Rome And The Aetolian League Analysis

The alliance between Rome and the Aetolians.

This passage comes from an inscription which notes down a key part of the alliance between Rome and the Aetolian League. The reasoning behind this was to help Rome in their war with King Philip of Macedonia, the First Macedonian War happened from around 214-205BC. With the alliance between Rome and the Aetolian League taking place around 211BC. Polybius gives great detail of a reaction from the eyes of the rest of the majority of the Greek city states and their reaction towards the alliance, and what they think the true motive is behind the passage. Livy also goes into greater detail concerning the passage as a whole, giving us a greater understanding of the context surrounding the passage, as
Referencing a previous treaty the Aetolians had with Antigonus and how that subsequently lead to the “destruction of the Achaean and Acarnanian races. Given previous events the rest of the Greek states had reason to be suspicious of the true intensions of both the Romans and also the Aetolians. Had this alliances truly only been created to combat King Philip? Or had it perhaps been created as the foundation of a strong alliance which would sweep across the Greek world conquering as it pleases. You could also argue that this highlights the fear the Greek cities had of both what they considered barbarians but also of Rome itself. As their fear of the Aetolians, or as Polybius refers to them the barbarians, only stirs when they have support from either a powerful figure or state, mainly Rome and Antigonus in this case. Which not only suggests that the rest of Greece looked down on the Aetolians and didn’t see them as much of a threat without the backing from Rome in this case. It also could be argued that it brings to the foreground that they acknowledge Rome as a significant power, as well as a significant threat to the freedom and stability of