Battle of Cynoscephalae - Aftermath

Aftermath

After a brief pursuit, Flamininus allowed Philip to escape. According to Polybius and Livy, 5,000 Macedonians had been killed. Livy mentions that other sources claim 32,000 Macedonians were killed and even one writer who due to "boundless exaggeration" claims 40,000 but concludes that Polybius is the trustworthy source on this matter. Flamininus also took 1,000 prisoners. The Romans lost about 2,000 men.

This Macedonian defeat marks the passing of imperial power from the successors of Alexander the Great to Rome. With the later Battle of Pydna, this defeat demonstrates the superiority of the Roman legion over the Macedonian phalanx. The phalanx, though very powerful head on, was not as flexible as the Roman manipular formation. Although the peace that followed allowed Philip to keep his kingdom intact as a buffer state between other Greek states and Illyria, Flamininus proclaimed that the Greek states previously under Macedonian domination were now free. Philip also had to pay 1,000 talents of silver to Rome, disband his navy and most of his army, and send his son to Rome as a hostage.