Roman–Greek wars: A Visual History

The Roman-Greek wars (214-148 BC) began when Philip V of Macedon allied with Hannibal; Rome fought two Macedonian Wars, the second ending with Flamininus's victory at Cynoscephalae (197) and his proclamation of Greek freedom at the Isthmian Games. The Seleucid Antiochus III invaded Greece and was beaten at Thermopylae (191) and Magnesia (190), losing Asia Minor. Perseus of Macedon lost the Third Macedonian War at Pydna (168), where the legion beat the phalanx and Macedon was abolished; 150,000 Epirotes were enslaved. A pretender's revolt in 148 made Macedon a province, and in 146 Mummius destroyed Corinth and dissolved the Achaean League. Greece was Roman; Greek culture conquered Rome.

When it was fought: the era ribbon

The bold bar is Roman-Greek wars. The lighter bars are empires and wars from the same era and the same part of the world. Click any bar to jump to its page.

Slaves and treasure from the Greek wars

Timeline of the Roman-Greek wars

1. 215 BC
   Philip V allies with Hannibal
2. 197 BC
   Cynoscephalae
3. 196 BC
   Freedom of the Greeks proclaimed
4. 191 BC
   Thermopylae
5. 190 BC
   Magnesia
6. 168 BC
   Pydna
7. 167 BC
   Epirus enslaved
8. 148 BC
   Macedonia a Roman province
9. 146 BC
   Corinth destroyed

Philip V and Cynoscephalae

Philip's pact with Hannibal in 215 drew Rome into a first, indecisive war fought largely through the Aetolians. In 200 Rome, prodded by Pergamon and Rhodes and Philip's aggression in the Aegean, declared war again; Flamininus outmanoeuvred him and at Cynoscephalae in 197 the legions' flexible maniples broke the phalanx on rough ground. At the Isthmian Games of 196 Flamininus declared the Greeks free, to ecstatic cheers, and Rome withdrew its troops in 194.

Antiochus and Magnesia

Antiochus III, fresh from conquests to India, crossed to Greece in 192 at the Aetolians' invitation with Hannibal in his entourage. Roman armies beat him at Thermopylae in 191, the fleet won at Myonnesus, and the Scipio brothers crossed to Asia and destroyed his army at Magnesia in 190; the Treaty of Apamea (188) stripped him of Asia Minor west of the Taurus, his elephants and most of his fleet, and made Pergamon and Rhodes Rome's clients. Roman generals began looting Greek art on a grand scale.

Pydna and Corinth

Perseus rebuilt Macedon's strength and popularity; Rome attacked in 171 and, after early setbacks, Aemilius Paullus won at Pydna on 22 June 168, the phalanx breaking up as it advanced. Macedon was divided into four republics; Perseus walked in Paullus's triumph; Epirus was sacked and its people enslaved; Rome deported 1,000 Achaean hostages including the historian Polybius. When Andriscus, claiming to be Perseus's son, revolted in 149, Metellus crushed him and Macedon became a province in 148; the Achaean League's defiance ended in 146 when Mummius destroyed Corinth, sold its people and shipped its art to Rome. Greece was governed from Macedonia until it became the province of Achaea under Augustus.

Related empires and wars

Chosen automatically by overlap in time and geography, plus a few hand picked connections.

Empires of the same era and region

• Roman Empire (27 BC to 476)
• Macedonian Empire (359 BC to 323 BC)
• Seleucid Empire (312 BC to 63 BC)
• Ptolemaic Kingdom (305 BC to 30 BC)
• Ancient Carthage (814 BC to 146 BC)
• Kingdom of Armenia (ancient) (331 BC to 428)

Wars of the same era and region

• Second Punic War (218 BC to 201 BC)
• Third Punic War (149 BC to 146 BC)
• Wars of Alexander the Great (335 BC to 323 BC)
• First Punic War (264 BC to 241 BC)
• Roman-Germanic wars (113 BC to 476)

8 surprising things about the Roman-Greek wars

1. Aemilius Paullus's Macedonian triumph brought so much gold that Roman citizens paid no direct tax for over a century.
2. The historian Polybius, taken as an Achaean hostage in 167, wrote the history of Rome's rise from inside the Scipio household.
3. The 'freedom of the Greeks' proclamation caused such a roar that birds flying over the stadium reportedly fell dead.
4. Hannibal, at Antiochus's court, is said to have told him his army was 'enough for the Romans, greedy as they are'.
5. Mummius, sacking Corinth, warned shippers that if they lost the priceless statues they would have to replace them.
6. The victory at Pydna is dated by an eclipse the night before, which the Romans took as an omen.
7. The Attalid king of Pergamon later left his kingdom to Rome in his will (133 BC).
8. Horace's line 'captive Greece took captive her savage conqueror' sums up the wars' cultural outcome.

Sources

• Macedonian Wars Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Macedonian Wars Wikipedia
• Roman-Seleucid War World History Encyclopedia
• Erich S. Gruen, The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome (1984) University of California Press

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