Well, a key fact to remember is that we don't have many Greek literary sources for *Greece* prior the late fifth century: the Greek historical tradition begins well after the establishment of the Roman Republic in the late sixth century. Incidentally, it takes a while for Athenian intellectuals to mention Rome. Herodotus, our first Greek historian, does not write until the 430s; he is aware of the Etruscans but makes no mention of Rome. Thucydides, writing during and just after the Peloponnesian War, knows of the Etruscans (mercenaries in Sicily), but never mentions Rome. Aristotle, in the Late 4th century, was aware of the Gallic sack of Rome (a mid 4th century philosopher, Heracleides Ponticus, attributed the sack to the mythical hyperboreans). This is the first time that Rome seems starts turning up on the mental map of mainland intellectuals; of course by Aristotle's time Rome is a major Central Italian power, and has been a Republic for nearly two centuries.