The Roman Period (until 180 AD)

Because of its geographical placement and great historical achievements, Greece faced constant warfare from among the several autonomous kingdoms and was made exceedingly vulnerable. Simultaneously, Greece faced threats from the East by Persians, Parthians, and Bactrians and from the West by the Romans, who started expanding their power in the South of Italy and began competing with Greek colonies, especially Tarentum (Taranto) and Syracuse.

Around 280 B.C., the Greek king of Epirus, Pyrrhus, confronted his army against the Romans in southern Italy. Feeling the threat of the Roman Empire, Greeks allied with their former enemies against Rome. Pyrrhus defeated the Romans on various occasions but at such a cost that left his armies depleted. Thus the term “Pyrrhic victory” has forever been used to describe a win in warfare, but at an exceedingly high price.

The most important adversary of Rome was Carthage which was located in present day Tunisia. Wars started between these two Empires, called the Punic Wars, which lasted 45 tears. The Greeks were involved in this campaign against Rome. Hannibal, the Carthaginian leader, allied with Philip V of Macedonia, the most important power of the Balkans. The Romans defeated the Macedonians in the first and second Macedonian Wars that ended in 197 B.C. The victorious commander Flamininus established a protectorate over the “independent” city-states of Greece. The Achaean confederacy started a rebellion in 146 B.C. that resulted in the destruction of Corinth. Severe and oppressive restrictions were set. Rome had no consistent policy about the Greek states. The Romans sought principally security and revenue.

Greece from 31 B.C. to 180 AD under the Roman Empire is described as the era of the Pax Romana, which was an era of peace between Rome and the central areas of the Empire like Greece, the Greek Islands and points to the east. This period was generally characterized as a period of peace and security which facilitated economic and cultural progress, especially in the major cities, such as Athens, Corinth, Alexandria, Miletus, Thessaloniki, and Smyrna. Because of the decentralized Roman provincial administration, a primarily urban-centered elite reemerged in the Greek world, accompanied by the right to participate in the Roman Senate.

The Romans welcomed the Greek culture and Latin and Greek became the dominant languages of the Roman Empire, with Greek surfacing as the official language of the Roman provinces. A Greco-Roman Empire was in effect born.