Livy relates that the Romans were wary that, with Philip out of the way and Macedonian power broken, the Aetolians would be held the masters of Greece (Livy 33.11.9). Nabis maintained an iron grip on the Spartan citizenry through terror and the employment of great numbers of mercenaries. Initially he sided with Rome during the First Macedonian War (214-205 BC), but he made an ephemeral alliance with Macedon, just long enough to seize Argos, before rejoining the Roman cause. The Achaeans were initially allies of Macedon, but their falling out culminated in the defeat of Philip’s general Androsthenes in battle at Corinth.
Faced with the rapacious Aetolians, a fickle Nabis, and possible invasion by the Seleucids, Rome was swayed by the Achaeans to attack Sparta in 195 BC. The Roman proconsul Flamininus led a coalition, including Rome, Macedon, and the Achaean League. Ships from Pergamum and Rhodes arrived in time to capture the Spartan port of Gythium. Upon its fall, the coalition lay siege to Sparta herself until Nabis accepted surrender terms that severed the coastal cities in Laconia from his rule and ended his control of cities in Crete, robbing him of some of his best recruiting grounds. He was also forced to disband his navy and end his pirate trade.
Nabis was contained, but, as Rome turned its attention elsewhere, the Aetolians agitated for Nabis to take back what they had lost. Just three years after his defeat, he built a new fleet. Key to his naval power was the port of Gythium, which
