The Events of 146 B.c.

Extract

When Carthage had been destroyed and Greece made captive, what power was left to challenge the might of Rome? This question comes to mind just now, for this year, if arithmetic is any guide, is a centenary of the two Roman acts of destruction in 146 B.c. at Carthage and at Corinth. The date is of some significance: these actions, in effect, inaugurated a pax Romana that was to last, despite all upheavals, for half a millennium. What the world gained when Rome conquered Greece, and was conquered in turn by her captive, the world knows. What was lost by the overthrow of Carthage is more a matter of speculation; but the calcined infant skeletons of Salammbô and the dearth of art and literature worthy of a great nation do not encourage much regret for what might have been.