1 Earliest Rome

13- P E R S P E C T I V E S
IGRiv.1557; Sylloge 5
13.1a Roman piety advertised
This letter (of 193 B.C.), from the Roman authorities to the Greek city of Teos
(in Asia Minor, on the Aegean coast of modern Turkey), was inscribed on a
stone in the temple of Dionysos in Teos. It was one of a series of thirty extant
documents in which various communities agreed to respect the rights and
privileges of the Teans. The text shows how the Romans could parade their
own religiousness in dealings with foreign states - claiming that it was partly at
least for religious reasons that they were agreeing to theTean requests. But the
last clause makes the continuation of Roman favour, towards gods and men
alike, conditional on something more mundane - the good conduct of the
men of Teos.
See further: Sherk (1969) 214-16; Errington (1980).
601
Marcus Valerius, son of Marcus, praetor, 2
From the Romans'
and the tribunes and the senate
send greetings to the boule and the demos of Teos. Your decree was
delivered to us by Menippos, the envoy of King Antiochus, whom you had also selected
as your envoy and who spoke to us enthusiastically in accordance with your decree. 3
We
received him well because of his previous repute and current good standing and looked
on his requests with favour. The fact that we have, absolutely and consistently, placed
reverence towards the gods as of the first importance is proved by the favour we have
received from them on this account. In addition, we are quite certain for many other
reasons that our high respect for the divine has been evident to everybody. Because of
these considerations, and because of our goodwill towards you and towards the envoy
who presented your request, we declare your city and its territory holy - as it is already -
inviolable and free from taxation by the Roman people; we will seek to improve both
honours towards the god and privileges for you, so long as you are careful to
maintain your goodwill towards us in the future. Farewell.
350
1. Heading added by the Teans, not part of the original text.
2. M. Valerius Messalla was praetor'in 193 B.C.
3. King Antiochus III, king of the Seleucid empire, was at this date still on friendly terms
with the Romans and the Teans evidently felt it safe to use his representative for their
own diplomacy. Shortly afterwards, relations broke down leading to war between Rome
and Antiochus in 191 B.C.
13.1b The view of a Greek historian
Some Greek observers regarded Roman piety as exceptional. But here Polybius
offers a different Greek interpretation of Roman religion. He treats it principally
as an elite device for manipulating the superstitious masses; although he
then strikingly contradicts his own theories by showing that pious behaviour