Ancient freedoms

From "Rubicon, The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic" by Tom Holland:

Prior to the cataclysm of 146 [the destruction of Corinth in 146 BC] there had been some confusion among the Greeks as to the precise definition of "freedom". When the Romans claimed to be guaranteeing it, what did this mean? One could never be sure with barbarians, of course: their grasp of semantics was so woefully inadequate. All the same, it did not take a philosopher to point out that words might be slippery and dangerously dependent on perspective. And so it had proved. Roman and Greek interpretations of the word had indeed diverged. To the Romans, who tended to regard the Greeks as fractious children in need of the firm hand of a pater familias, 'freedom' had meant an opportunity for the city states to follow rules laid down by Roman commissioners. To the Greeks, it had meant the chance to fight each other.