Pimpinus Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Hey everybody....I'm really confused right now, i cant find anything specific on the sack of corinth. Does anyone know the intricate details of this event? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankq Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 (edited) Hey everybody....I'm really confused right now, i cant find anything specific on the sack of corinth. Does anyone know the intricate details of this event? Sacked the same year as Carthage, part of Roman decision to get brutal with their foreign policy and, in the case of Corinth, the culmination of Roman wrath in dealing with the Greeks and their back-biting politicking. Corinth was the leading player in supporting a revolt against Roman hegemony and when the Romans sent envoys to try and talk things over, they were hissed, booed, and had garbage thrown on them on their way through the streets. During the sack, the commander in charge, Mummius, was a novus homo who had little appreciation for the city's wealth. When priceless art treasures were being loaded onto the ships, he told his soldiers: ''Whatever you break you have to replace.'' Maritime-mercantile interests in Rome also wanted the city out of the way, it was a strong competitor. The above is a rather general nut shell. I'll have to get my info out on this to fill you in more. Edited January 23, 2006 by frankq Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neos Dionysos Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Hey everybody....I'm really confused right now, i cant find anything specific on the sack of corinth. Does anyone know the intricate details of this event? Sacked the same year as Carthage, part of Roman decision to get brutal with their foreign policy and, in the case of Corinth, the culmination of Roman wrath in dealing with the Greeks and their back-biting politicking. Corinth was the leading player in supporting a revolt against Roman hegemony and when the Romans sent envoys to try and talk things over, they were hissed, booed, and had garbage thrown on them on their way through the streets. During the sack, the commander in charge, Mummius, was a novus homo who had little appreciation for the city's wealth. When priceless art treasures were being loaded onto the ships, he told his soldiers: ''Whatever you break you have to replace.'' Maritime-mercantile interests in Rome also wanted the city out of the way, it was a strong competitor. The above is a rather general nut shell. I'll have to get my info out on this to fill you in more. You've just peeked my interest FrankQ, cause I'll be honest... I never even knew Corinth was sacked by Rome. You learn something new everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimpinus Posted January 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Thanks frankq. The problem i have is that this particular website has information on the sack of Corinth but it is very vague and not detailed. I was also wondering if you knew why Attalus of Pergamum would give up his territory to the romans and why he didnt just become an ally of Rome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neos Dionysos Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 I was also wndering if you knew why Attalus of Pergamum would give up his territory to the romans and why he didnt just become an ally of Rome. Pergamum was an ally of Rome for a few generations now, mainly due to thier contempt and hostility toward the Seleukids. Once Attalus had died, he had bequithed his kingdom to Rome in his will, so Rome found herself in possesion of Asian territory w/o any intervention of thier own, from there they would soon expand further and incorporate thier allies into thier provinces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimpinus Posted January 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Did Athens have anything to do with the sack of Corinth? And do you think that the sack of Corinth was as brutal as the destruction of Epirus after the 3rd MAcedonian war? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankq Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 (edited) Did Athens have anything to do with the sack of Corinth? And do you think that the sack of Corinth was as brutal as the destruction of Epirus after the 3rd MAcedonian war? How to rate destruction of a city? Corinth got more press because Corinth was bigger and a lot more prestigious. The message sent by Rome was more poignant, too. RE Dionysus' above post and Pergamum, it brought Rome nearer Seleucid turf, and once Rome got embroiled in Greece it got embroiled in all kinds of Hellenistic intrigue. It gets so sticky you need a scorecard. The Greeks thought they could pit wits and exploit Rome to their advantage. Ha. Fat chance. Also note that the Carthaginian Wars and the Macedonians Wars always ran parallel or slightly in tandem with one another. Edited January 23, 2006 by frankq Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.Clodius Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 (edited) Unfortunately I can't find much information out there, wikipedia details are skant to say the least. I do know by destroying Corinth Rome sent a VERY powerful message to the major powers of the time, essentially saying; "Look, we just destroyed two major cities almost simultaneously. Behave!" Think of the US capability in WWII and its 2 front war. Anyone know any primary source references? Probably Polyibius or Livy. Edited January 23, 2006 by P.Clodius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantagathus Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Pausanius' Guide to Greece - 7.16 gives a relatively detailed account of Mummius' sack of the city. It's treated by Strabo, Polybius and Livy as well I believe but don't remember the chapter reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.Clodius Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Glancing around, seems Polybius writes more on the subject than all the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skarr Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 If you want to read a fictional account of the times, with the climax of the novel taking place during the sack of Corinth by Mummius, do read "Woman of Stone". I reviewed it earlier and you can read this here on the unrv.com site or at another review site [http://greatebooks.blogspot.com] The author, Debra Tash, has done a fair amount of research and she has scenes of Corinth, including the famous temple of Aphrodite, before the sacking of the fair city by an avaricious Roman consul. Corinth was nothing but pure and simple robbery by Mummius and a lot of innocent people were butchered needlessly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neos Dionysos Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Corinth was nothing but pure and simple robbery by Mummius and a lot of innocent people were butchered needlessly. So was the sack of Carthage. Rome kinda forced them into a conflict so they had an excuse to finally destroy them. Needless to us, is something they did not seem to have in thier vocabulary, if it sent a message of "Don't f*** with Rome." then it worked perfectly and was not for naught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLavius Valerius Constantinus Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 (edited) The reason for sacking the city was because the darn city was impossibly rich as heck. Its not wonder the Romans plundered it. It also had great art value too and it also set an example of why Greek intellects should no longer ridicule Rome. Edited January 23, 2006 by FLavius Valerius Constantinus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Porcius Cato Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 The reason for sacking the city was because the darn city was impossibly rich as heck. Its not wonder the Romans plundered it. It also had great art value too and it also set an example of why Greek intellects should no longer ridicule Rome. Judging by the anecdote above, the "example" only exposed Rome to more ridicule. By the way, there is another amusing anecdote re: Sulla's plundering of Greece. Broke, Sulla lit upon the idea of stealing from the shrines of Epidauros, Olympia, and Delphi. Sent to Delphi, a friend of Sulla's (Caphis the Phocian) was to make an inventory of the treasury there and oversee its plunder. Reluctant to do so, Caphis wrote to Sulla that he heard a lyre playing from within the shrine, and he didn't think it was such a great idea to mess around with the gods. Sulla replied that he should go right ahead with his handiwork because the lyre is an instrument of joy rather than anger and that Apollo himself must approve of the deed. (!) The rich part of this anecdote is that Keaveney, in his bio of Sulla, actually has the gall to argue that Sulla was sincerely pious in his advice to Caphis and that the anecdote shows how religious Sulla truly was. "Oh the horrors to which religion leads men!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Germanicus Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 The rich part of this anecdote is that Keaveney, in his bio of Sulla, actually has the gall to argue that Sulla was sincerely pious in his advice to Caphis and that the anecdote shows how religious Sulla truly was. "Oh the horrors to which religion leads men!" Why is it so galling for you ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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