Here is the story of the signaling system of Aneas, as told in "The Early History of Data Networks", by Gerard J. Horlzmann and Bjorn Pehrson, IEEE Computer Society Press, 1994 ISBN 0-8186-6782-6. I quote from p. 24,

Polybius, in The Histories, Book X, describes:
The first person who we reliably know developed a telegraph was Aeneas (not the Aeneas from Vergil's Aeneid.) Aeneas was a well-known author in ancient Greece, who lived around 350 B.C. and wrote works on military strategy. Only part of his main work, "The Art of War", still exists, and unfortunately it does not contain the description of his telegraph.
We do have a clear description of Aeneas's design by the historian Polybius (ca. 200-118 B.C.). In "The Histories" Polybius first described, in crystal-clear prose, the limitations of plain beacon fires.
"I think that as regards the system of signaling by fire, which is now of the greatest possible service in war but was formerly underdeveloped, it will be of use not to pass it over but to give it a proper discussion. It is evident to all that in every matter, and especially in warfare, the power of acting at the right time contributes very much to the success of enterprises, and fire signals are the most efficient of all the devices which aid us to do this. For they show what has recently occurred and what is still in the course of being done, and by means of them anyone who cares to do so even if he is at a distance of three, four, or even more days' journey can be informed. So that it is always surprising how help can be brought be means of fire messages when the situation requires it. Now in former times, as fire signals were simple beacons, they were for the most part of little use to those who used them. For the service should have been performed by signals previously determined upon, and as facts are indefinite, most ot them defied communication by fire signals. To take the case I just mentioned, it was possible for those who had agreed on this to convey information that a fleet had arrived at Oreus, Peparethus, or Chalcis, but when it came to some of the citizens having changed sides or having been guilty of treachery or a massacre having taken place in the town, or anything of the kind, things that often happen, but cannot all be foreseen--and it is chiefly unexpected occurrences which require instant consideration and help-- all such matters defied communication by fire signal. For it was quite impossible to have a pre-concerted code for things which there was no means of foretelling."

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