Polybius, Histories

Translation

Book 3 - Chapter 5

<w lemma="xh%5Cn">χὴν</w> <w lemma="poihsa%2Fmenos">ποιησάμενος</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Fllhn">ἄλλην</w> <w lemma="gra%2Ffein">γράφειν</w>. <w lemma="h%29%3Dn">ἦν</w> <w lemma="d%27">δ᾽</w> <w lemma="h%28">ἡ</w> <w lemma="proeirhme%2Fnh">προειρημένη</w> <w lemma="ki%2Fnhsis">κίνησις</w>, <w lemma="e%29n">ἐν</w> <w lemma="h%28%3D%7C">ᾗ</w> <w lemma="%2A%28rwmai%3Doi">Ῥωμαῖοι</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="pro%5Cs">πρὸς</w> <w lemma="%2Akelti%2Fbhras">Κελτίβηρας</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="%2Aou%29akkai%2Fous">Οὐακκαίους</w> <w lemma="e%29ch%2Fnegkan">ἐξήνεγκαν</w> <w lemma="po%2Flemon">πόλεμον</w>, <w lemma="%2Akarxhdo%2Fnioi">Καρχηδόνιοι</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="to%5Cn">τὸν</w> <w lemma="pro%5Cs">πρὸς</w> <w lemma="%2Amasanna%2Fsan">Μασαννάσαν</w> <w lemma="basile%2Fa">βασιλέα</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="%2Alibu%2Fwn:">Λιβύων·</w>

<w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="%2A%29asi%2Fan">Ἀσίαν</w> <w lemma="%2A%29%2Fattalos">Ἄτταλος</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="%2Aprousi%2Fas">Προυσίας</w> <w lemma="pro%5Cs">πρὸς</w> <w lemma="a%29llh%2Flous">ἀλλήλους</w> <w lemma="e%29pole%2Fmhsan">ἐπολέμησαν</w>, <w lemma="o%28">ὁ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="%2Akappadokw%3Dn">Καππαδοκῶν</w> <w lemma="basileu%5Cs">βασιλεὺς</w> <w lemma="%2A%29ariara%2Fqhs">Ἀριαράθης</w> <w lemma="e%29kpesw%5Cn">ἐκπεσὼν</w> <w lemma="e%29k">ἐκ</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="a%29rxh%3Ds">ἀρχῆς</w> <w lemma="u%28p%27">ὑπ᾽</w> <w lemma="%2A%29orofe%2Frnous">Ὀροφέρνους</w> <w lemma="dia%5C">διὰ</w> <w lemma="%2Adhmhtri%2Fou">Δημητρίου</w> <w lemma="tou%3D">τοῦ</w> <w lemma="basile%2Fws">βασιλέως</w> <w lemma="au%29%3Dqis">αὖθις</w> <w lemma="a%29nekth%2Fsato">ἀνεκτήσατο</w> <w lemma="di%27">δι᾽</w> <w lemma="%2A%29atta%2Flou">Ἀττάλου</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="patrw%2F%7Can">πατρῴαν</w> <w lemma="a%29rxh%2Fn">ἀρχήν</w>.

<w lemma="o%28">ὁ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="%2Aseleu%2Fkou">Σελεύκου</w> <w lemma="%2Adhmh%2Ftrios">Δημήτριος</w> <w lemma="ku%2Frios">κύριος</w> <w lemma="geno%2Fmenos">γενόμενος</w> <w lemma="e%29%2Fth">ἔτη</w> <w lemma="dw%2Fdeka">δώδεκα</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="e%29n">ἐν</w> <w lemma="%2Asuri%2Fa%7C">Συρίᾳ</w> <w lemma="basilei%2Fas">βασιλείας</w> <w lemma="a%28%2Fma">ἅμα</w> <w lemma="tou%3D">τοῦ</w> <w lemma="bi%2Fou">βίου</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="a%29rxh%3Ds">ἀρχῆς</w> <w lemma="e%29sterh%2Fqh">ἐστερήθη</w>, <w lemma="sustrafe%2Fntwn">συστραφέντων</w> <w lemma="e%29p%27">ἐπ᾽</w> <w lemma="au%29to%5Cn">αὐτὸν</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Fllwn">ἄλλων</w> <w lemma="basile%2Fwn">βασιλέων</w>.

<w lemma="a%29pokate%2Fsthsan">ἀποκατέστησαν</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="%2A%28rwmai%3Doi">Ῥωμαῖοι</w> <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="%2A%28%2Fellhnas">Ἕλληνας</w> <w lemma="ei%29s">εἰς</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="oi%29kei%2Fan">οἰκείαν</w> <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="e%29k">ἐκ</w> <w lemma="tou%3D">τοῦ</w> <w lemma="%2Apersikou%3D">Περσικοῦ</w> <w lemma="pole%2Fmou">πολέμου</w> <w lemma="kataitiaqe%2Fntas">καταιτιαθέντας</w>, <w lemma="a%29polu%2Fsantes">ἀπολύσαντες</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="e%29penexqei%2Fshs">ἐπενεχθείσης</w> <w lemma="au%29toi%3Ds">αὐτοῖς</w> <w lemma="diabolh%3Ds">διαβολῆς</w>.

<w lemma="oi%28">οἱ</w> <w lemma="d%27">δ᾽</w> <w lemma="au%29toi%5C">αὐτοὶ</w> <w lemma="met%27">μετ᾽</w> <w lemma="ou%29">οὐ</w> <w lemma="polu%5C">πολὺ</w> <w lemma="%2Akarxhdoni%2Fois">Καρχηδονίοις</w> <w lemma="e%29pe%2Fbalon">ἐπέβαλον</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="xei%3Dras">χεῖρας</w>, <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="prw%3Dton">πρῶτον</w> <w lemma="metanasth%3Dsai">μεταναστῆσαι</w>, <w lemma="meta%5C">μετὰ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="tau%3Dta">ταῦτα</w> <w lemma="pa%2Flin">πάλιν</w> <w lemma="a%29%2Frdhn">ἄρδην</w> <w lemma="au%29tou%5Cs">αὐτοὺς</w> <w lemma="e%29canasth%3Dsai">ἐξαναστῆσαι</w> <w lemma="proqe%2Fmenoi">προθέμενοι</w> <w lemma="dia%5C">διὰ</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="e%29n">ἐν</w> <w lemma="toi%3Ds">τοῖς</w> <w lemma="e%28ch%3Ds">ἑξῆς</w> <w lemma="r%28hqhsome%2Fnas">ῥηθησομένας</w> <w lemma="ai%29ti%2Fas">αἰτίας</w>.

<w lemma="oi%28%3Ds">οἷς</w> <w lemma="kata%2Fllhla">κατάλληλα</w> <w lemma="%2Amakedo%2Fnwn">Μακεδόνων</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="a%29po%5C">ἀπὸ</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="%2A%28rwmai%2Fwn">Ῥωμαίων</w> <w lemma="fili%2Fas">φιλίας</w>, <w lemma="%2Alakedaimoni%2Fwn">Λακεδαιμονίων</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="%2A%29axaiw%3Dn">Ἀχαιῶν</w> <w lemma="sumpolitei%2Fas">συμπολιτείας</w> <w lemma="a%29posta%2Fntwn">ἀποστάντων</w>, <w lemma="a%28%2Fma">ἅμα</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="a%29rxh%5Cn">ἀρχὴν</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="te%2Flos">τέλος</w> <w lemma="e%29%2Fsxe">ἔσχε</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="koino%5Cn">κοινὸν</w> <w lemma="a%29tu%2Fxhma">ἀτύχημα</w> <w lemma="pa%2Fshs">πάσης</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="%2A%28ella%2Fdos">Ἑλλάδος</w>. <w lemma="%2Ata%5C">Τὰ</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="ou%29%3Dn">οὖν</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="e%29pibolh%3Ds">ἐπιβολῆς</w> <w lemma="h%28mw%3Dn">ἡμῶν</w> <w lemma="toiau%3Dta:">τοιαῦτα·</w>

<w lemma="prosdei%3D">προσδεῖ</w> <w lemma="d%27">δ᾽</w> <w lemma="e%29%2Fti">ἔτι</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="tu%2Fxhs">τύχης</w>, <w lemma="i%28%2Fna">ἵνα</w> <w lemma="sundra%2Fmh%7C">συνδράμῃ</w> <w lemma="ta%5C">τὰ</w> <w lemma="tou%3D">τοῦ</w> <w lemma="bi%2Fou">βίου</w> <w lemma="pro%5Cs">πρὸς</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="pro%2Fqesin">πρόθεσιν</w> <w lemma="e%29pi%5C">ἐπὶ</w> <w lemma="te%2Flos">τέλος</w> <w lemma="a%29gagei%3Dn">ἀγαγεῖν</w>.

<w lemma="pe%2Fpeismai">πέπεισμαι</w> <w lemma="me%5Cn">μὲν</w> <w lemma="ga%2Fr">γάρ</w>, <w lemma="ka%29%2Fn">κἄν</w> <w lemma="ti">τι</w> <w lemma="sumbh%3D%7C">συμβῇ</w> <w lemma="peri%5C">περὶ</w> <w lemma="h%28ma%3Ds">ἡμᾶς</w> <w lemma="a%29nqrw%2Fpinon">ἀνθρώπινον</w>, <w lemma="ou%29k">οὐκ</w> <w lemma="a%29rgh%2Fsein">ἀργήσειν</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="u%28po%2Fqesin">ὑπόθεσιν</w> <w lemma="ou%29d%27">οὐδ᾽</w> <w lemma="a%29porh%2Fsein">ἀπορήσειν</w> <w lemma="a%29ndrw%3Dn">ἀνδρῶν</w> <w lemma="a%29cio%2Fxrewn">ἀξιόχρεων</w>, <w lemma="dia%5C">διὰ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="to%5C">τὸ</w> <w lemma="ka%2Fllos">κάλλος</w> <w lemma="pollou%5Cs">πολλοὺς</w> <w lemma="kategguhqh%2Fsesqai">κατεγγυηθήσεσθαι</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="spouda%2Fsein">σπουδάσειν</w> <w lemma="e%29pi%5C">ἐπὶ</w> <w lemma="te%2Flos">τέλος</w> <w lemma="a%29gagei%3Dn">ἀγαγεῖν</w> <w lemma="au%29th%2Fn">αὐτήν</w>.

<w lemma="e%29pei%5C">ἐπεὶ</w> <w lemma="de%5C">δὲ</w> <w lemma="ta%5Cs">τὰς</w> <w lemma="e%29pifanesta%2Ftas">ἐπιφανεστάτας</w> <w lemma="tw%3Dn">τῶν</w> <w lemma="pra%2Fcewn">πράξεων</w> <w lemma="e%29pi%5C">ἐπὶ</w> <w lemma="kefalai%2Fou">κεφαλαίου</w> <w lemma="dielhlu%2Fqamen">διεληλύθαμεν</w>, <w lemma="boulo%2Fmenoi">βουλόμενοι</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="kaqo%2Flou">καθόλου</w> <w lemma="kai%5C">καὶ</w> <w lemma="kata%5C">κατὰ</w> <w lemma="me%2Fros">μέρος</w> <w lemma="ei%29s">εἰς</w> <w lemma="e%29%2Fnnoian">ἔννοιαν</w> <w lemma="a%29gagei%3Dn">ἀγαγεῖν</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="o%28%2Flhs">ὅλης</w> <w lemma="i%28stori%2Fas">ἱστορίας</w> <w lemma="tou%5Cs">τοὺς</w> <w lemma="e%29ntugxa%2Fnontas">ἐντυγχάνοντας</w>, <w lemma="w%28%2Fra">ὥρα</w> <w lemma="mnhmoneu%2Fontas">μνημονεύοντας</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="proqe%2Fsews">προθέσεως</w> <w lemma="e%29panagagei%3Dn">ἐπαναγαγεῖν</w> <w lemma="e%29pi%5C">ἐπὶ</w> <w lemma="th%5Cn">τὴν</w> <w lemma="a%29rxh%5Cn">ἀρχὴν</w> <w lemma="th%3Ds">τῆς</w> <w lemma="au%28tw%3Dn">αὑτῶν</w> <w lemma="u%28poqe%2Fsews">ὑποθέσεως</w>.

This period of disturbance comprises, firstly the war waged by <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> against the Celtiberians and Vaccaei, that between <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Carthage&groupId=441&placeId=820">Carthage</a> and <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Massinissa&groupId=740&placeId=1352">Massinissa</a> the King of the Libyans

and that between Attalus and Prusias in Asia. Next, Ariarathes, King of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cappadocia&groupId=435&placeId=343">Cappadocia</a> was expelled from his kingdom by Orophernes through the agency of King Demetrius and recovered his ancestral throne by the help of Attalus.

Then Demetrius, son of Seleucus, after reigning in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Syria&groupId=995&placeId=502">Syria</a> for twelve years lost both his kingdom and his life, the other kings combining against him.

Next the Romans restored to their homes the Greeks who had been accused in consequence of the war with Perseus, acquitting them of the charges brought against them.

A little later the Romans attacked <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Carthage&groupId=441&placeId=820">Carthage</a>, having resolved in the first place on changing its site and subsequently on its utter destruction for the reasons that I shall state in due course.

Close upon this followed the withdrawal of the Macedonians from their alliance with <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> and that of the Lacedaemonians from the Achaean League, and hereupon the beginning and the end of the general calamity that overtook Greece.

Such is the plan I propose, but all depends on Fortune's granting me a life long enough to execute it.

However I am convinced that in the event of my death, the project will not fall to the ground for want of men competent to carry it on, since there are many others who will set their hands to the task and labour to complete it.

Now having given a summary of the most important events, with the object of conveying to my readers a notion of this work as a whole and its contents in detail, it is time for me to call to mind my original plan and return to the starting-point of my history.

Walbank Commentary

Overview

3.0.0 - 3.5.0

Introduction to the History proper Chapters 1–3 outline the work, according to the original plan, down to 168a period of fifty-three years (220–168); in 4–5 P. gives reasons for continuing his work to cover the years of Roman domination down to 146. (For a structural analysis see Lorenz, 50–61.) Although by 168 the growth and advance of Roman power was already complete (4. 2–3), a proper judgement on both conquerors and conquered is only possible from a study of their subsequent conduct (4. 4–5). Accordingly P. will deal with (a) the subsequent policy of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a>, (b) the reactions of the subject peoples, (c) prevailing currents and tendencies in public and private life (4. 6). This will facilitate the passing of judgement on <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a>. These chapters raise several queries: When did P. conceive his revised plan, and what was its scope? How many books were already written, and how many published, when the plan was changed? To what extent did the new plan involve revision of earlier parts, whether published or merely written? When were the Histories, as we know them, published? 1. It is usually assumed that P. resolved to extend his history beyond 168 only after the double dbcle of 146. This cannot be proved, though Svoboda's attempt to disprove it (Phil., 1913, 465– 83) fails, and the Histories as we possess them show no trace of a pro- visional scheme of extension conceived prior to 146. Svoboda argued that there were two stages in revision, (a) an intention to extend the Histories down to an undetermined date, as outlined in 4. 1–11, (b) a later decision, taken long after the Achaean War, to finish at 146/5; to this second scheme belongs 4. 12–5. 6. Any passage which mentions <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Carthage&groupId=441&placeId=820">Carthage</a> as still existing will have been composed before 146; since such passages include vi. 52. 1–3, 56. 1–3, xiv. 10. 5, xv. 30. 10, xxxi. 12. 12, 21. 3 (add i. 73. 4, ix. 9. 9–10), P. must have composed down to xxxi. 22 when he was interrupted by the events of c. 150; and this implies that his narrative had already reached 160 (xxxi. 21. 3). Consequently the extension beyond 168 had begun before P. could know of the catastrophe of 146. De Sanctis (iii. 1. 202 f.) has, however, shown that xxxi. 21. 3 does not imply the existence of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Carthage&groupId=441&placeId=820">Carthage</a>, and that xxxi. 12. 12 is part of a passage describing the escape of Demetrius of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Syria&groupId=995&placeId=502">Syria</a> from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> with P.'s help, which has every appearance of being based on an account <milestone unit="page" n="292">[292]</milestone> composed at the time, and only subsequently included in the extended history, cf. Thommen, Hermes, 1885, 229. If this is so, xv. 30. 10, dealing with events of 203, is the latest passage which conforms to Svoboda's thesis, and the theory of two stages in the revision collapses. H. Erbse (Rh. Mus., 1951, 170 ff.), who argues for the composition of the whole work after 144, tries to deal with the references to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Carthage&groupId=441&placeId=820">Carthage</a> by adducing the existence of the 'achronistic present tense' used in a syncrisis. This theory would account for the references in vi. 52 and 53, but fails to explain the rest except by an arbitrary extension of the usage which in fact surrenders the whole case; in particular, his thesis breaks down on ix. 9. 9–10 (which he does not consider), and appears to ignore 4. 1, <w lang="el-GR">κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς πρόθεσιν</w> (cf. Brink and Walbank, CQ, 1954, 99). See the discussion of Gelzer, Kl. Schr. iii. 208–9, who argues that the final publication took place in P.'s lifetime; see also xviii. 35 n. Erbse, Phil. 1957, 277 ff., has written further in support of his theory about the 'achronistic present'; on this see my discussion in Miscellanea Rostagni, 204–6 and ix. 9. 9–10 n. It may therefore be taken that P. conceived his revision after 146; and in addition to the reasons he gives he was no doubt prompted by the wish to record events in which he had himself played a considerable part. 2. Can it, however, be shown that P. had written beyond book xv in 150–146? Aymard (REA, 1940, 12 n. 3) has argued that the reference to Aristaenus' preservation of the Achaean League by his agreement with <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> (xviii. 13. 8–9) must have been written before 146; but it might equally be urged that the reference to 'utter destruction' and 'safety in the crisis' was a hint at 146, and was written after that date. Further, if xviii was written before 146, xviii. 35. 9, with its reference to the fall of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Carthage&groupId=441&placeId=820">Carthage</a>, must be a later insertion (Brink and Walbank, CQ, loc. cit.). Cuntz (34–35) urges that the phrase <w lang="el-GR">διὰ τὴν ἀγνωσίαν τῆς ἐκτὸς θαλάττης</w> (xvi. 29. 12) cannot have been written after P.'s voyages in the Atlantic in 146 (cf. xxxiv. 15. 7); but this is not decisive, for there is an implied contrast with the Euxine, compared with which the Atlantic was certainly unknown. Hence, despite Ziegler's assertion (RE, 'Polybios (1)', col. 1477) that by 150 P. had certainly brought his history nearly to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Pydna&groupId=919&placeId=1647">Pydna</a>, there is no clear positive evidence that he had composed beyond xv. 30. 10 by that date. How many books had been published before 150–146? Various arguments have been adduced. (a) Passages designed to affect policy about 150 B.C. These are iii. 21. 9 ff. on the Carthaginian treaties; perhaps iv. 27; iv. 30. 5, on the advantages of an Acarnanian alliance (a passage with which v. 106. 4 has been linked); iv. 31. 3–33. 12, Arcadia and <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Messenia&groupId=760&placeId=1380">Messenia</a> should combine against <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sparta&groupId=660&placeId=1208">Sparta</a>; iv. 73. 6–74. 8, <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Elis&groupId=560&placeId=1048">Elis</a> should resume her asylia. These passages point to publication about 150/49, and support the view that iii–iv and probably (in view of its close connexion with iv) v were published about then. On the details of this publication <milestone unit="page" n="293">[293]</milestone> Holleaux (tudes, i. 445 ff. = REG, 1923, 480 ff.) has some cogent observations. P.'s discussion of the Rhodian earthquake of 227 is so ill adapted to its context, at v. 88–90, and could so easily have fitted into iv, that it appears probable that iv was already published when P. decided to mention it. This implies (i) that iv and v appeared separately with an interval between (though it tells us nothing of the length of such an interval), (ii) that v. 88–90 was written after iv was published; since there is evidence for last-minute insertions in iv, this is presumably a last-minute insertion in v. Recently J. de Foucault (Rev. Phil., 1952, 47–52) has argued that v. 88–90 is in fact displaced from immediately after iv. 56; but his view is too hypo- thetical, and in fact, had P. originally placed the digression here, he must have introduced it rather differently. (b) Use of proverbs. On general grounds it appears likely that i and ii had already appeared before 146. That ii was written before then is clear from the references to the firmly established Achaean League in ii. 37. 8–40. 6, 62. 4; for the theory that these chapters were a late addition based on an earlier, separate work see ii. 37–70 n. Some support for the orthodox view is afforded by Wunderer's researches into P.'s use of proverbs. He shows (Polybios-Forschungen, i) that, although P. quotes proverbial phrases throughout his Histories, the first example of the phrase <w lang="el-GR">κατὰ τὴν παροιμίαν</w> is at ix. 25. 3, after which it occurs frequently down to the end of the work; and he connects it with the use by P. of a collection of proverbs. It is noteworthy that the Achaean chapters of book ii, like the rest of i–v, and the surviving fragments of vi–ix. 25. 2, show no example of the phrase <w lang="el-GR">κατὰ τὴν παροιμίαν</w>. For what it is worth this argumentum ex silentio is against the view that book ii contains late elements. (c) P.'s use of <w lang="el-GR">προγραφαί</w> and <w lang="el-GR">προεκθέσεις</w>. In xi. 1 a 5 P. states that to the first six books he wrote <w lang="el-GR">προγραφαί</w>, but <w lang="el-GR">προεκθέσεις</w> to the rest. In fact, we possess no <w lang="el-GR">προγραφαί</w> to books i–vi; and De Sanctis (iii. 1. 205, following Leo) supposes they were lost in a second edition. However, such <w lang="el-GR">προγραφαί</w> (contents lists attached to the outside of the scroll) may well have become detached at any stage in the transmission of the text (Laqueur (Hermes, 1911, 180–4) suggests the period when the work was transferred from scroll to codex); and the writing of <w lang="el-GR">προγραφαί</w> for the first six books can be explained from the internal economy of the work, which became more 'oecumenical' after vi, and so more suited to <w lang="el-GR">προεκθέσεις</w> (cf. xiv. 1 a 1). See also the considerations adduced by Laqueur (ibid.). We can only say that the disappearance of <w lang="el-GR">προγραφαί</w> is not inconsistent with the theory of a separate publication of books i–v (or vi), but does not make it necessary. (d) Again following Leo, De Sanctis (ibid.) suggests that the duties entrusted to P. in Greece in 145 (xxxix. 5) are more easily <milestone unit="page" n="294">[294]</milestone> understandable if his pro-Roman attitude had already been indicated by the publication of a substantial part of his Histories. This is a flimsy argument, for the Senate had easy ways of learning about a close friend of Scipio Aemilianus. (e) In xvi. 20. 5 f. P. relates how he had pointed out errors to Zeno, but too late for correction, as Zeno's book was already published; and he then asks readers to pardon any honest mistakes in his own work. From this K. J. Neumann (Hermes, 1896, 519 ff.) deduced that when P. resumed his work after 150–144 he had already published i–xv. Clearly, however, this does not follow from the context. P.'s appeal is in general terms, and applies to future generations as well (i.e. readers of his whole work), and it is inserted here merely because of the digression on Zeno. Unless further passages can be adduced from books later than iv and v which seem intended to influence some identifiable contemporary political situation, it remains uncertain that more than five books had appeared before 146. Perhaps, in view of the fact that both its subject-matter and place in the Histories as a whole link vi with i–v, this also appeared at the same time (cf. Brink and Walbank, CQ, 1954, 100); but this is only a presumption, though one not contradicted by an analysis of vi (cf. vi introductory note, 4. 7– 9. 14 n.). Certainly neither evidence nor probability speaks for the hypothesis of Mioni (33–48) that P. not only wrote, but also published, the first fifteen books in the years between 151 and 147; see, in criticism, Brink and Walbank (CQ, 1954, 100, 101 n. 8). 3. Revision of parts already composed or published. Many of the attempts to prove later insertions in i–xv, which were written before 146, break down. (a) Various attempts have been made to frame an account of P.'s views on Tyche which will enable a reader to assign relative dates to observations on this topic. Thus Cuntz (43 ff.) sees P.'s spiritual progress from an orthodox Hellenistic belief in the power of Tyche, reinforced by the writings of Demetrius of Phalerum, to a conviction that the world is governed by Stoic law and order; whereas von Scala (159 ff.) sees a development from a rationalist position, which seeks natural causes for all phenomena (in reaction against an earlier dependence on Demetrius), to an eventual return, after 167, to something nearer Demetrius' position. But all such attempts fail because at all periods P. tends to use the word Tyche in a variety of senses, and with varying intensity of 'belief'; see Walbank, CQ, 1945, 6–7; Mioni, 140–5 (a good analysis); Ziegler, RE, 'Polybios (1)', cols. 1532–43. Thus many passages (e.g. i. 63. 9, ii. 38. 4 ff., x. 5. 8, xviii. 28. 5, xxxi. 30. 1–3) are to be interpreted in the light of P.'s loyalty to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Achaea&groupId=272&placeId=533">Achaea</a>, <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a>, or Scipio, rather than as an expression of a particular philosophical attitude. See above, pp. 22–26. <milestone unit="page" n="295">[295]</milestone> (b) It has been argued by Hirzel and von Scala that P. was a convert to Stoicism, largely through Panaetius' influence, and that any passages in the earlier books (for a list see Susemihl, ii. 110 n., adding iv. 40. 3 from n. 93) which betray Stoic thought are later insertions. P. was in fact influenced by Stoicism, both in his late years, and also earlier (cf. Class. et med., 1948, 170 ff.); but this is an aspect not to be overstressed in a writer who was not by temperament a philosopher. Nor can the influence on P. of Panaetius, a younger man, the date of whose arrival at <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a> is quite uncertain, be proved (cf. CQ, 1943, 86; Brink and Walbank, CQ, 1954, 103 nn. 3–4). In fact Stoicism is a useless criterion for dating P.'s work. (c) Cuntz argued that most of P.'s journeys and voyages took place after 146, and so drew conclusions on the dating of passages referring to them. De Sanctis (iii. 1. 209 ff.) has argued cogently that P.'s journeys in the western Mediterranean were almost all before, or in, 146. Hence no important deductions on composition can be made on this basis. Two points, however, are worth noting: P.'s visits to Sardes (xxi. 38. 7) and <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Alexandria&groupId=1063&placeId=1868">Alexandria</a>, under Physcon (xxxiv. 14. 6), were probably made after 146/5; even so they probably preceded the composition of the books in which they are mentioned. If P. visited <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=New Carthage&groupId=791&placeId=1430">New Carthage</a> in 151 (cf. 57–59 n., x. 11. 4), it still remains true that x. 11. 4 is probably an insertion in the original composition (cf. ii. 13. 2 n.). On the other hand, both i–v and also later books up to xv contain passages apparently composed after 146, which imply revision of an original draft or edition. One is the present passage (4–5); others (see relevant notes) are: iii. 32. 2, reference to forty books and the fall of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Carthage&groupId=441&placeId=820">Carthage</a>. iii. 37. 11, the part of Europe washed by the outer sea has recently come under our notice. Cuntz (34 ff.) argues convincingly that this refers to the campaigns of D. Iunius Brutus Callaicus in 138/7. Probably §§ 10–11, with the reference forward to xxxiv, were revised or inserted after that date. iii. 39. 2–12 (or at least 6–8) date to after 118, when the Via Domitia was constructed. iii. 59. 4: the reference to Greek politicians being free from war and politics implies a date after 146. In 59. 7 there is a reference to P.'s journeys (which are probably subsequent to the original composition of iii); hence it is likely that 57–59 is a later insertion. iii. 61. 11, 86. 2, probably composed after 133 since they imply the shifting of the Italian frontier from the Aesis to the Rubicon. xii. In the main this book was written before 146; cf. xii. 25, where <milestone unit="page" n="296">[296]</milestone> the discussion of Phalaris' bull omits to mention its recovery by Scipio in 146 (cf. CR, 1945, 40). But some passages are later. (?) xii. 2. 1, on the lotus. Athenaeus states that P. described this from personal observation, and this would imply composition after the Third Punic War, or 151 at the latest (cf. 57–59 n.). But in fact the passage has the appearance of coming from a literary source, such as Diocles of Carystus (cf. v. 45. 10 n.). xii. 3. 1–6, on the richness of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Africa&groupId=300&placeId=294">Africa</a>. If this is described from autopsy, it will be composed after 146 (or 151): see last note. We have no record of any visit to Corsica (xii. 3. 7–4. 4). xii. 27 ff., the stress on <w lang="el-GR">αὐτοπάθεια</w>, and reference to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Odysseus&groupId=801&placeId=1446">Odysseus</a>' wanderings, date this after 146 (Class. et med., 1948, 171 ff.). 4. Final publication. Since xxxi. 28. 13 and xxxviii. 21. 3 suggest that Scipio is dead and were therefore written after 129, and since there is evidence of insertions as late as 120 (cf. iii. 39), it appears that P. went on working at his History until his death; and indeed the 'obituary' in xxxix. 5 shows that his work appeared posthumously. But whether between 150–146 and his death no further books were published we simply do not know; for there is nothing in x and xii (where alone insertions from after 146 are to be found) which is inconsistent with publication after, say, 140. It has been argued by A. Philippson (Phil. Woch., 1930, 1181–2) that Cicero, de re pub. ii, draws largely on Polybius vi, and that when in § 21 Laelius remarks that Scipio's argument is one 'quae nusquam est in Graecorum libris', he is meant to suggest that at the dramatic date of the dialogue (129 B.C.) Polybius vi was not yet published. But the ratio ad disputandum noua there mentioned is probably not one copied from P. at all (cf. Laqueur, Phil. Woch., 1924, 334), in which case Philippson's argument on the date of publication of vi collapses. In Entretiens sur Polybe, 186–200, Lehmann argues that P. brought a sketchy version of i–xv with him to Greece in 150/49, that he published i–vi for the first time soon after 145/4 (the composition of the passages with apparent contemporary implications in iv he dates after 146); P. went on working at the rest and it was published posthumously by a man who among other things wrote xxxix. 8. 3 f. (since P. left the end unfinished). The revised scope of the work (iii. 4–5) was conceived under the influence of the Gracchan movement, to which Lehmann sees references in xxxviii. 22; cf. xxix. 21. 4 f. This hypothesis does not seem to me convincing, though the last ten books may well have been put together, out of earlier material, after 129; cf. Walbank, 'Polybius' last ten books', Historiographia Antiqua, 139–62.

3.5.7 - 3.5.8

It is uncertain whether this paragraph is part of the first draft or of the additional material; the reference to long life is perhaps more likely to come from an older man, but not necessarily so.

Specifics

3.5.1 - 3.5.1

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">ἡ προειρημένη κίνησις</w>:</emph> this chapter purports to summarize the events of the years of <w lang="el-GR">τα</w>p<w lang="el-GR">αχή</w>, just as 2–3 summarize those of 220–168. But this fails to account for the years between 168 and the onset of the <w lang="el-GR">τα</w>p<w lang="el-GR">αχή</w>. When did P. regard this as beginning? Of events mentioned in this chapter the earliest is the expulsion of Ariarathes from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cappadocia&groupId=435&placeId=343">Cappadocia</a> (§ 2) in 158; the war between Attalus and Prusias was 156–154, and the Celtiberian War began in 153 and lasted till 151 (§ 1). This would suggest that the <w lang="el-GR">τα</w>p<w lang="el-GR">αχή</w> began in 158. But in fact P.'s scheme here is not easily reconciled with the more rigid system of his 'olympiad' chronology. There is no specific date dividing the 'pendant to the conquest' from the 'period of disturbance', but only a gradual increase in warfare as 150 approached, and finally the culminating disasters in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Carthage&groupId=441&placeId=820">Carthage</a>, <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Macedonia&groupId=723&placeId=428">Macedonia</a>, and Greece. Hence, though P. here mentions events earlier that 151, it seems likely that he intended the line of demarcation before the events distinguished by his own autopsy, collaboration, and direction, to be xxxiv, with its description of the oecumene. Similarly, vi served to separate the period up to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cannae&groupId=430&placeId=797">Cannae</a> from the period after, when events throughout the whole world became intertwined. Cf. Lorenz, 68 f. (who is not, however, to be followed in his conclusion that P. regarded the 'years of trouble' as a condemnation of the Roman imperium). Thus xxxiv provides a climax to vii–xxxiii, and 'insulates' them from the last books in which P. plays a more personal part. The present passage is an attempt to do two logically different things, to summarize the period 167–145, and to summarize the 'time of trouble' which is defined schematically, and with some violence to the arrangement by Olympiad years, as c. 151–145. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Ῥωμαῖοι . . . πρὸς Κελτίβηρας καὶ Οὐακκαίους</w>:</emph> fragments on the Second Celtiberian War (153–151) are preserved in xxxv. 1–5. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Μασαννάσαν βασιλέα τῶν Λιβύων</w>:</emph> <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Carthage&groupId=441&placeId=820">Carthage</a> declared war on <milestone unit="page" n="303">[303]</milestone> Masinissa in winter 151/0; but the only surviving fragment on the differences between <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Carthage&groupId=441&placeId=820">Carthage</a> and Numidia (xxxi. 21) refers to 161.

3.5.2 - 3.5.2

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Ἄτταλος . . . καὶ Προυσίας</w>:</emph> the war between Attalus II and Prusias II opened in 156, and ended with Prusias' defeat in 154. Cf. xxxii. 15–16, xxxiii. 1. 1–2, 12–13. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Ἀριαράθης</w>:</emph> Ariarathes V was expelled from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Cappadocia&groupId=435&placeId=343">Cappadocia</a> in 158 by his putative brother Orophernes (cf. xxxi. 7. 2 n.), helped by Demetrius I of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Syria&groupId=995&placeId=502">Syria</a> (the son of Seleucus IV). Attalus II helped in his restoration in 158/7. Cf. xxxii. 10, xxxiii. 6.

3.5.3 - 3.5.3

<emph rend="bold">D<w lang="el-GR">ημήτριος</w>:</emph> after reigning from 162 to 150, Demetrius I fell in battle against Alexander Balas, a pretender suborned by Attalus II and Ptolemy VI of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Egypt&groupId=556&placeId=368">Egypt</a> <w lang="el-GR">(τῶν ἄλλων βασιλέων)</w>. Cf. xxxi. 2, 11–15 (escape from <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a>), xxxiii. 5, 18. 8 f. For the hysteron proteron of <w lang="el-GR">τοῦ βιόυ καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς</w> to avoid hiatus cf. ii. 2. 2 n.

3.5.4 - 3.5.4

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">ἀποκατέστησαν . . . τοὺς Ἕλληνας</w>?:</emph> the remnants of the thousand Achaeans, who were kept in <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Italy&groupId=656&placeId=1199">Italy</a> without trial after <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Pydna&groupId=919&placeId=1647">Pydna</a> (xxx. 13. 6 ff., xxxi. 23. 5), were allowed to return home in 150 (xxxv. 6).

3.5.5 - 3.5.5

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">Καρχηδονίοις</w>:</emph> for the Third Punic War (149–146) see xxxvi. 1–9, 16, xxxviii. 7–8, 19–22.

3.5.6 - 3.5.6

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">οἷς κατάλληλα</w>:</emph> 'simultaneously' (cf. 32. 5, <w lang="el-GR">τὰς καταλλήλους τῶν πράξεων</w>, 'contemporary events'), not, as Paton, 'close upon this'. The list of events in the era of <w lang="el-GR">ταραχή</w>? does not follow a strictly chronological order. The Macedonian revolt under Andriscus was in 149/8; cf. xxxvi. 9–10, 17. Trouble arose between <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sparta&groupId=660&placeId=1208">Sparta</a> and <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Achaea&groupId=272&placeId=533">Achaea</a> in 150, and in winter 149/8 the Senate authorized the independence of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sparta&groupId=660&placeId=1208">Sparta</a>, which led to the outbreak of war between <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Achaea&groupId=272&placeId=533">Achaea</a> and <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sparta&groupId=660&placeId=1208">Sparta</a>, and so to the Achaean War with <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Rome&groupId=935&placeId=1669">Rome</a>; cf. xxxviii. 1–6, 9–18, xxxix. 1–6. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">ἅμα τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ τὸ τέλος</w>:</emph> for disaster was swift; cf. xxxviii. 18. 12, <w lang="el-GR">εἰ μὴ ταχέως ἀπωλόμεθα, οὐκ ἂν ἐσώθημεν</w>. For the proverbial linking of <w lang="el-GR">ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος</w> cf. i. 1. 2, vi. 6. 7 n.

3.5.8 - 3.5.8

<emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">πέπεισμαι μὲν γάρ</w>, . . .:</emph> 'yet I am sure . . .'; for this sense of <w lang="el-GR">γάρ</w>, 'yet, freilich' (cf. Stahl, Rh. Mus., 1902, 1 ff.), see 'Aristoph. Ran. 262, <w lang="el-GR">τούτῳ γὰρ οὐ νικήσετε</w>, '(do so), yet you shall never win by these means'. The euphemism, <w lang="el-GR">κἄν τι συμβῇ . . . ἀνθρώπινον</w>, is common. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">διὰ</w></emph> 〈 <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">δὲ</w></emph> 〉 <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">τὸ κάλλος</w>:</emph> so B-W <emph rend="superscript">2</emph> , returning to the reading commonly accepted since Casaubon; but Ursinus's emendation <w lang="el-GR">διὰ τὸ κἄλλους</w> (cf. B <w lang="el-GR">τὸ καὶ ἄλλους)</w>, adopted by Hultsch and B-W <emph rend="superscript">1</emph> , is equally easy and no less attractive. <emph rend="bold"><w lang="el-GR">κατεγγυηθήσεσθαι</w>:</emph> 'will pledge themselves'; <w lang="el-GR">κατεγγυᾶν</w> is 'to exact surety from someone'. Partsch (i. 36) takes it, less probably, to mean <milestone unit="page" n="304">[304]</milestone> 'will become entangled', a sense which the word acquires from the idea of arrest connected with the demanding of surety (cf. Thales in Stob. Anth. iv. 22. 65 (W.–H. iv. 521), <w lang="el-GR">τὸ ζῆν λύπαις αὐ θαιρέτοις κατεγγυῆσαι)</w>.

Addenda & corrigenda

3.1.0 - 3.5.0

<emph rend="bold">1–5.</emph> Date of composition. See the discussion of Gelzer, Kl. Schr. iii. 208–9, who argues that the final publication took place in P.'s lifetime; see also xviii. 35 n. Erbse, Phil. 1957, 277 ff., has written further in support of his theory about the 'achronistic present'; on this see my discussion in Miscellanea Rostagni, 204–6 and ix. 9. 9–10 n. On p. 294 section (c) line 1 for 'ix. 10. 5' read 'ix. 1 a 5'.

3.5.4 - 3.5.4

on l. 3 of the note for '151' read '150'. <milestone unit="page" n="634">[634]</milestone>

3.1.0 - 3.5.0

<emph rend="bold">1–5.</emph> Date of composition and publication: in Entretiens sur Polybe, 186–200, Lehmann argues that P. brought a sketchy version of i–xv with him to Greece in 150/49, that he published i–vi for the first time soon after 145/4 (the composition of the passages with apparent contemporary implications in iv he dates after 146); P. went on working at the rest and it was published posthumously by a man who among other things wrote xxxix. 8. 3 f. (since P. left the end unfinished). The revised scope of the work (iii. 4–5) was conceived under the influence of the Gracchan movement, to which Lehmann sees references in xxxviii. 22; cf. xxix. 21. 4 f. This hypothesis does not seem to me convincing, though the last ten books may well have been put together, out of earlier material, after 129; cf. Walbank, 'Polybius' last ten books', Historiographia Antiqua, 139–62.

3.5.2 - 3.5.2

<emph rend="bold">5.2. <w lang="el-GR">Ἀριαράθης</w>:</emph> for 'half-brother' read 'putative brother' (cf. xxxi. 7.2 n.), a correction I owe to F. Piejko; and in l. 3 of the note, for '156' read '158/7'.

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