Polybius and His Legacy

Description

Although scholars continue to address old questions about Polybius, it is clear that they are also turning their attention to aspects of his history that have been inadequately dealt with in the past or have even gone largely unnoticed. Polybius' history is increasingly treated not just as a source of valuable information on the impressive expansion of Roman rule in the Mediterranean world, but also as a complex and nuanced narrative with its own interests and purposes. Moreover, since (apart from Livy's use of Polybius, which has been thoroughly discussed) most studies of Polybius' reception focus on the modern world, especially in relation to the theory of mixed constitutions, finding out more about Polybius' impact on ancient Greek and Roman authors remains a major desideratum. This volume brings together contributions which, in either posing new questions or reformulating old ones, attest both to the ardent scholarly interest currently directed toward Polybius and to the variety of hermeneutical issues raised by his work. Subjects discussed include Polybius' historical ideas, his methods of composition, his views on the role of the historian, his representation of cultural difference, his intertextual affinities, and his reception and influence. Taken together, the papers in this collection attempt to promote a deeper understanding of the qualities and peculiarities of Polybius' history, as well as to offer fresh insights into the interpretation of this important work. Preface Contents Introduction Part I: Key Themes and Ideas Polybius and Ethnicity Polybian Barbarology,Flute-Playing in Arcadia, and Fisticuffs at Rome Polybius and the Tyrants of Syracuse Past and Present as paradoxon theōrēma in Polybius Praise in Polybius Being, Seeming and Performing in Polybius Part II: Narrative and Structure A Survey on the Speeches in Polybius Documents and Narrative: Reading the Roman-Carthaginian Treaties in Polybius’ Histories Incomplete and Disconnected: Polybius, Digression, and its Historiographical Afterlife The Historian’s Craft: Narrative Strategies and Historical Method in Polybius and Livy Part III: Intertextual Relationships Polybius and Xenophon: Hannibal and Cyrus the Great as Model Leaders The Εncomium of Philopoemen and its Ιsocratic Βackground Polybius and Biography Polybius and the Legacy of Fourth-Century Historiography Polybius and Fifth-Century Historiography: Continuity and Diversity in the Presentation of Historical Deeds Part IV: Reception Polybius and Arrian: The Cases of Philip V and Alexander the Great Appian, the Third Punic War and Polybius Lost in Reception? Polybius’ Paradoxical Impact on Writing History in Republican Rome Odysseus, Rome, and the First Punic War in Polybius’ Histories Silius Italicus and Polybius: Quellenforschung and Silian Poetics Polybius and Oscar Wilde: Pragmatike Historia in Nineteenth Century Oxford List of Contributors General Index