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Polybios or Polybius of Megalopolis (c. 203 BC - 120 BC) the son of Lycortas,
Greek historian, famous for his book called The Histories or The Rise of the
Roman Empire which covers 220 BC to 146 BC.
As the former tutor of the Scipio Africanus the Younger, the famous adopted
grandson of the famous general Scipio Africanus, Polybius remained on terms of
the most cordial friendship and remained a counsellor to the man who defeated
the Carthaginans in the Second Punic War by routing them from Spain and then
defeating Hannibal himself in Africa at the Battle of Zama. The younger Scipio
eventually invaded Carthage and forced them to surrender unconditionally. In a
classic story of human behavior, Polybius captures it all: Nationalism, Racism,
duplicitous politics, horrible battles, brutality, etc.; along with, loyalty,
valor, bravery, intelligence, reason and resourcefulness. With his eye for
detail and characteristic critically reasoned style, Polybius provided a unified
view of history rather than a chronology.
Polybius was a member of the governing class, with firsthand opportunities to
gain deep insight into military and political affairs. His political career was
devoted largely towards maintaining the independence of the Achaean League. As
the chief representative of the policy of neutrality during the war of the
Romans against Perseus of Macedonia, he attracted the suspicion of the Romans,
and was one of the 1000 noble Achaeans who in 166 BC were transported to Rome as
hostages, and detained there for seventeen years. In Rome, by virtue of his high
culture, he was admitted to the most distinguished houses, in particular to that
of Aemilius Paulus, the conqueror in the Macedonian War, who intrusted him with
the education of his sons, Fabius and the younger Scipio. Through Scipio's
intercession in 150 BC, Polybius obtained leave to return home, but in the very
next year he went with his friend to Africa, and was present at the capture of
Carthage that he described.
After the destruction of Corinth in the same year, he returned to Greece and
made use of his Roman connections to lighten the conditions as Greece was
converted into a Roman province; Polybius was intrusted with the difficult task
of organizing the new form of government in the Greek cities, and in this office
gained for himself the highest recognition.
The succeeding years he seems to have spent in Rome, engaged on the completion
of his historical work, and occasionally undertaking long journeys through the
Mediterranean countries in the interest of his history, more particularly with a
view to obtaining firsthand knowledge of historical sites. It also appears that
he sought out and interviewed war veterans in order to clarify details of the
events he was writing about, and was given access to archival material for the
same purpose. After the death of Scipio he returned once again to Greece, where
he died at the age of eighty-two, from a fall from his horse.
The Historian
It is neither possible for a man with no experience in warfare to write well
about what happens in war, nor for one unversed in the practice and
circumstances of politics to write well on that subject. So that as nothing
written with experience or vividness, their works are of no practical utility to
readers. For if we take from history all that can benefit us, what is left is
quite contemptible and useless. Histories, 12.25g.1-2
Livy used him as a reference and Polybius had excellent sources. Polybius
narrates events which came within his own experience. He is one of the first
historians to attempt to present history as a sequence of causes and effects,
based upon a careful examination of tradition, conducted with keen criticism;
partly also upon what he had himself seen, and upon the communications of
eye-witnesses and actors in the events. Considered the successor of Thucydides
as far as objectivity and critical reasoning, he is the forefather of scholarly,
painstaking historical research in the modern scientific sense. His work sets
forth the course of occurrences with clearness, penetration, sound judgment, and
love of truth, and, among the circumstances affecting the result, lays especial
stress on the geographical conditions. It belongs, therefore, to the greatest
productions of ancient historical writing.
Cryptography
Polybius was responsible for a useful tool in cryptography which allowed letters
to be easily signalled using a numerical system. This idea lends itself to
cryptographic manipulation. See: Ancient Greek Communication Methods
Influence
His writings had a great influence upon Cicero, the Founding Fathers of the
United States and upon Charles de Montesquieu
(http://www.sms.org/mdl-indx/polybius/intro.htm).
LINKS
At Perseus Project: English & Greek version
(http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plb.+toc)
Polybius Cipher
Cryptography of Polybius
Ancient Greek Literature Timeline
Albin Lesky, History of Greek Literature , Hackett Publishing Company; Reprint
edition (November, 1996)
Article partly derived from "[
en.wikipedia.org];
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License