Pressure Put On Achaia and Aetolia
Aulus being thus Proconsul, and wintering in Thessaly
B. C. 169. Aulus Hostilius, in Greece with proconsular authority,
sends Popilius and Octavius to visit the Greek towns and read the decree of the Senate. |
with the army, sent Gaius Popilius and Gnaeus
Octavius to visit certain places in Greece.
They first came to Thebes, where, after speaking
in complimentary terms of the Thebans, they exhorted them to maintain their good disposition
towards Rome. They then went a round of
the cities in the Peloponnese, and endeavoured
to convince the people of the clemency and
humanity of the Senate by producing the
1 decree
which I recently mentioned.
They visit the Peloponnese, and express
some dissatisfaction at the backward policy of certain Achaeans. |
At the same time they
made it clearly understood that the Senate was
aware who in the several states were hanging
back and trying to evade their obligations, and
who were forward and zealous; and they let it be
seen that they were as much displeased with those
who thus hung back as with those who openly
took the opposite side. This brought hesitation and doubt to
the minds of the people at large, as to how to frame their
words and actions so as to exactly suit the necessities of the
times.
Lycortas, Archon, and Polybius are supposed to be particularly aimed at. |
Gaius and Gnaeus were reported to have resolved, as
soon as the Achaean congress was assembled, to accuse Lycortas, Archon, and Polybius, and to point out
that they were opposed to the policy of Rome;
and were at the present moment refraining from
active measures, not because that was their
genuine inclination, but because they were watching the turn of events, and waiting their opportunity. They did
not, however, venture to do this, because they had no wellfounded pretext for attacking these men. Accordingly, when
the council
2 met at Aegium, after delivering a speech of mingled
compliments and exhortation, they took ship for Aetolia.