Titus Flamininus

But a more beautiful show was made by the spoils of war which were displayed in the procession—Greek helmets and Macedonian bucklers and pikes. Besides, the amount of money exhibited was large. Tuditanus records that there were carried in the procession three thousand seven hundred and thirteen pounds of gold bullion, forty-three thousand two hundred and seventy pounds of silver,

and fourteen thousand five hundred and fourteen gold coins bearing Philip’s effigy.[*](These Philips were nearly equivalent to sovereigns. Cf. Livy’s description of the triumph (xxxiv. 52).) And apart from this money Philip owed his fine of a thousand talents.[*](Cf. chapter ix. 5.) This fine, however, the Romans were afterwards persuaded to remit to Philip, and this was chiefly due to the efforts of Titus; they also made Philip their ally, and sent back his son whom they held as hostage.

Presently, however, Antiochus crossed into Greece[*](In the autumn of 192 B.C.) with many ships and a large army, and began to stir the cities into faction and revolt. The Aetolians made common cause with him, a people which had long been most inimically disposed towards the Romans, and they suggested to him, as a pretext that would account for the war, that he should offer the Greeks their freedom. The Greeks did not want to be set free, for they were free already;

but for lack of a more appropriate ground for his action the Aetolians taught Antiochus to make use of that fairest of all names. The Romans, greatly alarmed by reports of defection among the Greeks and of the power of Antiochus, sent out Manius Acillius as consular general for the war, but made Titus his lieutenant to please the Greeks. The mere sight of him confirmed some of these in their loyalty to Rome, while to others, who were beginning to be infected with disloyalty, he administered a timely medicine, as it were, in the shape of good will towards himself, and thus checked their malady and prevented them from going wrong.

A few, however, escaped his influence, having been already won over beforehand and totally corrupted by the Aetolians, but even these, in spite of his vexation and anger, were spared by him after the battle. For Antiochus was defeated at Thermopylae[*](In 191 B.C. For a description of the battle, cf. Livy, xxxvi. 14-21.) and put to flight, and at once sailed back to Asia; while Manius the consul went against some of the Aetolians himself and besieged them, leaving others to King Philip to destroy.

And so it came about that the Dolopians and Magnesians here, the Athamanians and Aperantians there, were harried and plundered by the Macedonians, while Manius himself, after sacking Heracleia, was engaged in the siege of Naupactus, which the Aetolians held. Then Titus, out of pity for the Greeks, sailed across from Peloponnesus to the consul. At first he chided Manius because, although the victory was his own, he was permitting Philip to carry off the prizes of the war, and to gratify his anger was wasting time in the siege of a single city, while the Macedonians were subduing many nations and kingdoms.