The second scene introduces the king's chief antagonist, the Roman Titus Flaminius. (The character is based on a Roman politician and general of the relevant period; but the real Titus Quinctius Flaminius died in 174 BC.) The scene is set in Carthage, and shows three merchants from Asia Minor complaining to Berecinthius, the "archflamen" or high priest of the goddess Cybele, about their mistreatment in a maritime dispute with Rome. Flaminius is the Roman ambassador, a powerful figure in a Carthage defeated in the Second Punic War; the merchants and Berecinthius bring their complaints to him, but Flaminius dismisses them with arrogance and contempt. The Roman leaves and Antiochus presents himself, and his former subjects the Merchants recognize him instantly. They and the anti-Roman Berecinthius offer the king protection and support.