Greek Historian , Polybius is taken hostage by Rome and exiled from his native land. However, he became close to Paul-Emile and Scipion Emilien, and had a great career. We owe him major texts on the functioning of the Republic and the Punic War, and he is therefore an essential source for Roman history. He died of a fall from a horse at the age of more than eighty, and left behind him a considerable body of work.
Polybius, hostage in the service of Rome
Born in Arcadia around 200 (the most shared date today is 203), in Megalopolis, Polybius comes from a large family in his city. His father, Lycortas, is at the head of the Achaean confederation, and Polybius himself hopparque within the latter. He thus participated in the war against Antiochos III, in the 180s, with the Greek allies of the Romans.
Because of the attitude of the Achaeans in the war against Perseus (which ended in Pydna, in 168 ), the Romans decided to take certain notables hostage in 167. Polybius was one of them, and he left for Rome, where he was exiled until 150. However, he won the sympathy of the greats of the Republic, including Paul-Emile. This allows him to gain his freedom and stay in Rome.
After his release, the Greek became close to those who had taken him hostage. He advises Paul-Emile (with whom he stays), then is even mandated by the Senate. Thus, he carried out missions in Spain, Gaul and the Alps, between 151 and 150. Then, in 146, he traveled to Mauretania and Lusitania, before returning to Greece. Following the sack of Corinth and the dissolution of the Achaean Confederation, he was responsible for negotiating with the cities of the Peloponnese. In 140, Polybius was in the East (Egypt, Syria) and, back in the West, he witnessed the sack of Numantia (133).
His proximity to certain Roman elites led him to get closer to the young Scipio Emilian, whose mentor he became. Polybus accompanies him when he is a military tribune, against the revolt of the Celtiberians (150). The young Scipio listens to the advice of the former Greek soldier (a specialist in poliorcetics) and decides to apply them against the great enemy of Rome, Carthage. Thus, alongside Scipio, Polybius participated in the sack of the Carthaginian city, which was razed in 146, marking the end of the Punic Wars.
The work of Polybius
At his death at over eighty, the canonical age for the time, Polybius left a considerable body of work, some of which has come down to us. Because the Greek was not content to accomplish diplomatic missions for the Senate, or to advise the winner of Carthage. Thanks to his position, he had access to valuable sources, in particular the library of Perseus, for his work as a historian.
Polybius first wrote military treatises, which Scipio Emilian used in Carthage and Numantia. Then, these are his Stories , which aim to explain the superiority of Rome, of which he was a witness, and a victim for a time. According to him, the Roman power rests on the army, but also on its Constitution and on Fortune. Polybius wanted to develop a pragmatic history, sticking to the facts with a distance, which made it a major source for Roman history, in particular the functioning of institutions and the Punic War, even if the Greek could be considered as "pro- Roman”.
Polybius is therefore a staple of ancient sources, even going so far as to influence his illustrious successors, such as Livy, Diodorus, Appian and Plutarch.
Read
- Polybius, Stories , Gallimard, 2003.