Greece a Roman Province

For centuries Greeks assembled at Corinth every three years for the Isthmian games in honor of Poseidon—races, wrestling, contests in verse and song, with prizes of olive crowns. In 196 B.C., both Greeks and Romans attended. Flamininus the Roman consul announced that the War of the Two Leagues was over and Greek states were free. The joyful cheers were so loud that birds fell stunned from the sky. But this freedom was only in name. When Rome conquered Macedon under Perseus, they prepared to annex Greece. They accused Achaeans of aiding Macedon and seized a thousand leading citizens, keeping them exiled in Rome for years. When finally allowed home, these bitter men stirred up a revolt, just as Rome had planned. Aemilius Paulus swept through Greece, took Corinth, and burned it—carrying away art treasures. Roman sailors were warned to replace anything damaged, showing how little Romans then understood art. Roman garrisons occupied the towns. Greece became the province of Achaia. Thus ended ancient Greece—small but the most famous country the world has known, from which later nations learned art, philosophy, and literature.