The Origin of the Roman Slogan of Greek Freedom

Abstract

Chapter 5 proposes that (1) the idea of using the slogan of freedom came to the Romans during negotiations of the ambassadors from Lampsacus and Smyrna held with the Romans in the autumn of 197; (2) the slogan of freedom was originally included in the senatus consultum at the end of the Second Macedonian war, which Flamininus would largely repeat in his declaration the following year; and (3) protecting Greek freedom offered Rome a much better opportunity to have a say in Greek politics at a time when the Romans had no treaties with Greek cities, and many Greeks questioned the right of the Romans to interfere in Greek affairs. The surviving evidence allows us to see the war of words between the Romans and their opponents in Greece, which offers another parallel to political developments in pre-Roman Greece.