Search the Community

Author and UNRV contributor Ben Kane wrote a very nice article in the September 2018 issue of "History Revealed" magazine entitled "Empires at War: Rome vs Greece: How the Ancient World was Rocked by a Clash of Superpowers in 197 BC." This article examines the background history of tensions and eventual conflict between Macedon and the Roman Republic. Mr. Kane also examines the rivalry between Philip V of Macedon and the vainglorious Roman general Titus Quinctius Flamininus. Despite the fact that "History Revealed" is not a scholarly publication, many articles are informative and richly illustrated. Mr. Kane's article is no exception. This article has some enjoyable and succinct insights: "When the Second Punic War started in 218 BC, the Roman Republic was one of the smallest of the five major powers around the Mediterranean. Half a century later, the situation had changed beyond recognition. Just two factions remained: weak and unstable Ptolemaic Egypt and the ascendant Roman Republic. Remarkably, the three that had fallen -- Carthage, Macedon and the Seleucid Empire -- had all been beaten by Rome in War." Recommend highly. guy also known as gaius Addendum: As mentioned in the article, Flamininus stuck gold staters with his portrait and his name. He was the first Roman in history to mint coins with his own portrait as "it showed aspirations toward kingship." T. Quinctius Flamininus, Consul in 198 B.C., Gold Stater (8.44 g 12 h), Chalkis (?) mint, c. 196 B.C. Obverse: Bare head of Titus Quinctius Flamininus right Reverse: T.QVINCTI (upwards) Nike standing left, holding wreath over name with her right hand and palm branch with her left. (Source: Imagine from the British Museum, attribution from wildwinds.com.)