During the heyday of their power, the Molossians were a force to be reckoned with. Their kings and armies influenced political and military developments throughout Greece; and so did their pets. The Spartans came to the oracle to consult Zeus on a military matter. The ambassadors had set up a vessel which contained the lots when, all of a sudden, a monkey that the king of the Molossians kept as a pet upset the lots and scattered them in every direction. The priestess told the Spartans to forget all about victory and think only about their safety. It was an advice that the last kings of the Molossians failed to heed; they allied themselves with the Macedonians to defeat the Romans. Aemilius Paulus defeated them, destroyed 70 cities in Molossia and took 150,000 Epirotes as slaves.