ABSTRACT
Hardly had peace been signed with Carthage when the Roman people were asked by the Senate to declare war against Philip, King of Macedon. Abroad Egypt had gained wide control in Asia Minor and the Aegean; she had made her influence felt in Greece and, alone of the Hellenistic states, had entered into friendly relations with Rome, as early as 273, with a view to extending her commerce. The balance of the three eastern powers was upset by the death of Ptolemy Philopator and by the accession of a child to the throne of Egypt. The idea of defensive imperialism, of establishing a protectorate over Greece for the mutual benefit of Rome and Greece was probably the determining cause of the Second Macedonian War. In 194, Titus Quinctius Flamininus persuaded the Senate, in spite of the danger from Antiochus, to redeem its pledge and to recall the army from Greece.
