The Romans first invaded Greek territory in 229 BC. About sixty years later, it was all over and Greece became one of the first provinces of the emerging Roman Empire. It was an incredible journey - a harsh and destructive conquest of a country whose art, philosophy, and overall culture the Romans owed so much to.

Rome found the eastern Mediterranean divided into an imbalance of power among three major kingdoms: the three Hellenistic kingdoms that survived and flourished after the wars of Alexander the Great and his successors: Macedonia, Egypt, and Syria. Internal conflicts took Egypt out of the picture, but the other two shrank. Having evolved, after the conquest of Carthage, into the sole superpower of the western Mediterranean, Rome expanded eastward until the entire Mediterranean was under its control.

Besides the exciting military action, the story of the Roman conquest of Greece plays a significant role for Rome itself and the empire it created. As Robin Waterfield demonstrates, the Romans developed a particularly sophisticated method of remote domination over the Greeks, using their authority and diplomacy more than their troops. This study provocatively raises questions about Rome and its culture. For example, to what extent was Roman dominance a planned and deliberate policy? What was it in Roman culture that drove them to ever more conquests? And how were Roman intellectuals and artists influenced by the older Greek culture, which they themselves recognized as superior?