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Following an analysis of the economic and ecological bases of society in the pre-Christian Mediterranean world, this chapter studies how and why the pre-Persian Greek pólis-world evolved — charting the rise of Athens, the rise of Persian Greek kingship, then the rise of Rome and the gradual absorption of the entire Mediterranean region into the Roman empire. It discusses what pre-Christian Greek and Roman authors — such as Plátôn (Plato), Aristotle, Isokrátês (Isocrates), Polýbios (Polybius), Sallust, Seneca, and Tacitus — had to say on the mutual relations of autonomous actors in the Mediterranean world. A special section is dedicated to an analysis of Thukydídês (Thucydides), showing that contrary to received wisdom he was far from an ancestor of Realist International Relations thought. In particular, he did not believe and never said that the ‘Peloponnesian War’ broke out because of a shift in the ‘balance of power’.

This chapter explores why Livy chose to shape Scipio Africanus' encounter with the Spanish maiden in Book 26 as a positive variant on the Lucretia narrative. Where the rape of Lucretia triggers the overthrow of the monarchy, Scipio's restrained behaviour towards the Spanish maiden leads to local alliances and military support. Comparison with Polybius illuminates Livy's emphasis on the connection between abstinence and diplomatic success. Further, the revisiting and amplification of the episode when Scipio rebukes Masinissa for trying to protect Sophoniba show the centrality of this theme to Livy's conception of Scipio. The chapter then uses the trials of the Scipios to consider the similarities and differences between Scipio and 1st-century warlords, and argues that Scipio's failure to capitalize on his extra-constitutional status distinguishes him from Marius, Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar, and explains his value for a reversal of Lucretia's story.

Romans conceived their state as a public domain (res publica), governed by responsible patriots, prepared to die for their country. Their unwritten constitution allocated most power to the senate of notables; citizen assemblies also took part. There were numerous checks and balances. Polybius thought that Rome successfully combined rule by one, the few, and the many. Conquest and empire led to tension between aristocratic and democratic principles. Cicero preached political uprightness, harmony between classes, and freedom of speech. He argued that the various forms of human association, culminating in the state, are all based on consent. He opposed putting expediency before morality. With Augustus, Rome became a de facto monarchy; some personal freedom for citizens under a rule of law survived. Unlike elsewhere, there was little monarchical theory before the adoption of Christianity. Stoicism provided a moral framework for some. The contrast with China, where empire was the culmination of age-old aspirations, was significant.

This chapter explores the expression of time in non-polis historiography in order to highlight distinctive features of city-histories. In particular, it examines the synthetic temporal frameworks and strategies of Olympiadic dating and synchronism which were developed by universal historians, such as Ephorus, Timaeus, Polybius, and Diodorus, to overcome the fact that different poleis had different calendars and different histories. It takes Strabo as an example of an author whose presentation of the past spans both local and universal frameworks. It also looks at the way in which time is configured by Greek authors writing about the non-Greek world in order to discern trends and recurring themes in the treatment of time, which throw into relief the Greek city-histories.

This chapter places Cicero's use of ironic history within its cultural context. Several different areas of Roman approaches to the past are discussed: the use of historical exempla, the use of funeral masks and the veneration of ancestors, and the Annalistic tradition of historical record-keeping. These are brought together in a discussion of Cicero's attitude to memory, and the intersection between memory and identity. The evidence from Cicero suggests an awareness of the symbolic power of history over its factual basis. The Roman interest in historical revival is explored. The chapter concludes that Cicero's use of history to explore rather than reinforce identity was characteristic of his times. His philosophical tendencies prompted him to exploit history's flexibility.

This chapter examines Livy's uses of earlier literary texts. It demonstrates that Livy alludes to a wide range of literary material. It discusses the difficult issues that arise when an historian engages in such allusions, since the events being described may in real life have been modelled on earlier events. The chapter also includes traditional source-analysis, in particular proving that Polybius was a primary source in these books. It argues that a rigorous division between these two types of analysis cannot be sustained. Whenever Livy uses Polybius as a source, he is also alluding to him, writing in awareness that at least some of his readership will recognise the fact; and one can see him repeatedly playing with the readers' knowledge of the Polybian background.

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the historians included in this book: Nicolaus, Memnon, Diodorus, Trogus, Posidonius, and the author of 1 Maccabees. They are, consciously or unconsciously, post-Polybian in their choice of subject matter and thematic approach. Although several of the historians in question wrote on diverse matters, even within their histories, their common element is a treatment of contemporary history from 146 BC onwards. Moreover, they all address the role of Rome in the wider Mediterranean.

This chapter treats Polybius' sixteen-year detention in Rome following the Third Macedonian War and asks what it meant to be a detainee in Rome. Consequently, although the chapter focuses on Polybius, it also examines the situation of those deported with him, whether from Achaea or elsewhere in Greece. It explores the conditions in which he and others were detained, their attitude to detention, the kind of terminology that Polybius uses to describe himself and his fellow detainees, their status compared to those in Rome as hostages, their place of residence, and the degree to which they had freedom of movement. It concludes by reviewing the evidence for Polybius' eventual release.

This chapter addresses the question of possible Herodotean influence on Polybius' Histories. The standard modern position holds that Polybius did not know, and owed nothing to Herodotus. This position is challenged. It is suggested that some Herodotean elements have filtered their way into Polybius. Particularly in geographical matters, Polybius seems to inhabit the same thought-world as Herodotus. Polybius' description of the Euphrates (9.43) seems to engage directly with Herodotus' account of the Nile and challenge Herodotean views on the Euphrates. Certain other Herodotean scenes and sentiments have silently infiltrated Polybius' account.

This chapter argues that Polybius engaged with Thucydides in a far more extensive and suggestive way than has been appreciated. It focuses on a particularly rich set of correspondences between two sections of Polybius (his account of the First Punic War and his analysis of the Roman constitution) and two sections of Thucydides (his analysis of the causes of the Peloponnesian War and his account of Athens' doomed invasion of Sicily). It also argues that Polybius picks up Thucydides' broader depiction (in both speech and narrative) of the Athenian and Spartan characters. By exploring these various intertexts, the chapter offers a new way of understanding Polybius' portrayal of Roman expansionism. It suggests that the links discussed are not mere literary ornaments but part of a deeper historiographical patterning of great expeditions which encourages readers to reflect on shifting patterns in space and time, especially with regard to the role of Sicily.

This chapter discusses the importance of human nature in Polybius' views on historical causation. Scholars such as Walbank have argued persuasively for Thucydides being an importance predecessor of Polybius, but a comparison of their views on causation has yet to be undertaken. It argues that the connection between the fifth-century bc historian Thucydides and Polybius, writing in the second century bc, extends to the prominent place both assign human beings and human nature in their explanation of historical events. How human nature emerges in these authors, how they envisage its functioning within the historical process, and how both authors make clear its centrality to their work are key aims of the chapter. It aims to show that Polybius expanded upon Thucydides' conception of human nature and developed a sophisticated view of human nature's complexities and how this affected historical explanation.

This chapter undertakes a provisional reassessment, first, of Polybius' Greek against nine syntactic/stylistic features, comparing his usage with that of both classical and later Hellenistic historians; and, secondly, of the influence of Latin on his Greek syntax and vocabulary. It suggests on the strength of examples and case studies a series of working hypotheses for further investigation, including the following: that Polybius' use of (near)synonyms is less haphazard than is often supposed; that his similes and metaphors contain further evidence of his natural fondness for everyday language; and that, notwithstanding the last, he may occasionally use syntax or vocabulary to allude to a famous predecessor historian.

This chapter analyses Polybius' fragmentary account of Aemilius Paullus' trip around Greece in 168 bce. The episode, located at the join between the two halves of Polybius' work, provides a rare early insight into the relationship between Roman power and Greek culture from the Greek perspective. Polybius emphasises Paullus' desire to see the Greek world, and vision is consistently emphasised. Two models of vision in the context of travel can be discerned in the text, one in which vision is an imperialist, possessive act and a second in which it is a reverent learning process reminiscent of the Greek theoria. The tension between the two models allows for the mutual construction of Greek and Roman identity, and positions Paullus the traveller as the historian's alter ego.

This chapter analyses the evidence for Roman integration in networks of trade and communication in the Adriatic Sea during the third century bc, and its impact upon modern interpretations of the Romans' military intervention in the Greek east. New archaeological evidence for the character and function of trans-Adriatic networks based around a regional cult to the Greek hero Diomedes confirms that the third century Adriatic was an interconnected entity whose polities enjoyed strong links with each other and the wider Mediterranean world. Numismatic finds and the occurrence of Roman and Latin names in the epigraphic record of the eastern Adriatic demonstrate that Romans were active participants in these networks, with individual Romans becoming substantially integrated in the civic life of the region. These findings demand a reassessment of recent scholarship which has argued that the Romans were unfamiliar with the eastern Adriatic at the time of their first military intervention there in 229 bc.

This chapter examines festivals and games in Polybius' Histories. Such events have typically been seen in terms of the cultural politics of civic and ethnic identity, and also as an important interface between Greek communities and Rome in period of Rome's expansion in the Mediterranean. The chapter considers these types of events in historiographical terms, and aims to demonstrate Polybius' use of festivals and games to delineate sections of narrative and to provide contrasting juxtapositions of formal occasions and the realities of Roman power. It then examines the way in which Polybius uses the epideictic dimension of festival and games as opportunities for authorial interventions in the form of praise and blame. The final section underlines the importance of metaphors drawn from the world of contests.

One particular passage of Polybius (9.10) has come to play a recurring role in contemporary legal literature and public debate on the law and practice of cultural property protection in time of war. This chapter asks whether Polybius has been appropriately cited as an early voice arguing for the protection of ‘art’ and ‘cultural property’ in time of war. More broadly, it looks at some of the similarities and divergences between analogous debates on the issues of spoliation and repatriation in antiquity and the present and, in common with other recent commentators, concludes that religion, not culture, was the dominant theme in antiquity.