Source edition
Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives, Vol. X. Perrin, Bernadotte, editor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1921.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a biography depicting the life of Titus Quinctius Flamininus, a prominent general and statesman of the Roman Republic. Elected consul at an exceptionally young age, Flamininus takes command of the campaign against Macedonia and crosses over to Greece. Demonstrating outstanding military talent, he defeats King Philip V of Macedon at the Battle of Cynoscephalae and subsequently proclaims the freedom of the Greek cities at the Isthmian Games, earning divine adoration from the ecstatic Greek populace. He continues to establish order in Greece and celebrates a magnificent triumph in Rome. However, his later years are marked by political rivalry with Cato the Elder during his censorship, and his relentless pursuit of the exiled, elderly Hannibal in Bithynia, which drives the Carthaginian general to suicide and brings public criticism upon Flamininus for his cruelty. The narrative vividly contrasts the brilliant glories of his early career with the shadows cast by his ambition in his later years.