths and captures may have reached 50,000. That scale reveals the extraordinary manpower burden behind quinquereme warfare and provides context for the smaller but strategically decisive battle at the Aegates.
Notable Point · 6:36-7:49
Cape Ecnomus as a benchmark for ancient fleet scale
Reported totals of about 290,000 people at Cape Ecnomus illustrate the manpower concentrated in ancient fleet battles.