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Polybius On Roman Imperialism: The Histories Of Polybius
by
Polybius
Written during his 16-year exile to Rome, Polybius' On Roman Imperialism attempts to explain why most of the inhabited world came under the domination of Rome within 53 years.
Paperback, 540 pages
Published
January 25th 1980
by Gateway Editions
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It is an absolute shame that most of this work did not make it down to the present day. And on that note I make my only criticism of this edition: the jacket and web material on this book state that it covers the Second Punic War and the later destruction of Carthage. The original work may have, but what is left to us is the history of the Second Punic War up to the battle of Cannae and nothing further. My favorite quote is on the use of religion as a means of control: "In Rome, nothing plays a...more
Apr 07, 2013
Eddy Allen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
arts-and-historical
Here is the first new translation for over thirty years of Polybius' Histories, the major source for our knowledge of the Eternal City's early rise to power, covering the years of the Second Punic War, the defeat of Hannibal, and Rome's pivotal victories in the Mediterranean. Polybius, himself a leading Greek politician of the time, attributes Rome's success to the greatness of its constitution and the character of its people, but also allows Fortune a role in shaping world events. This new tran...more
OK, so why did I spend my time reading this book?
To learn more about the Mediterranean - the cultures, religions, civilizations, empires, outlooks, beliefs and ways of life that existed on its shores through time.
Did I get what I wanted from reading it?
Yes! The author himself provides a huge window into his world. His assumptions, judgments, opinions and reflections convey the outlook, values and beliefs of at least one segment of a society that flourished back then.
He markets his book as requ...more
To learn more about the Mediterranean - the cultures, religions, civilizations, empires, outlooks, beliefs and ways of life that existed on its shores through time.
Did I get what I wanted from reading it?
Yes! The author himself provides a huge window into his world. His assumptions, judgments, opinions and reflections convey the outlook, values and beliefs of at least one segment of a society that flourished back then.
He markets his book as requ...more
As a political historian, Polybius is second only to Thucydides and Tacitus. His narration of the Second Punic War is vivid. Illuminating is his description of the Roman constitution, which he characterizes as a balance between the elements of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy.
May 11, 2013
MoonButterfly
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-sources
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Polybius (ca. 200–118 BC), Greek Πολύβιος) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories covering in detail the period of 220–146 BC. He is also renowned for his ideas of political balance in government, which were later used in Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws and in the drafting of the United States Constitution.
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“Can any one be so indifferent or idle as not to care to know by what means, and under what kind of polity, almost the whole inhabited world was conquered and
brought under the dominion of the single city of Rome, and that too within a period of not quite fifty-three years?”
—
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brought under the dominion of the single city of Rome, and that too within a period of not quite fifty-three years?”
