This poem was composed by Alcaeus in mockery of Philip, and its author exaggerated the number of the slain; however, being recited in many places and by many persons, it gave more annoyance to Titus than to Philip. For Philip simply made fun of Alcaeus with an answering elegiac distich:—
For Hannibal the African, a most inveterate enemy of Rome and an exile from his native country, had already at that time 2 come to the court of King Antiochus, and was trying to incite him to further achievements while fortune gave his power successful course. Antiochus himself also, in consequence of the magnitude of his achievements, by which he had won the title of Great, was already fixing his eyes on universal dominion, and had a particular hostility to the Romans.
Titus Flamininus. Plutarch. Bernadotte Perrin (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1921.
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