Hi there. You're listening to the Hellenistic Age podcast, Episode 118, Grychapta, the Roman conquest of Greece.

By the beginning of 146, the last vestiges of Macedonian resistance were extinguished by the swift response of the Roman consul, Quintus Cicilius Mattelis, and the war against the Carthaginians

would soon draw to a close. However, there was still one more event the Romans would find themselves

embroiled in that year. In the two decades since the Battle of Pidna, mainland Greece was in a new

position now that the Macedonian kingdom had been dismantled, but the aftermath

of the Roman settlement affected the remaining key powers, namely the Achaean League. As the Republic

tried once again to instill a lasting peace upon the region, the consequences of their

activities led to a power vacuum among the Greeks that saw fierce competition between

old rivals. Though they may have been longtime allies, militant members of the Achaeans would

push policies that drove a wedge between the League and the Republic, bringing down a calamity

that would forever shape the history of Greece. How did things come to be this way?

We may start by looking at the events starting from the year 167.

During the aftermath of the Third Macedonian War, the Achaean League was suspected by Rome

of wavering loyalties, an investigation instigated by the Achaean politician Calicrates. A thousand of its leading figures

were taken to Italy and forcibly detained in the region of Etruria. Polybius was one of these captives,

but he found themselves bound to the household of Amelius Paulus and his son, Scipio-Amelianus,

and through these connections was given considerable freedom of movement.

The same could not be said for the other Achaean hostages.

For the next few decades, a series of embassies from the League made multiple intreaties to try and secure the release of the exiles, but were refused by the Senate.

It took nearly 17 years, but in 150, the Romans

finally acquiesced, as a proposal by Scipio Emilianus, encouraging them to do so, led to considerable

debate among the senators. By now, only a mere 300 of the original thousand exiles were still alive,

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