Greece -- Biography -- Early works to 1800; Rome -- Biography -- Early works to 1800
embassy to Rome to arrange reasonable terms of peace.
XVI. He was given most trouble of all by the petitions of the
Chalkidians to Manius for peace. These people were especially
obnoxious to the Romans because Antiochus, at the commencement of the
war, had married the daughter of a citizen of Chalkis. The match was
both unseasonable in point of time, and unequal in respect of age, as
he was an elderly man when he fell in love with the girl, who was the
daughter of one Kleoptolemus, and is said to have been of exceeding
beauty. This marriage caused the Chalkidians to become eager partizans
of King Antiochus, and even to offer him their city for his
headquarters during the war. After his defeat he retreated at once to
Chalkis, and then, taking his bride, his treasure, and his friends
with him, set sail for Asia. Manius at once marched upon Chalkis in a
rage, but Flaminius accompanied him, and by his entreaties at length
calmed and pacified him. The people of Chalkis, after this narrow
escape, dedicated the largest and most magnificent of all their public
buildings to Titus, the inscriptions on which may be read even at the
present day. "The people dedicate this gymnasium to Herakles and to
Titus." And on the other side of the road we read "The people dedicate
the Delphinium to Apollo and to Titus." Moreover even in our own times
a priest of Titus is chosen by show of hands, who offers sacrifice to
him. After the libations they sing a specially-written poem, too long
for quotation from which we extract the following verses:--
"Sing, maidens, sing,
Of Rome's good faith that keeps its oath,
And gentle Titus full of truth,
Our city's saviour, Titus and Apollo sing."
XVII. He also received honours from the Greeks at large, and that
which gives reality to honours, great goodwill from all for his kindly
disposition. For though indeed he had some slight differences with
Philopœmen, and again with Diophanes when chief of the Achæan league,
he was not rancorous, and never acted under the impulse of anger, but
soon laid aside his displeasure. He was harsh to no one, but was
thought by most men to be clever and witty, and the pleasantest of
companions. When the Achæans were endeavouring to gain for themselves
the island of Zakynthus, he discouraged their enterprise by saying
that if they proceeded so far from Peloponnesus they would be in the
same danger as the tortoise when he stretches his head out beyond his
shell.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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