Histories (Polybius)
2nd-century BC Greek account of Rome's rise to power.
Polybius' *Histories* is a historical account of the rise of Rome, written in the 2nd century BC. Originally composed in 40 volumes, only the first five survive in their entirety; the bulk of the work was passed down through collections of excerpts kept in libraries in the Byzantine Empire.
- born
- around 200 BC
- field
- History
- nationality
- Greek (from Megalopolis, Arcadia)
- known_for
- Writing the *Histories*, an account of Rome's rise to dominance, and his analysis of the Roman mixed constitution and the concept of anacyclosis
Lore & Background
Books I through V cover the affairs of important states (Ptolemaic Egypt, Hellenistic Greece, Macedon) and deal extensively with the First and Second Punic Wars. In Book VI he describes the Roman Constitution and outlines the powers of the consuls, Senate and People, concluding that Rome's success was based on its mixed constitution, combining elements of democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy. Polybius discusses the role of tyche (fate or fortune) in history, which takes on a double meaning: it can mean fortune or happenstance, but was also personified as a goddess according to Hellenistic convention. He also outlines a cycle of governments (anacyclosis or kyklos) beginning with monarchy and ending with ochlocracy. The oldest extant manuscript is Vaticanus Gr.
Reader's Guide
Polybius' *Histories* is a foundational work for understanding the rise of Rome as a dominant Mediterranean power. Its significance lies in its systematic analysis of Roman political institutions, particularly the mixed constitution, which influenced later political thought. The work also provides detailed accounts of the Punic Wars and Hellenistic politics. Although only the first five of its original 40 volumes survive in full, the rest are known through Byzantine excerpts and papyrus fragments from Roman Egypt, such as those from Oxyrhynchus. Polybius' aristocratic ethos and his interpretations of events give the work literary merit. W. The *Histories* remains a key source for historians of the ancient world, offering both narrative and theoretical insights into statecraft and historical causation.
Did You Know?
- Polybius' work originally comprised 40 volumes, but only the first five survive in their entirety.
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