What was it like to watch the rise of the Roman Empire?

It’s 264bc and you’re an average Greek citizen of a random city state. You own a shop, a small farm, or perhaps you’re a blacksmith or a potter. You live a good but average life, and once in a while you might join the army to fight your city state’s neighbours. At this point you may have heard about some wars with the Carthaginians and their colonies in Sicily, as well as their mercenary captains who sometimes make their way to Italy. <br><br>In the next 73 years you will see the Romans utterly demolish Carthage in two wars that will shake the Mediterranean and make Rome the preeminent power in the Western world. You will see Rome conquer the entire Italian peninsula, the Mediterranean will once again be safe to sail through, trade will flourish, and Rome will solidify its position as a world power. <br><br>This is the period of time where Rome stops being an average Italian city and turns into the behemoth of a state that will last for centuries. What do you think was going through people’s minds as they see the almost meteoric rise of Rome? What do you think they thought about Rome at this time? <br><br>As an aside, this is the period of time right before the Second Punic War, so I feel like the views on Rome at this point would be very interesting, since they would have had limited contact with the Romans up to this point.