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{{Short description|Account of the rise of Rome by Polybius}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2013}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Histories
| author = Polybius
| language = Ancient Greek
| genre = History
| image = Polybius 1548.jpg
}}

[[Polybius]]' '''''Histories''''' ({{langx|grc|Ἱστορίαι}} ''Historíai'') is a [[history|historical account]] of the rise of [[Ancient Rome|Rome]], written in the 2nd century BC. They were originally written in 40 volumes, only the first five of which are extant in their entirety. The bulk of the work was passed down through collections of excerpts kept in libraries in the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Polybius, a historian from the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] city of [[Megalopolis, Greece|Megalopolis]] in [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]], was taken as a hostage to Rome after the Roman victory in the [[Third Macedonian War]] (171–168 BC), and there he began to write an account of the rise of Rome to a [[great power]].

== Publication history ==

=== Papyrus ===
Fragments of ''Histories'' are known to exist in various papyri written in during [[Roman Egypt]]. The oldest extant fragments often derive from the [[Faiyum]] region or are known to exist in the [[Oxyrhynchus Papyri]], such as ''Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 5268'' (Books 28.2.6.1 – 8.1) or P. Ryl. Gr. 1 60 (which covers Books 13.8–16.8).<ref name="Histories">{{Cite web |title=Histories |url=https://luna.manchester.ac.uk/luna/servlet/detail/ManchesterDev~93~3~55988~287565:Histories |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=luna.manchester.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Brusuelas |first=James |title=P.Oxy 5268 Polybius, Histories 28.2.6.1 – 8.1 |date=2016 |work=The Oxyrhynchus Papyri Vol. LXXXI |volume=81 |editor-last=Brusuelas |editor-first=James |url=https://scholars.uky.edu/en/publications/poxy-5268-polybius-histories-28261-81 |access-date=2025-06-24 |editor2-last=Meccariello |editor2-first=Chiara}}</ref>

=== Manuscripts ===
[[File:Polybius Stemma Codicum.jpg|thumb|[[Textual criticism|Stemma codicum]] of the ''Histories''.]]
Moore (1965)<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Moore |first=John M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0rF_vbJD4u4C |title=The Manuscript Tradition of Polybius |date=1965 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-05755-4 |language=en}}</ref> suggests a [[Textual criticism|stemma]] whereby some 9 [[Textual criticism|prototype manuscripts]] preserve the [[Textual criticism|manuscript tradition]], the oldest being [[Vatican Library|Vaticanus]] Gr. 124 (dated A.D. 947).
{| class="wikitable"
|+Manuscripts of ''The Histories'' Books 1–5<ref name=":0" />
!Siglum
!Library
!Shelfmark
!Date (century)
!Source
|-
|A
|[[Vatican Library|Vatican]]
|Gr. 124 (olim 126)
|10th
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vat.gr.124 |url=https://digi.vatlib.it/mss/detail/Vat.gr.124 }}</ref>
|-
|B
|[[British Library]]
|add. Ms. 11728.
|1416
|
|-
|B2
|[[Biblioteca Marciana|Marcian Library]]
|Gr. vi, 4 (1155)
|15th
|
|-
|B3
|[[Laurentian Library|Laurentian]]
|Plut. 69, 9
|1435
|
|-
|B4
|[[Biblioteca Marciana|Marcian]]
|Gr. 371 (302)
|mid 15th
|
|-
|B5
|Marcian
|Gr. 369 (1045).
|1470
|
|-
|C
|[[Bavarian State Library]]
|Monacensis Gr. 157
|14th
|
|-
|C2
|Vatican
|Urb. Gr. 101
|1455–1474
|
|-
|Z
|Vatican
|Gr. 1005
|late 14th – 15th
|
|-
|Z2
|[[Topkapı Palace#Enderûn Library (Library of Ahmed III)|Topkapi Palace Library]]
|Fonds Ahmet III, 25
|15th
|
|-
|D
|Bavarian State Library
|Monacensis Gr. 388
|14th
|
|-
|E
|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France|BnF]]
|Gr. 1648
|14th – early 15th
|
|-
|J
|[[Austrian National Library]]
|Phil. Gr. 59
|15th
|
|-
|F
|Vatican
|Urb. Gr. 102
|late 10th – early 11th
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |C3
|BnF
|Gr. 1796
| rowspan="2" |16th
|
|-
|[[Bodleian Library|Bodleian]]
|Laud. Gr. 4 (S.C. 498)
|
|-
|C4
|BnF
|Gr. 1649
|1547
|
|-
|C5
|BnF
|Coislinianus 318 (olim 30).
|early–mid-16th
|
|}

==Content==
[[File:Polybius Histories Papyrus.jpg|thumb|Polybius' Histories 13.8–16.8; [[Rylands Papyri|P. Ryl.]] Gr. 1 60, discovered in [[Faiyum]], 2nd–3rd century AD ([[University of Manchester Library]]) <ref name="Histories"/>]]
Polybius' ''Histories'' begin in the year 264 BC and end in 146 BC (Polybius was born around 200 BC and died around 117 BC). He is primarily concerned with the 53 years in which [[Ancient Rome]] became a dominant world power. This period, from 220–167 BC, saw Rome subjugate [[Carthage]] and [[Roman annexation of mainland Greece|gain control]] over [[Hellenistic Greece]]. Books I through V cover the affairs of important states at the time ([[Ptolemaic Egypt]], [[Hellenistic Greece]], [[Macedon]]) and deal extensively with the First and Second [[Punic War]]s. In Book VI he describes the [[Roman Constitution]] and outlines the powers of the [[Roman consul|consul]]s, [[Roman Senate|Senate]] and [[SPQR|People]]. The differences between the first set of states, namely, [[Athens]] and [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], and the second set which consists of those of [[Sparta]], [[Crete]], [[Mantinea]] and [[Carthage]] he asserted, on the ground that the states of [[Athens]] and [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]] followed an "abnormal" growth. By "abnormal" Polybius means that these states due both the rise to the pinnacle of their power and the downfall to the caprice of fortune. It is chiefly because the Athenians had such leaders as [[Themistocles]], and the Thebans [[Pelopidas]] and [[Epaminondas]], that the two states have on their side the favors of fortune for a time. The view of Polybius on the age of [[Pericles]] might, to some extent, be considered as contrary to what most modern historians thought was the Golden Age of Greece. He then compares the political system of the Roman state to that of the Cretans, the Spartans, and shows in what aspect the laws of Rome are superior to those of the Carthaginians. He concludes that the success of the Roman state was based on their mixed constitution, which combined elements of a [[democracy]], [[aristocracy]], and [[monarchy]]. The remainder of the ''Histories'' discusses the period in which Rome came to dominate the Mediterranean, from the defeat of [[Hannibal]] in 201 BC to the destruction of [[Third Punic War|Carthage]] and the Greek city-state of [[Battle of Corinth (146 BC)|Corinth]] in 146 BC.

==Polybius on ''tyche''==
[[Tyche]], which means fate or fortune, plays an integral role in Polybius’ understanding of history. Tyche takes on a double meaning in his work. It can mean fortune or happenstance, but tyche was also personified as a goddess according to [[Hellenistic Period|Hellenistic]] convention. The exploration of Tyche is also the impetus for Polybius beginning his work, in that he discusses the fortunate events that led to [[Rome]]’s domination of the Mediterranean.

==Polybius on government==
[[File:Curia Iulia.JPG|thumb|The [[Curia Julia]] in the [[Roman Forum]], the seat of the Roman Senate.]]
In Book VI Polybius digresses into an explanation of the Roman [[constitution]] and he shows it to be mixed. The purpose for this is involved in the Hellenistic nature of the work, particularly his Greek audience. Greeks at this time believed that the strength of a [[Sovereign state|state]] is manifested in the strength of its constitution. The mixed constitution was touted as the strongest constitution as it combined [[Aristotle|Aristotle's]] three integral types of [[government]]: [[monarchy]], [[aristocracy]] and [[democracy]]. Polybius, again in imitation of Aristotle, makes further distinction in the forms of government by including the nefarious counterparts to the ones mentioned above; [[tyranny]], [[oligarchy]], and [[ochlocracy]]. These governments, according to Polybius, cycle in a process called [[anacyclosis]] or [[kyklos]], which begins with monarchy and ends with ochlocracy.

==Reactions==
His histories have an aristocratic ethos and reveal his opinions on honor, wealth and war. His histories have literary merit and interpretations of facts and events.{{cn|date=February 2026}}

==Polybius in English==
The first [[English language|English]] translation, made by [[Christopher Watson (translator)|Christopher Watson]], was published in London in 1568<ref>{{cite book |author=Polybius|title=The Rise of the Roman Empire|editor1=Walbank, Frank W. |editor2=Scott-Kilvert, Ian |page=36|publisher=Penguin Classics|year=1979|isbn=0-14-044362-2}}</ref> as ''The hystories of the most famous and worthy cronographer Polybius''. [[F. W. Walbank]] wrote a comprehensive commentary on the ''Histories'' in three volumes, which was published between 1957 and 1979.

==See also==
*[[Herodotus]]
*[[Thucydides]]
*[[Xenophon]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==

===Editions of the ''Histories''===
* Polybius; Frank W. Walbank, Ian Scott-Kilvert (1979). ''The Rise of the Roman Empire''. Penguin Classics. {{ISBN|0-14-044362-2}}.<ref>https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/261107/the-rise-of-the-roman-empire-by-polybius/</ref>
* Polybius; Robin Waterfield (2010). ''The Histories''. Oxford World's Classics. {{ISBN|978-0199534708}}.<ref>https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-histories-9780199534708?cc=us&lang=en&</ref>
*Loeb Classical Library
**Polybius. The Histories, Volume I: Books 1–2. Translated by W. R. Paton. Revised by F. W. Walbank, Christian Habicht. Loeb Classical Library 128. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010.<ref>https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL128/2010/volume.xml</ref>
**Polybius. The Histories, Volume II: Books 3–4. Translated by W. R. Paton. Revised by F. W. Walbank, Christian Habicht. Loeb Classical Library 137. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010.<ref>https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL137/2010/volume.xml</ref>
**Polybius. The Histories, Volume III: Books 5–8. Translated by W. R. Paton. Revised by F. W. Walbank, Christian Habicht. Loeb Classical Library 138. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011.<ref>https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL138/2011/volume.xml</ref>
**Polybius. The Histories, Volume IV: Books 9–15. Translated by W. R. Paton. Revised by F. W. Walbank, Christian Habicht. Loeb Classical Library 159. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011.<ref>https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL159/2011/volume.xml</ref>
**Polybius. The Histories, Volume V: Books 16–27. Translated by W. R. Paton. Revised by F. W. Walbank, Christian Habicht. Loeb Classical Library 160. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012.<ref>https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL160/2012/volume.xml</ref>
**Polybius. The Histories, Volume VI: Books 28–39. Fragments. Edited and translated by S. Douglas Olson. Translated by W. R. Paton. Revised by F. W. Walbank, Christian Habicht. Loeb Classical Library 161. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012.<ref>https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL161/2012/volume.xml</ref>

===Modern works===
* {{cite book |last1=El Hage |first1=Fadi |title=Une occasion manquée: la réédition de l'Histoire de Polybe commentée par Folard (1753) |date=2023 |publisher=Classiques Garnier |location=Paris |isbn=9782406147817}}
*[[Mogens Herman Hansen]] 1995, ''Sources for the Ancient Greek City-State: Symposium'', August, 24-27 1994, Kgl. Danske, Videnskabernes Selskab, 376 pages {{ISBN|87-7304-267-6}}
*[[Brian McGing]], Polybius' Histories. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2010.
*[[F. W. Walbank|Frank William Walbank]], ''A Historical Commentary on Polybius'', Oxford University Press, 1957–1979.
*——, ''Polybius'', Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1972.
*——, ''Polybius, Rome and the Hellenistic World, Essays and Reflections'', Cambridge University Press, 2002.

==External links==
{{wikisource|The Histories (Polybius)}}
{{Wikisource|el|Ιστορίαι|Ἱστορίαι}}
* [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plb.+toc English and Greek version the ''Histories'']
*[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/home.html Translation by W. R. Paton (Loeb edition)]
*[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/Introduction*.html Short introduction to the life and work of Polybius]
*[http://mlloyd.org/mdl-indx/polybius/intro.htm ''Polybius and the Founding Fathers: the separation of powers'']

{{Ancient seafaring}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Histories}}
[[Category:Ancient Greek history books]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC history books]]
[[Category:Roman-era Greek historiography]]
[[Category:Political philosophy in ancient Greece]]

Histories Polybius - Revision history

RaeHutto281756 at 15:26, 7 May 2026