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54-507: According to Stephanus of Byzantium and Hesychius of Alexandria , the Sciritae were of Arcadian origin. Their way of life was essentially rural: they mostly lived in villages, of which the biggest were Oion and Caryai. Their territory was inhospitable, but was of strategic importance for Sparta since it controlled the road to Tegea , which explains why it rapidly fell in Spartan hands. Their status

108-674: A numerical system , called "the Polybius square ," mentioned in Hist. X.45.6 ff. . This idea also lends itself to cryptographic manipulation and steganography . Modern implementations of the Polybius square, at least in Western European languages such as English , Spanish , French , German and Italian , generally use the Roman alphabet in which those languages are written. However, Polybius himself

162-602: A certain hagiographic tone when writing of his friends, such as Scipio, and subject to a vindictive tone when detailing the exploits of his enemies, such as Callicrates, the Achaean statesman responsible for his Roman exile. As a hostage in Rome, then as client to the Scipios, and after 146 BC, a collaborator with Roman rule, Polybius was probably in no position to freely express any negative opinions of Rome. Peter Green advises that Polybius

216-407: A complement to the civic army . According to Thucydides ( v. 67 ), they fought on the extreme-left wing in the battle-line, the most threatening position for the hoplite phalanx : "In this battle the left wing was composed of the Sciritae, who in a Lacedaemonian army have always that post to themselves alone". At night, they were placed as sentinels ahead of the army ( Xenophon , Constitution of

270-516: A historian. According to Edward Tufte , he was also a major source for Charles Joseph Minard 's figurative map of Hannibal 's overland journey into Italy during the Second Punic War . In his Meditations On Hunting , Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset calls Polybius "one of the few great minds that the turbid human species has managed to produce", and says the damage to the Histories

324-464: Is a vast work, with sometimes hundreds of list entries under each letter of the greek alphabet: Α – Ω . Even as an epitome, the Ethnica is of enormous value for geographical, mythological , and religious information about ancient Greece . Nearly every article in the epitome contains a reference to some ancient writer, as an authority for the name of the place. From the surviving fragments, we see that

378-485: Is considered by some to be the successor of Thucydides in terms of objectivity and critical reasoning , and the forefather of scholarly, painstaking historical research in the modern scientific sense. According to this view, his work sets forth the course of history's occurrences with clearness, penetration, sound judgment, and, among the circumstances affecting the outcomes, he lays special emphasis on geographical conditions. Modern historians are especially impressed with

432-549: Is exemplified in that of Philip II , who Polybius believed exhibited both excellent military prowess and skill, as well as proficient ability in diplomacy and moral leadership. His beliefs about Philip's character led Polybius to reject the historian Theopompus ' description of Philip's private, drunken debauchery. For Polybius, it was inconceivable that such an able and effective statesman could have had an immoral and unrestrained private life as described by Theopompus. The consequences of bad leadership are also highlighted throughout

486-570: Is known of Polybius's later life; he most likely accompanied Scipio to Spain, acting as his military advisor during the Numantine War . He later wrote about this war in a lost monograph . Polybius probably returned to Greece later in his life, as evidenced by the many existent inscriptions and statues of him there. The last event mentioned in his Histories seems to be the construction of the Via Domitia in southern France in 118 BC, which suggests

540-568: Is lost as well. Another missing work was a historical monograph on the events of the Numantine War . The largest Polybian work was, of course, his Histories , of which only the first five books survive entirely intact, along with a large portion of the sixth book and fragments of the rest. Along with Cato the Elder (234–149 BC), he can be considered one of the founding fathers of Roman historiography . Livy made reference to and uses Polybius's Histories as source material in his own narrative. Polybius

594-567: Is noted for his work The Histories , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 BC, recording in detail events in Italy, Iberia, Greece, Macedonia, Syria, Egypt and Africa, and documented the Punic Wars and Macedonian Wars among many others. Polybius's Histories is important not only for being

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648-580: The Histories . Polybius saw, for instance, the character and leadership of the later Philip V of Macedon , one of Rome's leading adversaries in the Greek East, as the opposite of his earlier exemplary namesake. Philip V became increasingly tyrannical, irrational and impious following brilliant military and political success in his youth; this resulted, Polybius believed, in his abandonment by his Greek allies and his eventual defeat by Rome in 197 BC. Other important themes running throughout The Histories include

702-552: The Third Macedonian War , 1,000 Achaeans (including Polybius) with suspect allegiances were interned in Rome and its surrounding area. Polybius's father, Lycortas, was a prominent advocate of neutrality during the Roman war against Perseus of Macedon in 171-168 BC. Lycortas attracted the suspicion of the Romans, and Polybius subsequently was one of the 1,000 Achaean nobles who were transported to Rome as hostages in 167 BC, and

756-506: The 16th century. Consequently, in the late 16th century, Polybius's works found a greater reading audience among the learned public. Study of the correspondence of such men as Isaac Casaubon , Jacques Auguste de Thou , William Camden and Paolo Sarpi reveals a growing interest in Polybius's works and thought during the period. Despite the existence of both printed editions in the vernacular and increased scholarly interest, however, Polybius remained an "historian's historian", not much read by

810-591: The Aetolians, the Carthaginians and the Cretans. Other historians perceive considerable negative bias in Polybius's account of Crete ; on the other hand, Hansen notes that the same work, along with passages from Strabo and Scylax , proved a reliable guide in the eventual rediscovery of the lost city of Kydonia . Polybius was responsible for a useful tool in telegraphy that allowed letters to be easily signaled using

864-563: The Greeks and the Macedonians). While Polybius was not the first to advance this view, his account provides the most cogent illustration of the ideal for later political theorists. A key theme of The Histories is good leadership, and Polybius dedicates considerable time to outlining how the good statesman should be rational, knowledgeable, virtuous and composed. The character of the Polybian statesman

918-646: The Hellenistic Mediterranean between 264 and 146 BC, and in its later books includes eyewitness accounts of the sack of Carthage and Corinth in 146 BC, and the Roman annexation of mainland Greece after the Achaean War . While Polybius's Histories covers the period from 264 BC to 146 BC, it mainly focuses on the years 221 BC to 146 BC, detailing Rome's rise to supremacy in the Mediterranean by overcoming their geopolitical rivals: Carthage, Macedonia, and

972-693: The Seleucid empire. Books I-II are The Histories ' introduction, describing events in Italy and Greece before 221/0 BC, including the First Punic War , Rome's wars with the Gauls, the rise of the Achaean League (Polybius's own constitution), and the re-establishment of Macedonian power in Greece under Antigonus III Doson and Philip V of Macedon . Books III-XXXIX describe in detail political and military affairs in

1026-766: The Spartans , xii. 3) and acted as scouts to open the way for the king, whom they only could precede. According to Suda , they were six hundred men and during the battle they were the first to engage and the last to withdraw. In the Cyropaedia (IV, 2), Xenophon compares them to the Hyrcanian cavalry, used by the Assyrians as rear-guard. Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium ( Latin : Stephanus Byzantinus ; Ancient Greek : Στέφανος Βυζάντιος , Stéphanos Byzántios ; fl.  6th century   AD)

1080-520: The destruction of Carthage, Polybius likely journeyed along the Atlantic coast of Africa, as well as Spain. After the destruction of Corinth in the same year, Polybius returned to Greece, making use of his Roman connections to lighten the conditions there. Polybius was charged with the difficult task of organizing the new form of government in the Greek cities, and in this office he gained great recognition. In

1134-518: The framers of the United States Constitution . The leading expert on Polybius for nearly a century was F. W. Walbank (1909–2008), who published studies related to him for 50 years, including a long commentary of his Histories and a biography. Polybius was a close friend and mentor to Scipio Africanus the Younger , and had a lasting influence on his decision-making and life. Polybius

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1188-458: The historical narrative: Polybius held that historians should, if possible, only chronicle events whose participants the historian was able to interview, and was among the first to champion the notion of factual integrity in historical writing. In the twelfth volume of his Histories , Polybius defines the historian's job as the analysis of documentation, the review of relevant geographical information, and political experience. In Polybius's time,

1242-709: The later books of The Histories was preserved in Byzantine anthologies. His works reappeared in the West first in Renaissance Florence . Polybius gained a following in Italy, and although poor Latin translations hampered proper scholarship on his works, they contributed to the city's historical and political discourse. Niccolò Machiavelli in his Discourses on Livy evinces familiarity with Polybius. Vernacular translations in French, German, Italian and English first appeared during

1296-704: The latter includes a passage from the comic poet Alexis on the Seven Largest Islands . Another respectable fragment, from the article Δύμη to the end of Δ , exists in a manuscript of the Fonds Coislin , the library formed by Pierre Séguier . The first modern printed edition of the work was published by the Aldine Press in Venice in 1502. The complete standard edition is still that of August Meineke (1849, reprinted at Graz, 1958), and by convention, references to

1350-512: The leading Mediterranean states, including affairs in ancient Rome and ancient Carthage , ancient Greece and ancient Macedonia , and the Seleucid empire and Egypt, explaining their increasing " συμπλοκή" (symplokē) or interconnectedness and how they each contributed to Rome's rise to dominance. Only books I-V survive in full; the rest are in varying states of fragmentation. Three discursive books on politics, historiography and geography break up

1404-428: The machines Archimedes created for the defense of Syracuse against the Romans, where Polybius praises the 'old man' and his engineering in the highest terms, and an analysis of the usefulness of astronomy to generals (both in the Histories ). Polybius was considered a poor stylist by Dionysius of Halicarnassus , writing of Polybius's history that "no one has the endurance to reach [its] end". Nevertheless, clearly he

1458-662: The manner in which Polybius used his sources, particularly documentary evidence as well as his citation and quotation of sources. Furthermore, there is some admiration of Polybius's meditation on the nature of historiography in Book 12. His work belongs, therefore, amongst the greatest productions of ancient historical writing. The writer of the Oxford Companion to Classical Literature (1937) praises him for his "earnest devotion to truth" and his systematic pursuit of causation. It has long been acknowledged that Polybius's writings are prone to

1512-532: The most important teachers of constitutional theory. Since the Age of Enlightenment , Polybius has in general held appeal to those interested in Hellenistic Greece and early Republican Rome, while his political and military writings have lost influence in academia. More recently, thorough work on the Greek text of Polybius, and his historical technique, has increased the academic understanding and appreciation of him as

1566-433: The narrative of the historical events, Polybius also included three books of digressions. Book 34 was entirely devoted to questions of geography and included some trenchant criticisms of Eratosthenes , whom he accused of passing on popular preconceptions or laodogmatika . Book 12 was a disquisition on the writing of history, citing extensive passages of lost historians, such as Callisthenes and Theopompus . Most influential

1620-453: The only Hellenistic historical work to survive in any substantial form, but also for its analysis of constitutional change and the mixed constitution. Polybius's discussion of the separation of powers in government, of checks and balances to limit power, and his introduction of "the people", all influenced Montesquieu 's The Spirit of the Laws , John Locke 's Two Treatises of Government , and

1674-654: The original contained considerable quotations from ancient authors, besides many interesting particulars, topographical, historical, mythological, and others. Stephanus cites Artemidorus , Polybius , Aelius Herodianus , Herodotus , Thucydides , Xenophon , Strabo and other writers. He is the only writer to cite a lost work attributed to Sophaenetus . The chief fragments remaining of the original work are preserved by Constantine Porphyrogennetos in De Administrando Imperio , ch. 23 (the article Ίβηρίαι δύο ) and De thematibus , ii. 10 (an account of Sicily );

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1728-677: The period between 264 BC to 220 BC, including, for instance, treaty documents between Rome and Carthage in the First Punic War , the history of the Greek historian Phylarchus , and the Memoirs of the Achaean politician, Aratus of Sicyon . When addressing events after 220 BC, he continued to examine treaty documents, the writings of Greek and Roman historians and statesmen, eye-witness accounts and Macedonian court informants to acquire credible sources of information, although rarely did he name his sources (see, exceptionally, Theopompus ). Polybius wrote several works, most of which are lost. His earliest work

1782-464: The political and military affairs of Megalopolis, gaining experience as a statesman . In his early years, he accompanied his father while travelling as ambassador . He developed an interest in horse riding and hunting, diversions that later commended him to his Roman captors. In 182 BC, he was given the honour of carrying the funeral urn of Philopoemen , one of the most eminent Achaean politicians of his generation. In either 170 BC or 169 BC, Polybius

1836-419: The profession of a historian required political experience (which aided in differentiating between fact and fiction) and familiarity with the geography surrounding one's subject matter to supply an accurate version of events. Polybius himself exemplified these principles as he was well travelled and possessed political and military experience. He consulted and used written sources providing essential material for

1890-648: The public at large. Printings of his work in the vernacular remained few in number—seven in French, five in English ( John Dryden provided an enthusiastic preface to Sir Henry Sheers' edition of 1693) and five in Italian. Polybius's political analysis has influenced republican thinkers from Cicero to Charles de Montesquieu to the Founding Fathers of the United States . John Adams , for example, considered him one of

1944-440: The role of Fortune in the affairs of nations, how a leader might weather bravely these changes of fortune with dignity, the educational value of history and how it should demonstrate cause and effect (or apodeiktike ) to provide lessons for statesmen, and that historians should be "men of action" to gain appropriate experience so as to understand how political and military affairs are likely to pan out ( pragmatikoi ). Polybius

1998-497: The square, a letter could be deduced. In The Histories , Polybius specifies how this cypher could be used in fire signals, where long-range messages could be sent by means of torches raised and lowered to signify the column and row of each letter. This was a great leap forward from previous fire signaling, which could send prearranged codes only (such as, 'if we light the fire, it means that the enemy has arrived'). Other writings of scientific interest include detailed discussions of

2052-404: The square, the final "5,5" code point encodes the spaces in between words. Alternatively, it can denote the end of a sentence or paragraph when writing in continuous script. Five numbers are then aligned on the outside top of the square, and five numbers on the left side of the square vertically. Usually these numbers were arranged 1 through 5. By cross-referencing the two numbers along the grid of

2106-470: The succeeding years, Polybius resided in Rome , completing his historical work while occasionally undertaking long journeys through the Mediterranean countries in the furtherance of his history, in particular with the aim of obtaining firsthand knowledge of historical sites. He apparently interviewed veterans to clarify details of the events he was recording and was similarly given access to archival material. Little

2160-478: The text use Meineke's page numbers. A new completely revised edition in German, edited by B. Wyss, C. Zubler, M. Billerbeck, J.F. Gaertner, was published between 2006 and 2017, with a total of 5 volumes. Polybius Polybius ( / p ə ˈ l ɪ b i ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Πολύβιος , Polýbios ; c.  200  – c.  118 BC ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period . He

2214-622: The work was later reduced to an epitome by a certain Hermolaus, who dedicated his epitome to Justinian; whether the first or second emperor of that name is meant is disputed, but it seems probable that Stephanus flourished in Byzantium in the earlier part of the sixth century AD, under Justinian I . Stephanos' work, originally written in Greek , takes the form of an alphabetical dictionary or encyclopedia of geographical toponymns , ethnonymns etc. It

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2268-487: The writings of Pseudo-Lucian may have some grounding in fact when they state, "[Polybius] fell from his horse while riding up from the country, fell ill as a result and died at the age of eighty-two". The Histories is a universal history which describes and explains the rise of the Roman Republic as a global power in the ancient Mediterranean world . The work documents in detail political and military affairs across

2322-418: Was Book 6, which describes Roman political, military, and moral institutions, which he considered key to Rome's success; it presented Rome as having a mixed constitution in which monarchical , aristocratic and popular elements existed in stable equilibrium. This enabled Rome to escape, for the time being, the cycle of eternal revolutions ( anacyclosis ) faced by those with singular constitutions (i.e. many of

2376-593: Was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled Ethnica ( Ἐθνικά ). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epitome is extant, compiled by one Hermolaus , not otherwise identified. Nothing is known about the life of Stephanus, except that he was a Greek grammarian who was active in Constantinople , and lived after the time of Arcadius and Honorius , and before that of Justinian II . Later writers provide no information about him, but they do note that

2430-401: Was a biography of the Greek statesman Philopoemen ; this work was later used as a source by Plutarch when composing his Parallel Lives ; however, the original Polybian text is lost. In addition, Polybius wrote an extensive treatise entitled Tactics , which may have detailed Roman and Greek military tactics . Small parts of this work may survive in his major Histories , but the work itself

2484-430: Was among the first historians to attempt to present history as a sequence of causes and effects, based upon a careful examination and criticism of tradition. He narrated his history based upon first-hand knowledge. The Histories capture the varied elements of the story of human behavior: nationalism , xenophobia , duplicitous politics, war, brutality, loyalty, valour, intelligence, reason and resourcefulness. Aside from

2538-618: Was among the members of the Scipionic Circle . When Scipio defeated the Carthaginians in the Third Punic War , Polybius remained his counsellor. The Achaean hostages were released in 150 BC, and Polybius was granted leave to return home, but the next year he went on campaign with Scipio Aemilianus to Africa, and was present at the Sack of Carthage in 146, which he later described. Following

2592-559: Was born around 198 BC in Megalopolis , Arcadia , when it was an active member of the Achaean League . The town was revived, along with other Achaean states, a century before he was born. Polybius's father, Lycortas , was a prominent, land-owning politician and member of the governing class who became strategos (commanding general) of the Achaean League. Consequently, Polybius was able to observe first hand during his first 30 years

2646-641: Was chronicling Roman history for a Greek audience, to justify what he believed to be the inevitability of Roman rule. Nonetheless, Green considers Polybius's Histories the best source for the era they cover. For Ronald Mellor , Polybius was a loyal partisan of Scipio , intent on vilifying his patron's opponents. Adrian Goldsworthy , while using Polybius as a source for Scipio's generalship, notes Polybius's underlying and overt bias in Scipio's favour. H. Ormerod considers that Polybius cannot be regarded as an 'altogether unprejudiced witness' in relation to his bêtes noires ;

2700-466: Was detained there for 17 years. In Rome, by virtue of his high culture, Polybius was admitted to the most distinguished houses, in particular to that of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus , the conqueror in the Third Macedonian War , who entrusted Polybius with the education of his sons, Fabius and Scipio Aemilianus (who had been adopted by the eldest son of Scipio Africanus ). Polybius remained on cordial terms with his former pupil Scipio Aemilianus and

2754-473: Was elected hipparchus (cavalry officer) and was due to assist Rome militarily during the Third Macedonian War , although this never came about. This office was the second highest position of the Achaean League and often presaged election to the annual strategia (chief generalship). Polybius's political career was cut short in 168 BC, however; as a consequence of the final defeat of the Antigonid kingdom in

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2808-485: Was similar to that of the Perioeci, but Xenophon distinguished between them writing: "To meet the case of a hostile approach at night, he assigned the duty of acting as sentries outside the lines to the Sciritae. In these days the duty is shared by foreigners, if any happen to be present in the camp." In war the Sciritae formed an elite corps of light infantry , a lochos ( battalion ) of about 600 men, which were used as

2862-429: Was widely read by Romans and Greeks alike. He is quoted extensively by Strabo writing in the 1st century BC and Athenaeus in the 3rd century AD. His emphasis on explaining causes of events, rather than just recounting events, influenced the historian Sempronius Asellio . Polybius is mentioned by Cicero and mined for information by Diodorus , Livy , Plutarch and Arrian . Much of the text that survives today from

2916-434: Was writing in Greek, and would have implemented his cipher square in the Greek alphabet. Both versions are shown here. In the Polybius square, letters of the alphabet were arranged left to right, top to bottom in a 5 × 5 square. When used with the 26-letter Latin alphabet two letters, usually I and J, are combined. When used with the Greek alphabet, which has exactly one fewer letters than there are spaces (or code points) in

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