Dear Kallistos,

I do not mean to bore you to death using the same arguments all over again, but don't you underestimate the degree of independence the Leagues had during the Hellenistic times?

I have rather fresh in my memory certain pages from Polybios in which he describes both the attention paied by Philip V to the discussions of the Achaean League and the more than independent (I might even say ostentatiously independent) attitude of the Aetolians.

At the same time, the many philanthropa of the kings must be testimonies of the importance certain poleis had as balance factors in some areas (the most obvious example is Rhodes), making it important thet they remain independent.