The Rise of the Roman Empire


Book Description

The Greek statesman Polybius (c.200–118 BC) wrote his account of the relentless growth of the Roman Empire in order to help his fellow countrymen understand how their world came to be dominated by Rome. Opening with the Punic War in 264 BC, he vividly records the critical stages of Roman expansion: its campaigns throughout the Mediterranean, the temporary setbacks inflicted by Hannibal and the final destruction of Carthage. An active participant of the politics of his time as well as a friend of many prominent Roman citizens, Polybius drew on many eyewitness accounts in writing this cornerstone work of history.




The Histories


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Moral Vision in the Histories of Polybius


Book Description

Arthur Eckstein's fresh and stimulating interpretation challenges the way Polybius' Histories have long been viewed. He argues that Polybius evaluates people and events as much from a moral viewpoint as from a pragmatic, utilitarian, or even "Machiavellian" one. Polybius particularly asks for "improvement" in his audience, hoping that those who study his writings will emerge with a firm determination to live their lives nobly. Teaching by the use of moral exemplars, Polybius also tries to prove that success is not the sole standard by which human action should be judged.




Cultural Politics in Polybius’s Histories


Book Description

"Smart and sophisticated. A work that is simultaneously a sensitive study of a major Greek historian and a probing analysis of the Greco-Roman society in which his history was produced."—John Marincola, author of Authority and Tradition in Ancient Historiography




Ιστοριων Πρωτη


Book Description

The main part of Polybius's history covers the years 264-146 BCE. It describes the rise of Rome to the destruction of Carthage and the domination of Greece by Rome.--From publisher description.







Polybius and His World


Book Description

Polybius and his World honours F. W. Walbank's achievement by bringing together a number of leading scholars in the fields of Hellenistic historiography and history.




Polybius


Book Description

The Greek historian Polybius (2nd century B.C.E.) produced an authoritative history of Rome's rise to dominance in the Mediterranean that was explicitly designed to convey valuable lessons to future generations. But throughout this history, Polybius repeatedly emphasizes the incomparable value of first-hand, practical experience. In Polybius: Experience and the Lessons of History, Daniel Walker Moore shows how Polybius integrates these two apparently competing concepts in a way that affects not just his educational philosophy but the construction of his historical narrative. The manner in which figures such as Hannibal, Scipio Africanus, or even the Romans as a whole learn and develop over the course of Polybius' narrative becomes a critical factor in Rome's ultimate success.




Polybius and Roman Imperialism


Book Description

Examines the complex reaction of the Greek historian Polybius to the expansion of Roman power, embracing admiration and support tempered by detachment of different kinds, personal, cultural, patriotic and intellectual.