Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/178

Rh 164 FLAMININUS. according to the dictates of the consul : they de- clared that Greece could not possibly be free, so long as Demetrias, Chalcis, and Corinth were oc- cupied by Macedonian garrisons, and that, un- less Philip withdrew his garrisons, the war ought to be continued, and that it would now be an easy matter to compel the king to submit to the terms of the Romans. When Philip''s am- bassadors were asked whether their king was willing to give up the three fortresses just men- tioned, they replied that they had no instructions to answer that question. The senate then dis- missed them, and told them that if their sovereign wanted to negotiate further, he must apply to Fla- mininus, to whom the senate gave full power to act as he thought proper, and whose imperium was now prolonged for an indefinite period. Flamini- nus, after having thus gained his end, declared to Philip, that if any further negotiations were to be carried on, he must first of all withdraw his gar- risons from the Greek towns. The king, on hear- ing this, resolved to venture any thing rather than yield to such a demand, although his army was in an incomparably inferior condition to that of the Romans. Philip immediately took steps to form ' an alliance with Nabis, the tyrant of Sparta. When every .Jhing was prepared, and Nabis had treacherously put himself in possession of Argos, he invited Flaraininus to a conferenxje at Argos, where a treaty between Flamininus and Sparta was concluded without any difficulty, for the Romans demanded only auxiliaries, and the ces- sation of hostilities against the Achaeans. Nabis remained in the possession of Argos, but no clause respecting it was inserted in the treaty. When Flamininus had received the auxiliaries of Nabis, he marched against Corinth, hoping that the com- mander of its garrison, Philocles, a friend of Nabis, would follow the tyrant's example, but in vain. Flamininus then went into Boeotia, which he com- pelled to renounce the alliance with Philip, and to join the Romans. Most of the Boeotian men, however, capable of bearing arms, were serving in the Macedonian army, and afterwards fought against the Romans. The Acamanians were the only allies of Macedonia that remained faithful. In the spring of B. c. 197, Flamininus left his winter-quarters to enter upon his second campaign against Philip. His army, which was already strengthened by the Achaeans and other auxiliaries, was increased at Thermopylae by a considerable number of Aetolians. He advanced slowly into Phthiotis. Philip, at the head of his army, which was about equal in numbers to that of his oppo- nent, advanced more rapidly towards the south, and was determined to seize the first favourable opportunity for fighting a decisive battle. After a skirmish between the Roman and Macedonian cavalry, near Pherae, in which the Romans gained the uppei hand, both belligerents moved towards Pharsalus and Scotussa. A battle ensued near a range of hills called Cynoscephalae (Dog's heads), in which the fate of Macedonia was decided in a few hours: 8000 Macedonians were killed in their flight, and 6000 were taken prisoners, while Fla- mininus lost only 700 men. The result of this battle was, that the towns of Thessaly surrendered to the Romans, and Philip sued for peace. The Aetolians, who had been of great service during the battle, now showed their arrogance and pretensions in a manner which wounded the pride of Flamini- FLAMININUS. nus : they boasted that he had to thank them for his victory, and their vaunting was believed by many Greeks. Flamininus in return treated them with haughtiness and contempt, and, without con- sulting them, he granted to Philip a truce of fifteen days, and permission to begin negotiations for peace, while the Aetolians desired nothing short of the entire destruction of the Macedonian empire. They even went so far as to say that Flamininus was bribed by the king. The consequence was, that they derived less advantages from the victory at Cynoscephalae than they had in reality deserved, and Philip only profited by the disunion thus ex- isting between the Romans and their allies. Fla- mininus felt inclined to conclude peace with Philip, for his own ambition was satisfied, and Antiochus of Syria was threatening to come over to Europe and assist Philip against the Romans. When, therefore, Philip, at a meeting which he had with Flamininus, declared himself willing to conclude peace on the terms proposed before the opening of the campaign, and to submit all further points to the Roman senate, Flamininus at once concluded a truce for several months, and embassies Itoui both parties were sent to Rome. After the battle of Cynoscephalae Flamininus had generously restored to freedom all the Boeotians that had served in Philip's army and were taken prisoners. But, instead of thanking him for it, the}'- acted as if they owed their delivery to Philip, and even insulted the Romans by conferring the office of boeotarchus upon the man who had been their commander in the Macedonian army. The Roman party at Thebes, however, soon after se- cretly caused his assassination, with the knowledge of Flamininus. When this became known, the people conceived a burning hatred of the Romans, whose army was stationed in and about Elateia in Phocis. All the Romans who had to travel through Boeotia, were murdered and their bodies left unburied on the roads. The number of persons who thus lost their lives, is said to have amounted to 500. After Flamininus had in vain demanded reparation for these crimes, he began ravaging Boeotia, and blockaded Coroneia and Acraephia, near which places most of the bodies of the mur- dered Romans had been fonnd. This frightened the Boeotians, and they now sent envoys to Fla- mininus, who, however, refused to admit them into his presence ; but the mediation of the Achaeans prevailed upon him to treat the Boeotians leniently. He accordingly made peace with them, on condition of their delivering up to him the guilty persons, and paying thirty talents as a reparation, instead of 100 which he had demanded before. In the spring of b. c. J 96, and shortly after the peace with Boeotia, ten Roman commissioners ar- rived in Greece to arrange, conjointly with Flami- ninus, the affairs of the country ; they also brought with them the terms on which a definite peace was to be concluded with Philip. He had to give up all the Greek towns in Europe and Asia which he had possessed and still possessed. The Aetolians again exerted themselves to excite suspicions among the Greeks as to the sincerity of the Romans in their dealings with them. Flamininus, how- ever, insisted upon immediate compliance with the terms of the peace, and Corinth was at once given over to the Achaeans. In this summer the Isth- mian games were celebrated at Corinth, and thou- siinds of people from all parts of Greece flocked