was reinstated in a considerably updated form during the 1990s.^7 The
Greek local historical societies, whose conscientious accumulation of
inscribed stones and other historical remains formed the nucleus of
civic museums in the twentieth century, have lacked the institutional
capacity to undertake significant topographical projects outside urban
centres.^8 Such initiatives seem even less likely today, at a time of eco-
nomic crisis, than they did a few decades ago.
THE END OF A ROYAL ECONOMY
When Perseus, king of Macedonia, was defeated in open battle towards
the end of June 168bc, the Roman state effectively acquired the power to
do with his realm, and with a plethora of Macedonian dependencies,
what it wished. By this artless device, the Romans and their Italian allies
levered themselves into a permanent footing on the Greek mainland.^9
Until that time, Roman legions or naval ships, and Italian or other allied
troops, had been sent on campaign to support specific, short-term
political objectives—as well as a vestigial protectorate along the coastline
of southern Illyria and northern Epiros, a narrow toe-hold on the
Adriatic coast. The victory at Pydna gave the Roman side an unrivalled
negotiating advantage. The rules of engagement changed suddenly and
dramatically.
There may have been no Italian soldiers stationed in Greece, and no
formal or official presence. Yet inter-state decisions were no longer made
without the approval of the Roman state. Roman intervention in the
administration and internal affairs of the Balkan peninsula over the
course of the second centurybcprovides an unusual opportunity to
look closely at the anatomy of this well-watered, generously populated
and resourced region. The importance of this juncture in the expansion
of Roman power across the eastern Mediterranean attracted responses
and reflections from a variety of ancient authors and modern scholarship
has accorded it equal prominence. The spotlight of Roman political
action soon moved elsewhere, but the concentration of many kinds of
evidence, and the unusual conjunction of very different viewpoints,
makes this an unrivalled chance to see behind the veil of inter-state
preoccupations to the way of life of societies that are at once very
(^7) Domaradzki 2005, 261. (^8) Loukopoulou 1989, 27–38.
(^9) Eckstein 2010, 567–8 and n.3, discusses the Roman understanding of‘empire’c. 150 bc;
cf. also Champion 2007.
6 Introduction