Transcript Lecture: The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome

The Hellenistic World and the
Coming of Rome
Rome enters the Greek East
Alexander’s Legacy:
The Hellenistic World
Antigonid Macedonia
 Seleucid Syria
 Ptolemaic Egypt
 Lesser Kingdoms and Independent States:
Pergamum, Rhodes, Bithynia, Bactria
 “Wild Cards” in Greece: Achaean and
Aetolian Confederations
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Rome’s First Step into the Greek World:
The First Illyrian War (229-228 BCE)
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Illyrian Aggression against Italian maritime
trade (Agron and Teuta)
The Roman commission of the Coruncanii
The Campaign of Spring 229 (20,000 infantry
and 2,000 cavalry)
Treaty with Queen Teuta (Polybius 2.12):
 Indemnity (unspecified)
 Evacuate large portions of Illyria
 Forbidden to sail beyond Lissus with more
than two galleys
The Adriatic and the
Straits of Otranto
(Graphic marks Lissus)
Polybius’ Assessment
(Histories 2.12)
“When [the treaty with Queen Teuta] had been
concluded, Postumius sent envoys to the Aetolian and
Achaean Leagues. On their arrival these officers first
explained the reasons which had led to the war and
caused the Romans to cross the Adriatic, next they gave
a report of what had been accomplished in the
campaign, and lastly they read out the treaty which
they had made with the Illyrians. The envoys were
received with courtesy by both the leagues, after which
they returned by sea to Corcyra. The conclusion of this
treaty had delivered the Greeks from a fear which had
hung over them all, for the Illyrians were not merely the
opponents of this people or that, but the common
enemies of all alike.”
Rome and Macedonia
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Philip V and Hannibal, the pact of 215 BCE
The First Macedonian War (214-205 BCE),
minimal Roman effort (Peace of Phoenice)
The Second Macedonian War (200-196 BCE)
 Rhodes and Pergamum complain of Philip’s
aggression in eastern Mediterranean
(alliance with Seleucid Syria against
weakened Ptolemies, 203-202)
 Cynoscephalae (197) demonstrates
superiority of manipular formation over
phalanx
 Flamininus’ Isthmian Proclamation, 196 BCE
(Greek Freedom)
The Carthaginian-Macedonian Alliance
of 215 BCE
“And you will render assistance to us in the
war in which we are engaged with the
Romans until the gods vouchsafe the
victory to us and to you, and you will give
us such help as we have need of or as we
agree upon.”
Polybius, Histories, 7.9
Argead Macedonia (end 6th c. BCE)
Macedonia and
Greece
The Antiochene War, 192-189 BCE
Antiochus III the Great, King of Seleucid
Syria
 “Spear-Won” Empire
 The Eastern Campaign
 Disgruntled Aetolians and the “Treaty of
Laevinus” (212/211 BCE)
 The Battle at Magnesia
 Scipios command Roman forces
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The Laevinus Treaty, 212/211 BCE
“If any cities of those [enemy] nations are seized by force by
the Romans, as far as the Roman people are concerned the
Aetolian people may take possession of those cities and those
territories; whatever [movable] property the Romans capture
the Romans shall possess. If any of those cities are captured by
the Romans and the Aetolians jointly, as far as the Roman
people are concerned the Aetolians may take possession of
those cities and their territories; whatever they [jointly]
capture besides the city, they shall share it equally. If any of
those cities capitulates or surrenders [without resistance] to
the Romans or the Aetolians, as far as the Roman people are
concerned those men and cities and their territories may be
admitted by the Aetolians into their league.”
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, XIII, no. 382
Greek Lands of Central
and Southern Asia
Farthest Extent of
Seleucid Power to the
East
The Third Macedonian War, 172-167 BCE
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King Perseus of Macedonia, son of Philip V
 Addresses socio-economic problems in
Greece, including debt relief
 Eumenes II of Pergamum stirs up Roman
suspicions against Perseus
 Roman propaganda represents Perseus as a
social revolutionary
The Battle at Pydna, 168 BCE
The 1,000 hostages (Polybius)
The Four “Independent” Macedonian
Republics
Rome:Greece::Patron:Client
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Flamininus’ Isthmian Proclamation (196 BCE)—Catch
22?
Classic Misunderstandings: Rome and Aetolia (The
Macedonian-Aetolian Peace Treaty of 206; Glabrio,
Phaneas, deditio, and chains)
Rhodes and Pergamum as Arbiters
 Rhodes and the free port at Delos
 Romans foster internal discord at Pergamum
Antiochus IV Epiphanes and “The Day of Eleusis” in
168 (Polyb. 29.27.1-9)
Andriscus and the Macedonian Revolt, 149 BCE
Achaean War, Roman sacking of Corinth, 146 BCE
The Third Punic War, Sack of Carthage in 146 BCE
Flamininus’ Isthmian Proclamation, 196 BCE
“ ‘The Roman Senate and Titus Quinctius their general, having
conquered King Philip and the Macedonians, decree that the
Corinthians, the Phocians, all the Locrians, the island of Euboea,
the Magnesians, the Thessalians, the Perrhaebians, and the
Acheans of Phthiotis shall be free, exempt from all tribute, and
subject to their own laws.’ This list comprised all the states which
had been subject to Philip.”
“When the herald had finished his proclamation the feeling of joy
was too great for men to take it all in….Then they realized that the
joyful news was true, and from the storm of applause and
repeated cheers that arose it was perfectly evident that none of
life’s blessings is dearer to the masses than liberty.”
Livy, 33.32.5-10
C. Popillius Laenas, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and
“The Day of Eleusis,” 168 BCE
“At the time when Antiochus approached Ptolemy and meant to
occupy Pelusium, Caius Popillius Laenas, the Roman commander,
on Antiochus greeting him from a distance and then holding out
his hand, handed to the king…the copy of the senatorial decree,
and told him to read it first…But when the king…said he would
like to communicate with his friends…Popillius acted in a manner
which was thought to be offensive and exceedingly arrogant. He
was carrying a stick cut from a vine, and with this he drew a circle
round Antiochus and told him he must remain inside this circle
until he gave his decision…The king was astonished at this
authoritative proceeding, but, after a few minutes hesitation, said
he would do all that the Romans demanded.”
Polybius, 29.27.1-6
Cultural Politics
The Roman Reception of Greek
Culture
Cato the Elder (234-149 BCE)
novus homo or “new man” from Tusculum;
client of L. Valerius Flaccus
 Military tribune in the Hannibalic War;
fought at the Metaurus (207 BCE)
 Quaestor in 204 in Sicily; plebeian aedile in
199; praetor in Spain in 198
 Consul in 195 with Flaccus; takes province
of Spain; censor in 184
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Cato, the “Politics of the Past,” and Hellenism
“Cato the Elder could boast of accomplishments in a remarkable
variety of spheres, public and private, military, political, and
literary, but none perhaps more important than his contribution to
the self-consciousness of a Roman national character. His expressed
attitudes and actions toward the Greeks must be interpreted in that
context. Cato’s mission was neither to resist Hellenism nor to
liberate Rome from its influence but to highlight its features, both
admirable and objectionable, in order to give clearer definition to
the qualities and values that set Rome apart. Mastery achieved in
the world of politics and war should now be matched by a
comparable sense of esteem in the cultural world. Cato prodded his
countrymen toward an articulation of their own national character.”
Erich S. Gruen,
Culture and National Identity in Republican Rome, 83
Cato and Scipio Africanus
“When Cato was posted to Africa to serve as
Scipio’s quaestor for the invasion of Carthage, he
saw that his commander was not only indulging
in his usual lavish expenditure, but was also
squandering extravagantly high pay upon his
troops….He proceeded at once to Rome and
helped Fabius to denounce the general before the
Senate. They attacked Scipio’s waste of immense
sums of money and his childish fondness for
public games and theatrical performances.”
Plutarch, Life of Cato the Elder, 3
“Catonians” and “Philhellenes”:
A Classic Approach-Avoidance Conflict?
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Foreign writings on religious matters confiscated and
burned by senatorial decree and praetorian edict in 213
BCE (Livy, 25.1.6-12)
Greek philosophical writings destroyed in 181 BCE
(Livy, 40.29.2-14)
Two Greek philosophers (Epicureans) expelled from
Rome in 173 BCE (Athenaeus, 12.547a)
Praetor M. Pomponius proposes motion to rid Rome of
Greek philosophers and rhetoricians in 161 BCE (Aulus
Gellius, Attic Nights, 15.11.1)
Polybius and Cato
“Scipio Africanus [Aemilianus] once approached [Cato] at Polybius’
request to enlist his support on behalf of the Greek exiles from
Achaea. The question was debated at length in the Senate, some
speakers contending that the men should be allowed to return home,
and others that they should continue to be detained in Italy. At last
Cato rose and asked: ‘Have we nothing better to do than to spend an
entire day sitting here and discussing whether some poor old Greeks
are to be buried by our own grave-diggers or their own?’ The Senate
then decreed that the men should be allowed to return home, but a
few days later Polybius tried to have another proposal laid before the
Senate, whereby the exiles would have the honors and positions
which they had formerly held in Achaea restored to them, and he
asked Cato’s opinion as to whether this petition was likely to
succeed. Cato smiled and told him that what he was suggesting was
rather as though Odysseus had wanted to go back into the Cyclop’s
cave to fetch a cap and belt he had left behind.”
Plutarch, Life of Cato the Elder, 9
The Athenian “Philosophical” Embassy, 155 BCE
“Cato was an old man…these philosophers arrived…The report
spread that a Greek of extraordinary talents had arrived…Most
of the Romans were gratified by this, and were well content to see
their sons embrace Greek culture and frequent the society of such
estimable men. But Cato, from the moment that this passion for
discussion first showed itself in Rome, was deeply disturbed. He
was afraid that the younger generation might allow their
ambitions to be diverted in this direction, and might come to value
most highly a reputation that was based on feats of oratory rather
than upon feats of arms. So when the prestige of the philosophers
continued to rise still higher…Cato made up his mind to find some
plausible excuse for clearing the whole tribe of philosophers out of
the city.”
Plutarch, Life of Cato the Elder, 22; see also Pliny the Elder,
Natural History, 7.112
Other Signs of Roman Cultural
Resistance to Hellenism
“Verism” as a reaction to idealizing
Hellenistic royal portraiture
 The Latin Sexual Vocabulary
 Greek loan words for certain sexual
practices which Romans regard as
depraved
 Romans associate Greek with passive
male homosexuality
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Alexander:
Hellenistic
Idealizing
Portraiture
Portrait Bust:
Roman “Verism”
Another Example of Roman
“Verism”
(Realistic Portraiture)
Readings for Next Meeting
H.H. Scullard, From the Gracchi to Nero, 187
 Michael Crawford, “Rome and the Greek
Wolrd: Economic Relationships,”
EconHistRev 39 (1977) 42-52
 John North, “The Development of Roman
Imperialism,” Journal of Roman Studies
71/72 (1981/1982) 1-9
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Questions for Readings
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Why does North say that as a result of Harris’ study
the view of a Roman defensive imperialism in its
extreme form is “virtually untenable”?
Where does North agree with Sherwin-White in seeing
weaknesses in Harris’ argument? Why does North
believe that Harris places undue emphasis on
conscious motivations among the senators?
How does Crawford argue that the Roman economic
exploitation of the Greek East was “a conscious
policy”? How does Crawford account for the closing
of mining of precious metals in Macedonia in 167 BCE
(Livy, 45.18.3)?
Assignments for Next Meeting
 Group
Discussion of the Breakdown of
the Republican System and the Rise of
the Roman Warlord (Sculllard)
 Group Discussion of North on Harris
and Crawford on Economic
Relationships