τότε δὲ ἥκων ὁ Φλαμίνιος Ἐρέτριάν τε διήρπασε, τοὺς φρουροῦντας Μακεδόνων μάχῃ νικήσας, καὶ αὖθις ἐλάσας ἐπὶ Κόρινθον κατεχομένην ὑπὸ Φιλίππου φρουρᾷ αὐτός τε προσεκάθητο πολιορκῶν καὶ παρὰ Ἀχαιοὺς ἅμα ἀποστέλλων ἐπήγγελλέ σφισιν ἀφικνεῖσθαι πρὸς Κόρινθον στρατιᾷ, συμμάχους τε ἀξιωθησομένους καλεῖσθαι Ῥωμαίων καὶ ἅμα εὐνοίᾳ τῇ ἐς τὸ Ἑλληνικόν.
Ἀχαιοὶ δὲ ἐποιοῦντο μὲν μεγάλως καὶ αὐτὸν ἐν αἰτίᾳ Φλαμίνιον καὶ ἔτι πρότερον Ὀτίλιον, οἳ μετεχειρίσαντο ὠμῶς οὕτω πόλεις Ἑλληνίδας καὶ ἀρχαίας, ἀναμαρτήτους τε οὔσας πρὸς Ῥωμαίους καὶ οὐ κατὰ γνώμην ὑπὸ Μακεδόνων ἀρχομένας· προεωρῶντο δὲ καὶ ὡς ἀντὶ Φιλίππου καὶ Μακεδόνων Ῥωμαῖοι σφίσι τε ἥκοιεν καὶ τῷ Ἑλληνικῷ δεσπόται προστάττειν. ῥηθέντων δὲ ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ πολλῶν καὶ ἐναντίων ἀλλήλοις, τέλος οἱ εὖνοι Ῥωμαίοις ἐνίκησαν καὶ Ἀχαιοὶ Φλαμινίῳ Κόρινθον συνεπολιόρκησαν.
Κορίνθιοι δὲ ἀπὸ Μακεδόνων ἐλευθερωθέντες μετέσχον αὐτίκα συνεδρίου τοῦ Ἀχαιῶν, μετασχόντες καὶ πρότερον, ὅτε Ἄρατος καὶ Σικυώνιοι φρουρὰν ἐκ τοῦ Ἀκροκορίνθου τὴν πᾶσαν ἐξήλασαν καὶ ἀπέκτειναν Περσαῖον ὑπὸ Ἀντιγόνου ταχθέντα ἐπὶ τῇ φρουρᾷ. Ἀχαιοὶ δὲ τὸ ἀπὸ τούτου σύμμαχοί τε ὠνομάζοντο Ῥωμαίων καὶ ἐς τὰ πάντα ἦσαν πρόθυμοι· καί σφισιν εἵποντο μὲν ἐς Μακεδονίαν καὶ ἐπὶ Φίλιππον, μετέσχον δὲ καὶ στρατείας ἐς Αἰτωλούς, τρίτα δὲ ὁμοῦ Ῥωμαίοις ἐμαχέσαντο ἐναντία Ἀντιόχου καὶ Σύρων.
ὅσα μὲν δὴ Ἀχαιοὶ Μακεδόσιν ἢ στρατιᾷ τῇ Σύρων ἐναντία ἐτάξαντο, φιλίᾳ τῇ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ἔπραξαν· ἐς δὲ Αἰτωλοὺς ἐκ παλαιοῦ σφισιν ἦν οἰκεῖα ἐγκλήματα. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ Νάβιδος ἐν Σπάρτῃ τυραννὶς κατελέλυτο, ἐς πλείστην ὠμότητα ἀνδρὸς ἀφικομένου, τὰ ἐς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους αὐτίκα ἐνεπεπτώκει·
καὶ σφᾶς ὑπὸ τὸν χρόνον οἱ Ἀχαιοὶ τοῦτον ἐς σύλλογον ὑπάγονται τὸν Ἀχαϊκὸν καὶ δίκας τε ἐδίκαζόν σφισιν ἐς τὸ ἀκριβέστατον καὶ τὰ τείχη τῆς Σπάρτης καταβάλλουσιν ἐς ἔδαφος, οἰκοδομηθέντα μὲν καὶ πρότερον ἔτι αὐτοσχεδίως ἐπί τε τῆς Δημητρίου καὶ ὕστερον τῆς Πύρρου καὶ Ἠπειρωτῶν στρατείας, ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς τυραννίδος τῆς Νάβιδος καὶ ἐς τὸ ἀσφαλέστατον ὀχυρωθέντα. τά τε οὖν τείχη τῆς Σπάρτης οἱ Ἀχαιοὶ καθεῖλον καὶ τὰ ἐς μελέτην τοῖς ἐφήβοις ἐκ τῶν Λυκούργου νόμων καταλύσαντες ἐπέταξαν τοῖς Ἀχαιῶν ἐφήβοις τὰ αὐτὰ ἐπιτηδεύειν.
ταῦτα μὲν δὴ καὶ ἐς πλέον ἐπέξεισιν αὖθίς μοι τὰ ἐς Ἀρκάδας· Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ ἅτε μεγάλως τοῖς ἐπιτάγμασιν ἀχθόμενοι τοῖς Ἀχαιῶν καταφεύγουσιν ἐπὶ Μέτελλον καὶ ὅσοι σὺν Μετέλλῳ κατὰ πρεσβείαν ἧκον ἐκ Ῥώμης. ἀφίκοντο δὲ οὗτοι Φιλίππῳ καὶ Μακεδόσι πόλεμον μὲν οὐδένα ἐπάξοντες ἅτε εἰρήνης πρότερον ἔτι Φιλίππῳ καὶ Ῥωμαίοις ὀμωμοσμένης, ὁπόσα δὲ ἢ Θεσσαλοῖς ἢ τῶν ἐξ Ἠπείρου τισὶν ἐγκλήματα ἦν ἐς Φίλιππον, ταῦτα ἧκον οἱ ὁμοῦ Μετέλλῳ κρινοῦντες.
ἔργῳ μὲν δὴ Φίλιππός τε αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ Μακεδόνων ἀκμὴ καθῄρητο ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων—μαχεσάμενος γὰρ Φλαμινίου καὶ Ῥωμαίων ἐναντία Φίλιππος ἐν Κυνὸς καλουμέναις κεφαλαῖς τὸ ἧττον ἠνέγκατο, ἀλλʼ ἅτε δὴ κατὰ δύναμιν ἀγωνισάμενος αὐτὸς οὗτος ὁ Φίλιππος τοσοῦτον ἐκρατήθη τῇ συμβολῇ, ὡς στρατιᾶς τε ἣν ἦγεν ἀποβαλεῖν τὸ πολὺ καὶ ἐκ τῶν πόλεων, ὅσας εἷλεν ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι πολέμῳ παραστησάμενος, ἐξήγαγεν ἐξ ἁπασῶν τὰς φρουρὰς κατὰ ὁμολογίαν πρὸς Ῥωμαίους—
κατὰ μέντοι τοῦ λόγου τὸ εὐπρεπὲς παρὰ Ῥωμαίων εὕρητο εἰρήνην δεήσεσί τε παντοίαις καὶ δαπάναις χρημάτων μεγάλαις. τὰ δὲ ἐς Μακεδόνας δύναμίν τε, ἣν ἐπὶ Φιλίππου περιεβάλοντο τοῦ Ἀμύντου, καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ Φιλίππου τοῦ ὑστέρου τὰ πράγματά σφισιν ἐφθάρη, Σίβυλλα οὐκ ἄνευ θεοῦ προεθέσπισεν· ἔχει δὲ οὕτω τὰ χρησθέντα·
αὐχοῦντες βασιλεῦσι Μακεδόνες Ἀργεάδῃσιν, / ὑμῖν κοιρανέων ἀγαθὸν καὶ πῆμα Φίλιππος. / ἤτοι ὁ μὲν πρότερος πόλεσιν λαοῖσί τʼ ἄνακτας / θήσει· ὁ δʼ ὁπλότερος τιμὴν ἀπὸ πᾶσαν ὀλέσσει, / δμηθεὶς ἑσπερίοισιν ὑπʼ ἀνδράσιν ἠῴοις τε. / Ῥωμαῖοί τε δὴ τὰ πρὸς ἑσπέραν νεμόμενοι τῆς Εὐρώπης καθεῖλον τὴν Μακεδόνων ἀρχὴν καὶ τῶν ἐς τὸ συμμαχικὸν ταχθέντων Ἄτταλος τῆς ἐκ Περγάμου συλλεχθείσης ἡγεμὼν καὶ ἔτι ἐκ Μυσίας στρατιᾶς· πρὸς δὲ ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιον μᾶλλόν τι ἡ Μυσία τέτραπται.
On his arrival Flamininus defeated the Macedonian garrison of Eretria and sacked the town. Then marching to Corinth, which was garrisoned by Philip, he sat down before it, and sent to the Achaeans, desiring that, if they loved Greece and valued the honour of an alliance with Rome, they would join him with a force before Corinth. But the Achaeans deeply resented the conduct of Flamininus and of Otilius before him, both of whom had behaved with merciless severity to ancient Greek cities that had never done the Romans any harm, and had been loath to yield to the Macedonian rule. They foresaw also that, like the rest of Greece, they were only about to exchange the dominion of Macedonia for that of Rome. The debate was long and keen, but at last the Roman party carried the day, and Achaean troops shared with Flamininus in the capture of Corinth. Thus delivered from the Macedonian yoke the Corinthians at once joined the Achaean League: they had joined it before, when the Sicyonians, under Aratus, drove the garrison out of Acro-Corinth, and slew the commander, Persaeus, who had received his commission from Antigonus.
Henceforth the Achaeans were styled the allies of Rome, and zealous allies they proved themselves on all occasions. They followed the Romans into Macedonia to attack Philip: they shared in the expedition into Aetolia; and they fought on the Roman side against Antiochus and his Syrians. In fighting the Macedonians or the Syrians the Achaeans were animated only by their friendship for Rome ; but with the Aetolians they had a long score of their own to settle.
No sooner was the ferocious tyranny of Nabis at Sparta put down than the affairs of Lacedaemon engaged the attention of the Achaeans. They drew the Lacedaemonians into the Achaean confederacy, meted out to them a rigorous justice, and razed the walls of Sparta to the ground. These walls had been hastily run up at the time of the invasion, first of Demetrius, and afterwards of the Epirots, under Pyrrhus ; but they had been vastly strengthened during the tyranny of Nabis. The Achaeans not only demolished the walls of Sparta, but also repealed the laws of Lycurgus relating to the training of the lads, and ordained that the Spartan lads should be trained on the Achaean model. I shall treat of this topic more at large in describing Arcadia.
Chafing at the Achaean ordinances, the Lacedaemonians had recourse to Metellus and his colleagues, who had come on an embassy from Rome, not to stir up war against Philip and the Macedonians, for peace had already been concluded between Philip and the Romans, but to look into the grievances which the Thessalians or Epirots had against him. In truth, Philip and the power of Macedonia had already been humbled by the Romans. For in a battle with the Romans, under Flamininus, on the heights called Cynoscephalae, Philip had been worsted; nay, though he strained every nerve in the engagement, he was so soundly beaten that he lost most of his army, and had to enter into an engagement with the Romans, in virtue of which he withdrew his garrisons from every Greek city which he had reduced by force of arms.
However, by dint of prayers and entreaties, seconded by a lavish expenditure of treasure, he procured a nominal peace from the Romans. The history of Macedonia, its rise to power under Philip, son of Amyntas, and its fall under the later Philip, had been divinely foretold by the Sibyl. The prophecy ran thus :— Ye Macedonians, who glory in your kings of Argive race, The reign of Philip will be your bliss and bane. The first Philip will make you lords of cities and peoples ; But the younger will lose all honour, Vanquished by the men of the West and of the East. Now the Macedonian empire was destroyed by the Romans who dwell in the west of Europe, and amongst their allies was Attalus, who sent an army from Mysia, an eastern land.
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