Agepolis () of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

was sent by his countrymen as

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

Quintus Marcius Philippus in 169 BC, in the war with

Perseus of Macedon Perseus (; – 166 BC) was king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon from 179 until 168BC. He is widely regarded as the last List of kings of Macedonia, king of Macedonia and the last ruler from th ...

, and had an interview with him near Herakleion in

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

, in which Agepolis was notably charmed by the consul. The purpose of Agesipolis was to placate the Romans, refuting the accusations and slanders that had been made in the Roman Senate against the Rhodians, and declaring the Rhodians' loyalty to Rome. He shortly thereafter visited Gaius Marcus Figulus and was received even more favorably. The Rhodians considered the warm receptions received by their envoy to be indicative of Rome's anxiety over the war, a conviction that was confirmed in their eyes when Agepolis related how Philippus had taken him aside to ask privately why Rhodes did not intercede to help end the conflict. In 168, Agepolis went as ambassador to Rome to communicate to the Senate how Rome's war against

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of ...

was a great burden for Greece, and ultimately unprofitable for Rome itself. The war, however, had already concluded with Rome's victory, and the Senate accused Agepolis of serving neither Greece nor Rome's interests, but those of the now-defeated Perseus.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

, xlv. 3

References

Roman-era Rhodians 2nd-century BC Rhodians Ancient Greek ambassadors Ambassadors to ancient Rome Third Macedonian War 2nd-century BC diplomats {{AncientGreece-bio-stub