Polybius: A captive who wrote a cautionary history

[guy]

 

Statue of Polybius (Vienna, outside the Parliament of Austria).

 

Here is an excellent article on Polybius (200-118 BCE). Polybius was a Greek historian who described the rise of the Roman Republic to become the superpower of the Mediterranean. His work “The Histories” includes eyewitness accounts of the destruction of Carthage and the defeat of Corinth.

 

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We can read Polybius, then, as the ‘loser’ or captive who wrote in an attempt to explain his captors to his people. His admiration for the Romans was sincere, but so was his warning. Behave wisely towards Rome, and you could do well. Go against Rome, though, and look out!

 

https://antigonejournal.com/2022/06/polybius-history-victors/

 

 

Here is a nice review of Polybius and a link to his work:

Polybius - Livius

Edited June 18, 2022 by guy