Demetrius Before the Senate
IN the 149th Olympiad a greater number of embassies came to Rome from Greece than were
149th Olympiad, B.C. 184-180. |
almost ever seen before. For as Philip was
compelled by treaty to submit disputes with
his neighbours to arbitration, and as it was known that the
Romans were willing to receive accusations against Philip,
and would secure the safety of those who had
controversies with him, all who lived near the
frontier of Macedonia came to Rome, some in
their private capacity, some from cities, others
from whole tribes, with complaints against Philip.
Coss. P. Claudius Pulcher, L. Porcius Licinus, B.C. 184. |
At the
same time also came ambassadors from Eumenes, accompanied by his brother Athenaeus, to accuse Philip in regard
to the Thracian cities and the aid sent to Prusias. Philip's
son, Demetrius, also came to make answer to all these various
envoys, accompanied by Apelles and Philocles, who were at
that time considered the king's first friends. Ambassadors
also came from Sparta, representatives of each faction of the
citizens.
The first summoned to the Senate was Athenaeus, from whom
B.C. 183, Coss. M. Claudius Marcellus Q. Fabius Labeo. |
the Senate accepted the compliments of fifteen
thousand gold pieces, and passed a decree highly
extolling Eumenes and his brothers for their
answer, and exhorting them to continue in the
same mind. Next the praetors called upon all the accusers
of Philip, and brought them forward by one embassy at a
time. But as they were numerous, and their entry occupied
three days, the Senate became embarrassed as to the settlement to be made in each case. For from Thessaly there
were ambassadors from the whole nation, and also from each
city separately; so also from the Perrhaebians, Athamanians,
Epirotes, and Illyrians. And of these some brought cases of
dispute as to territory, slaves, or cattle; and some about contracts or injuries sustained by themselves. Some alleged that
they could not get their rights in accordance with the treaty,
because Philip prevented the administration of justice; while
others impeached the justice of the decisions given, on the
ground that Philip had corrupted the arbitrators. And, in
fact, there was an inextricable confusion and multiplicity of
charges.
Demetrius in the Senate
In such a state of things the Senate felt unable to come
to a clear decision itself, and did not think it
fair that Demetrius should have to answer each
of the several indictments; for it regarded him
with great favour, and saw at the same time that his extreme
youth unfitted him to cope with business of such intricacy and
complexity. Besides, what it desired most was not to hear
speeches of Demetrius, but to ascertain with certainty the disposition of Philip. Excusing him therefore from pleading
his cause, the Senate asked the young man and his friends
whether they were the bearers of any written memoir from
the king; and upon Demetrius answering that he was, and
holding out a paper of no great size, the Senate bade him
give a summary of what the paper contained in answer to
the accusations alleged. It amounted to this, that on each
point Philip asserted that he had carried out the injunctions of the Senate, or, if he had not done so, laid the
blame upon his accusers; while to the greater number of his
declarations he had added the words, "though the commissioners with Caecilius were unfair to me in this point," or
again, "though I am unjustly treated in this respect." Such
being Philip's mind, as expressed in the several clauses of the
paper, the Senate, after hearing the ambassadors who were
come to Rome, comprehended them all under one measure.
By the mouth of the praetor it offered an honourable and cordial reception to Demetrius, expressed in ample and emphatic
language, and answered his speech by saying that "The Senate
fully believe that on all the points mentioned by Demetrius, or
read by him from his paper of instructions, full justice was
already done or would be done. But, in order that Philip
might be made aware that the Senate paid this honour to
Demetrius, ambassadors. would be sent to see that everything
was being done in accordance with the will of the Senate, and
at the same time to inform the king that he owed this grace
to his son Demetrius." Such was the arrangement come to
on this part of the business.
Philip's Jealousy Roused
The next to enter the Senate were the ambassadors of
The ambassadors of Eumenes complain that Philip has not evacuated Thrace. |
king Eumenes, who denounced Philip on
account of the assistance sent to Prusias, and
concerning his actions in Thrace, alleging that
even at that moment he had not withdrawn his
garrisons from the cities. But upon Philocles
showing his wish to offer a defence on these points, as having
been formerly charged with a mission to Prusias, and being
now sent to the Senate to represent Philip on this business,
the Senate, without listening very long to his speech, answered
that "With regard to Thrace, unless the legates found everything there settled in accordance with its will, and all the
cities restored to the entire control of Eumenes, the Senate
would be unable any longer to allow it to pass, or to submit to
being continually disobeyed."
Though the ill-feeling between the Romans and Philip
The high honour paid to Demetrius at Rome, and its fatal result. |
was becoming serious, a check was put to it for
the time by the presence of Demetrius. And yet
this young prince's mission to Rome proved
eventually no slight link in the chain of events
which led to the final ruin of his house. For the Senate, by
thus making much of Demetrius, somewhat turned the young
man's head, and at the same time gravely annoyed Perseus
and the king, by making them feel that the kindness they
received from the Romans was not for their own sakes, but
for that of Demetrius. And T. Quintius Flamininus contributed not a little to the same result by taking the young
prince aside and communicating with him in confidence.
For he flattered him by suggesting that the Romans meant
before long to invest him with the kingdom; while he irritated
Philip and Perseus by sending a letter ordering the king to
send Demetrius to Rome again, with as many friends of the
highest character as possible. It was, in fact, by taking advantage of these circumstances that Perseus shortly afterwards
induced his father to consent to the death of Demetrius.
But I shall relate that event in detail later on.
The Spartan Ambassadors
The next ambassadors called in were the Lacedaemonians.
The four Spartan embassies. 1. Lysis, for the men banished by Nabis. 2. Areus and Alcibiades. |
Of these there were four distinct factions.
Lysis and his colleagues represented the old
exiles, and their contention was that they ought
to have back the possessions from which they
had originally been driven. Areus and Alcibiades, on the contrary, contended that they
should receive the value of a talent from their original property, and divide the rest among deserving citizens.
pleaded that things should be left in exactly the
state in which they were when they formerly
belonged to the Achaean league.
4. Chaeron, for the recent exiles, |
Lastly, Chaeron and his
colleagues represented those who had been
condemned to death or exile by the votes of
the Achaean league, and demanded their own
recall and the restoration of the constitution. These all
delivered speeches against the Achaeans in conformity with
their several objects. The Senate, finding itself unable to
come to a clear decision on these particular controversies,
appointed a committee of investigation, consisting of the three
who had already been on a mission to the Peloponnese on
these matters, namely Titus Flamininus, Q. Caecilius, and
Appius Claudius Pulcher.
1 After long discussions before
this committee it was unanimously decided that
the exiles and the condemned were to be recalled, and that the city should remain a
member of the Achaean league.
But as to the property,
whether the exiles were each to select a talent's worth from
what had been theirs [or to receive it all back], on this point
they continued to dispute. That they might not, however,
have to begin the whole controversy afresh [the committee]
caused the points agreed upon to be reduced to writing, to
which all affixed their seals. But the committee, also wishing
to include the Achaeans in the agreement, called in Xenarchus
and his colleagues, who were at that time on a mission from
the Achaeans, to renew their alliance with Rome, and at the
same time to give an eye to their controversy with the Lacedaemonians. These men, being unexpectedly asked whether
they consented to the terms contained in the written document, were somewhat at a loss what to answer. For they did
not approve of the restoration of the exiles and the condemned persons, as being contrary to the decree of the league,
and the contents of the tablet on which that decree was engraved; and yet they approved of the document as a whole,
because it contained the clause providing that Sparta should
remain a member of the league. Finally, however, partly
from this difficulty, and partly from awe of the Roman commissioners, they affixed their seal. The Senate, therefore,
selected Quintus Marcius to go as legate to settle the affairs
of Macedonia and the Peloponnese. . . .
Deinocrates of Messene
When Deinocrates of Messene arrived on a mission at
Rome, he was delighted to find that Titus
Flamininus had been appointed by the Senate
to go as ambassador to Prusias and Seleucus.
For having been very intimate with Titus during the Lacedaemonian war, he thought that this friendship, combined with
his disagreements with Philopoemen, would induce him on
his arrival in Greece to settle the affairs of Messene in accordance with his own views. He therefore gave up everything
else to attach himself exclusively to Titus, on whom he rested
all his hopes. . . .
This same Deinocrates was a courtier and a soldier by nature
as well as habit, but he assumed the air of consummate
statesmanship. His parts, however, were showy rather than
solid. In war his fertility of resource and boldness were
beyond the common run; and he shone in feats of personal
bravery. Nor were these his only accomplishments: he was
attractive and ready in conversation, versatile and courteous
in society. But at the same time he was devoted to licentious
intrigue, and in public affairs and questions of policy was quite
incapable of sustained attention or far-sighted views, of fortifying
himself with well-considered arguments, or putting them
before the public. On this occasion, for instance, though he
had really given the initiative to grave misfortunes, he did not
think that he was doing anything of importance; but followed
his usual manner of life, quite regardless of the future, indulging day after day in amours, wine, and song. Flamininus,
however, did once force him to catch a glimpse of the seriousness of his position. For seeing him on a certain occasion in
a party of revellers dancing in long robes, he said nothing at
the time; but next morning, being visited by him with some
request in behalf of his country, he said: "I will do my best,
Deinocrates; but it does astonish me that you can drink and
dance after having given the start to such serious troubles for
Greece." He appears, indeed, at that to have a little recovered
his soberer senses, and to have understood what an improper
display he had been making of his tastes and habits. However,
he arrived at this period in Greece in company with Flamininus, fully persuaded that the affairs of Messene would be
settled at a blow in accordance with his views. But Philopoemen and his party were fully aware that Flamininus had no
commission from the Senate in regard to affairs in Greece;
they therefore awaited his arrival without taking any step of any
sort. Having landed at Naupactus, Flamininus addressed a
despatch to the Strategus and Demiurgi
2 bidding them summon
the Achaeans to an assembly; to which they wrote back that
"they would do so, if he would write them word what the
subjects were on which he wished to confer with the Achaeans;
for the laws enjoined that limitation on the magistrates." As
Flamininus did not venture to write this, the hopes of Deinocrates and the so-called "old exiles," but who had at that time
been recently banished from Sparta, came to nothing, as in fact
did the visit of Flamininus and the plans which he had formed. . . .
Ambassadors from the Spartan Exiles
About the same period some ambassadors were sent by
the exiled citizens of Sparta to Rome, among whom was
Arcesilaus and Agesipolis who, when quite a boy,
had been made king in Sparta. These two
men were fallen upon and killed by pirates on the high seas;
but their colleagues arrived safely at Rome. . . .
Philip and Perseus are Jealous of Demetrius
On the return of Demetrius from Rome, bringing with
The popularity of Demetrius in Macedonia. His father's anger and his brother's jealousy. |
him the formal reply, in which the Romans referred all the favour and confidence which they
avowed to their regard for Demetrius, saying
that all they had done or would do was for his
sake,—the Macedonians gave Demetrius a
cordial reception, believing that they were relieved from all fear and danger: for they had looked upon
war with Rome as all but at their doors, owing to the provocations given by Philip. But Philip and Perseus were far from
pleased, and were much offended at the idea of the Romans
taking no account of them, and referring all their favour to
Demetrius. Philip however concealed his displeasure; but
Perseus, who was not only behind his brother in good feelings
to Rome, but much his inferior in other respects, both in
natural ability and acquired accomplishments, made no secret
of his anger: and was beginning to be thoroughly alarmed as
to his succession to the crown, and lest, in spite of being the
elder, he should be excluded. Therefore he commenced by
bribing the friends of Demetrius. . . .
The end of this fraternal jealousy is described in Livy, 40,
5-24. By a forged letter purporting to come from Flamininus,
Philip is persuaded that his son played the traitor at Rome and
gives an order or a permission for his being put to death; which
is accordingly done, partly by poison and partly by violence, at
Heracleia, B. C. 181.
Death of Demetrius
Upon Quintus Marcius arriving on his mission in
Philip feigns submission to Rome, B. C. 183. |
Macedonia, Philip evacuated the Greek cities in
Thrace entirely and withdrew his garrisons,
though in deep anger and heaviness of spirit;
and he put on a right footing everything else to which the
Roman injunctions referred, wishing to give them no indication
of his estrangement, but to secure time for making his
preparations for war. In pursuance of this design he led out
an army against the barbarians, and marching through the
centre of Thrace he invaded the Odrysae, Bessi, and Dentheleti.
Coming to Philippopolis, the inhabitants flying for safety to
the heights, he took it without a blow.
And thence, after
traversing the plain, and sacking some of the
villages, and exacting a pledge of submission
from others, he returned home, leaving a garrison in Philippopolis, which was after a time expelled by the
Odrysae in defiance of their pledge of fidelity to Philip. . . .
The Senate Refuses to Help Either Messene or Achaia
In the second year of this Olympiad, on the arrival of
After midsummer of B. C. 183. |
ambassadors from Eumenes, Pharnaces, and
the Achaean league, and also from the Lacedaemonians who had been banished from
Sparta,
3 and from those who were in actual possession of it, the
Senate despatched their business. But there came after them
a mission from Rhodes in regard to the disaster at Sinope;
to whom the Senate replied that it would send legates to investigate the case of the Sinopeans and their grievances against
those kings.
And Quintus Marcius having recently arrived
from Greece and made his report on the state of affairs in
Macedonia and the Peloponnese, the Senate did not require
to hear much more; but having called in the envoys from
the Peloponnese and Macedonia they listened indeed to what
they had to say, but founded its reply, without
any reference to their speeches, wholly on the
report of Marcius, in which he had stated, in
reference to king Philip, that he had indeed done all that
was enjoined on him, but with great reluctance; and that, if he
got an opportunity, he would go all lengths against the Romans.
The Senate accordingly composed a reply to the king's envoys
in which, while praising Philip for what he had done, they
warned him for the future to be careful not to be found acting
in opposition to the Romans. As to the Peloponnese, Marcius
had reported that, as the Achaeans were unwilling to refer any
matter whatever to the Senate, but were haughtily inclined
and desirous of managing all their affairs themselves, if the
Senate would only reject their present application and give
ever so slight an indication of displeasure, Sparta would
promptly come to an understanding with Messene; and then
the Achaeans would be glad enough to appeal to the protection of Rome. In consequence of this report they answered
the Lacedaemonian Serippus and his colleagues, wishing to
leave this city in a state of suspense, that they had done their
best for them, but that for the present they did not think this
matter concerned them. But when the Achaeans besought
for help against the Messenians
4 in virtue of their alliance with
Rome, or at least that they would take precautions to prevent
any arms or corn from being brought from Italy into Messene,
the Senate refused compliance with either request and
answered that the Achaeans ought not to be surprised if
Sparta or Corinth or Argos renounced their league, if they
would not conduct their hegemony in accordance with the
Senate's views. This answer the Senate made public, as
a kind of proclamation that any people who chose might
break off from the Achaeans for all the Romans cared;
and they further retained the ambassadors in Rome, waiting
to see the issue of the quarrel between the Achaeans and
Messenians. . . .
Philip's Desperate Measures
In this period a certain dreadful foreshadowing of misfortune fell upon king Philip and the whole of
The conflict of feelings in Philip's mind. |
Macedonia, of a kind well worthy of close attention and record. As though Fortune had
resolved to exact from him at once the penalties for all the
impieties and crimes which he had committed in the whole
course of his life, she now visited him with furies, those deities
of retribution, those powers that had listened to the prayers of
the victims of his cruelties, who, haunting him day and night,
so plagued him to the last day of his life, that all the world was
forced to acknowledge the truth of the proverb, that "Justice
has an eye" which mere men should never despise. The first
idea suggested to him by this evil power was that, as he
was about to go to war with Rome, he had better remove from
the most important cities, and those along the sea-coast, the
leading citizens, with their wives and children, and place them
in Emathia, formerly called Paeonia, and fill up the cities with
Thracians and other barbarians, as likely to be more securely
loyal to him in the coming hour of danger.
The actual
carrying out of this measure, and the uprooting of these men
and their families, caused such an outburst of grief, and so
violent an outcry, that one might have supposed the whole district to have been taken by the sword. Curses and appeals to
heaven were rained upon the head of the king without any
further attempt at concealment. His next step, prompted by
the wish to leave no element of hostility or disaffection in the
kingdom, was to write to the governors of the several cities
ordering them to search out the sons and daughters of such
Macedonians as had been put to death by him, and place them
in ward; in which he referred especially to
Admetus, Pyrrhicus, and Samus, and those who
had perished with them: but he also included all others whosoever that had been put to death by order of the king, quoting
this verse, we are told:—
5
“"Oh fool! to slay the sire and leave the sons."
”
Most of these men being persons of distinguished families, their
fate made a great noise and excited universal pity. But Fortune
had a third act in this bloody drama in reserve for Philip, in
which the young princes plotted against each other; and their
quarrels being referred to him, he was forced to choose between
becoming the murderer of his sons and living the rest of his
life in dread of being murdered by them in his old age; and
to decide which of the two he had the greater reason to fear.
Tortured day and night by these anxieties, the miseries and
perturbations of his spirit lead to the inevitable reflection that
the wrath of heaven fell upon his old age for the sins of his
previous life: which will be rendered still more evident by
what remains to be told. . . . Just when his soul was stung
to madness by these circumstances, the quarrel between his
sons blazed out: Fortune, as it were of set purpose, bringing
their misfortunes upon the scene all at one time. . . .
The Macedonians make offerings to Xanthus
Fragment referring to
the military sham fight in which Perseus and Demetrius quarrelled, B. C. 182. See Livy, 40, 6. |
as a hero, and perform a purification of the
army with horses fully equipped. . . .
Philip Addresses his Sons
"One should not merely read tragedies, tales, and
Part of a speech of Philip to his two sons after the quarrel at the manœuvres. See Livy, 40, 8. |
histories, but should understand and ponder over
them. In all of them one may learn that whenever brothers fall out and allow their quarrel to
go any great length, they invariably end not only
by destroying themselves but in the utter ruin
of their property, children, and cities; while
those who keep their self-love within reasonable bounds, and
put up with each other's weaknesses, are the preservers of
these, and live in the fairest reputation and fame. I have
often directed your attention to the kings in Sparta, telling you
that they preserved the hegemony in Greece for their country
just so long as they obeyed the ephors, as though they were
their parents, and were content to reign jointly. But directly
they in their folly tried to change the government to a
monarchy, they caused Sparta to experience every misery
possible. Finally, I have pointed out to you as an example
the case of Eumenes and Attalus; showing you that, though
they succeeded to but a small and insignificant realm, they
have raised it to a level with the best, simply by the harmony and
unity of sentiment, and mutual respect which they maintained
towards each other. But so far from taking my words to heart,
you are, as it seems to me, whetting your angry passions against
each other. . . ."
The Fall of Philopoemen
Philopoemen rose
6 and proceeded on his way, though he
The death of Philopoemen, B.C. 183, or perhaps early in B.C. 182. |
was oppressed at once by illness and the weight
of years, being now in the seventieth year of
his age. Conquering his weakness, however,
by the force of his previous habits he reached
Megalopolis, from Argos, in one day's journey. . . .
He was captured, when Achaean Strategus, by the Messenians
Philopoemen was murdered by the Messenians, who had abandoned the league
and were at war with it. See Livy, 39, 49-50. |
and poisoned. Thus, though second to none
that ever lived before him in excellence, his
fortune was less happy; yet in his previous life
he seemed ever to have enjoyed her favour and
assistance. But it was, I suppose, a case of the
common proverb, "a man may have a stroke of
luck, but no man can be lucky always." We must, therefore,
call our predecessors fortunate, without pretending that they
were so invariably—for what need is there to flatter Fortune
by a meaningless and false compliment? It is those who
have enjoyed Fortune's smiles in their life for the longest
time, and who, when she changes her mind, meet with only
moderate mishaps, that we must speak of as fortunate. . . .
Philopoemen was succeeded by
Character of Philopoemen. He is succeeded by Lycortas as Strategus. |
Lycortas,
7 . . . and though
he had spent forty years of an active career in
a state at once democratic and composed of
many various elements, he had entirely avoided
giving rise to the jealousy of the citizens in any
direction: and yet he had not flattered their
inclinations, but for the most part had used great freedom of
speech, which is a case of very rare occurrence. . . .
Character of Hannibal
An admirable feature in Hannibal's
Character of Hannibal, who poisoned himself at the court of Prusias, B.C. 183. See Livy, 39, 1. |
character, and the strongest proof of his having
been a born ruler of men, and having possessed
statesmanlike qualities of an unusual kind, is
that, though he was for seventeen years engaged
in actual warfare, and though he had to make his way through
numerous barbaric tribes, and to employ innumerable men of
different nationalities in what appeared desperate and hazardous
enterprises, he was never made the object of a conspiracy by
any of them, nor deserted by any of those who had joined him
and put themselves under his command. . . .
Character of P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus
Publius Scipio, in the course of an active career in
an aristocratic state, secured such popularity with the multitude and such credit with the Senate, that when
Character of P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus, whose death Polybius places in this year,
but according to Livy wrongly, who assigns it to the previous year (39, 52). |
some one took upon himself to bring him to trial before the people in the manner usual at
Rome, and produced many bitter accusations against him, he came forward and said nothing
but that "It ill-became the Roman people to listen to accusations against P. Cornelius
Scipio, to whom his accusers owed it that they had the power of speech at all."
At this the populace dispersed, and quitting the assembly, left the accuser alone. . . .
Once when there was a sum of money required in the Senate
for some pressing business, and the quaestor, on the ground
of a legal difficulty, refused to open the treasury on that particular day, Scipio said that "he would take the keys himself and
open it; for he was the cause of the treasury being locked at all."
And again, when some one in the Senate demanded an account
of the money which he had received from Antiochus before the
treaty for the pay of his army, he said that he had the ledger,
but that he ought not to be called to account by any one. But
on his questioner persisting, and urging him to produce it, he
bade his brother bring it. When the schedule was brought, he
held it out in front of him, and tearing it to pieces in the sight
of everybody bade the man who asked for it seek it out of these
fragments, and he demanded of the rest "How they could ask
for the items of the expenditure of these three thousand talents,
and yet no longer ask for an account of how and by whose
agency the fifteen thousand talents which they received from
Antiochus came into the treasury, nor how it is that they have
become masters of Asia, Libya, and Iberia?" This speech
not only made a strong impression on the rest, but also reduced
the man who demanded the account to silence.
These anecdotes have been related by me for the double
purpose of enhancing the fame of the departed, and of encouraging future generations in the paths of honour. . . .
Submission of the Messenians
For my part, I never concur with those who indulge
their anger against men of their own blood to the length of
not only depriving them of the year's harvest when at war with
them, but even of cutting down their trees and destroying
their buildings, and of leaving them no opportunity for repentance. Such proceedings seem to me to be rank folly. For,
while they imagine that they are dismaying the enemy by the
devastation of their territory, and the deprivation of their future
as well as their present means of getting the necessaries of life,
they are all the while exasperating the men, and converting an
isolated ebullition of anger into a lasting hatred. . . .
Lycortas Defeats Messene
Lycortas the Achaean Strategus crushed the spirits of
Lycortas, the successor of Philopoemen, compels the Messenians to sue for peace, B. C. 183-182. |
the Messenians in the war. Up to this time
the populace at Messene had been afraid of
their magistrates; but now at length, relying on
the protection of the enemy, some of them
plucked up courage to break silence and to say
that the time was come to send an embassy
to negotiate a peace. Deinocrates and his colleagues, being
no longer able to face the people under this storm of popular
odium, yielded to circumstances and retired to their own houses.
Thereupon the people, acting under the advice of the older
men, and especially under that of Epaenetus and Apollodorus,
the ambassadors from Boeotia,—who, having arrived some
time before to negotiate a peace, happened fortunately to be at
that time at Messene,—appointed and despatched envoys,
begging forgiveness for their transgressions. The Achaean
Strategus, having summoned his colleagues
8 to council, and
given the envoys a hearing, answered that "There was but
one way in which the Messenians could reconcile themselves to
the league, and that was by at once surrendering to him the
authors of the revolt and of the murder of Philopoemen, leave
the rest to the authority of the league assembly, and at once
receive a garrison into their citadel." When this message was
announced to the Messenian populace, those who had long
been bitterly opposed to the authors of the war were ready
enough to surrender them and to arrest them; while the rest,
being persuaded that they would not be severely dealt with by
the Achaeans, readily consented to submit the general question
to the decision of the assembly. But what chiefly induced
them to unanimously accept the proposal was, that they in
fact had no choice in the matter. The Strategus accordingly
at once took over the citadel and marched his peltasts into it;
and then, taking some picked troops with him, entered the city;
and having summoned a meeting of the people, addressed them
in terms befitting the occasion, promising that "they would
never have reason to repent having committed themselves
to the honour of the Achaeans."
The general question of
what was to be done he thus referred to the league,—for it
happened conveniently that the Achaeans were just then reassembling at Megalopolis for
the second Congress,
9—but of
those who were guilty of the disturbances, he
ordered all such as were actually implicated in
the summary execution of Philopoemen to put an end to their
own lives. . . .
Arguments For and Against Admitting Sparta
The Messenians were reduced by their own folly to
Abia, Thuria, and Pharae make a separate league. |
the brink of ruin, but were restored to their
former position in the league by the magnanimity of Lycortas and the Achaeans. But the
towns of Abia, Thuria, and Pharae during these transactions
abandoned their connection with Messene, and, setting up a pillar
engraved with a treaty of alliance between themselves, formed
a separate league. When the Romans were informed that
the Messenian war had turned out successfully for the Achaeans,
without taking any account of their previous declaration they
gave a different answer to the same ambassadors, asserting
that they had taken measures to prevent any one from conveying arms or corn from Italy into Messene. By this they
showed clearly that, so far from avoiding or disregarding the
affairs of foreign nations not directly concerning themselves,
they were, on the contrary, annoyed at everything not being
referred to them and carried out in accordance with their
opinion.
When the ambassadors arrived in Sparta with their answer,
Achaean meeting at Sicyon. |
the Achaean Strategus as soon as he had settled
the Messenian business, summoned a congress
at Sicyon, and on its assembling, proposed a
resolution for the reception of Sparta into the league, alleging
that "The Romans had declined the arbitration which had
previously been offered to them in regard to this city,—for
they had answered that they had now no concern with any
of the affairs of Sparta. Those, however, at present in power
at Sparta were desirous of being admitted to the privileges
of the league. Therefore he advised that they should
admit the town; for this would be advantageous in two
ways: first, because they would be thus admitting men who
had remained unshaken in their loyalty to the league; and
secondly, because they would not be admitting those of the
old exiles, who had behaved with ingratitude and impiety
towards them, to any share of their privileges; but by confirming
the measures of those who had excluded them, would at the
same time be showing, with God's help, due gratitude to the
latter." With these words Lycortas exhorted the Achaeans to
receive the city of Sparta into the league. But Diophanes
and some others attempted to put in a word for the exiles, and
urged the Achaeans "Not to join in pressing heavily upon these
banished men; and not to be influenced by a mere handful of
men to strengthen the hands of those who had impiously and
lawlessly expelled them from their country."
Sparta Included In the League
Such were the arguments employed on either side.
Sparta admitted to the league. |
The Achaeans, after listening to both, decided
to admit the city, and accordingly the agreement
was engraved on a tablet, and Sparta became
a member of the Achaean league: the existing citizens having
agreed to admit such of the old exiles as were not considered
to have acted in a hostile spirit against the Achaeans. After
confirming this arrangement the Achaeans sent Bippus of
Argos and others as ambassadors to Rome, to explain to the
Senate what had been done in the matter. The Lacedaemonians also sent Chaeron and others; while the exiles too
sent a mission led by Cletis Diactorius
10 to oppose the Achaean
ambassadors in the Senate.
