The Histories, Volume VI

Books 28–39. Fragments

Polybius, W. R. Paton, F. W. Walbank , Christian Habicht

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English

Harvard Uni.Press Academi
22 October 2012

Literary studies: classical, early & medieval; History; Classical history & classical civilisation

Series: Loeb Classical Library

The historian Polybius (ca. 200–118 bce) was born into a leading family of Megalopolis in the Peloponnese and served the Achaean League in arms and diplomacy for many years. From 168 to 151 he was held hostage in Rome, where he became a friend of Scipio Aemilianus, whose campaigns, including the destruction of Carthage, he later attended. As a trusted mediator between Greece and the Romans, he helped in the discussions that preceded the final war with Carthage, and after 146 was entrusted by the Romans with the details of administration in Greece. Polybius's overall theme is how and why the Romans spread their power as they did. The main part of his history covers the years 264–146 bce, describing the rise of Rome, the destruction of Carthage, and the eventual domination of the Greek world.

The Histories is a vital achievement despite the incomplete state in which all but the first five of its original forty books survive. For this edition, W. R. Paton's excellent translation, first published in 1922, has been thoroughly revised, the Büttner-Wobst Greek text corrected, and explanatory notes and a new introduction added, all reflecting the latest scholarship. The final volume adds a new edition of fragments unattributed to particular books of The Histories.

By: Polybius
Revised by: F. W. Walbank, Christian Habicht
Translated by: W. R. Paton
Edited and translated by: S. Douglas Olson
Imprint: Harvard Uni.Press Academi
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 161
Dimensions: Height: 162mm, Width: 108mm, Spine: 33mm
Weight: 480g
ISBN: 9780674996618
ISBN 10: 0674996615
Series: Loeb Classical Library
Pages: 640
Publication Date: 22 October 2012
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

F. W. Walbank was Rathbone Professor of Ancient History and Classical Archaeology at the University of Liverpool and a Fellow of the British Academy. Christian Habicht is Emeritus Professor of Ancient History at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and a Fellow of the British Academy. S. Douglas Olson is Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota.

Reviews for The Histories, Volume VI: Books 28–39. Fragments

Polybius found a brilliant subject for his history in the Roman drive to supremacy in the Mediterranean. As an experienced Greek politician who lived as a hostage among the elite in Rome from 167 to 159 BC, he was ideally positioned to write it. He had formidable organizational powers, and he really did know what he was talking about. Without him, our understanding of the whole period and of the dynamics of Roman imperialism would be inconceivably impoverished. -- Denis Feeney * Times Literary Supplement *