In the succeeding years, Polybius resided in Rome, completing his historical work while occasionally undertaking long journeys through the Mediterranean countries in the furtherance of his history, in particular with the aim of obtaining firsthand knowledge of historical sites. Polybius was charged with the difficult task of organizing the new form of government in the Greek cities, and in this office he gained great recognition. Following the destruction of Carthage, Polybius likely journeyed along the Atlantic coast of Africa, as well as Spain.Īfter the destruction of Corinth in the same year, Polybius returned to Greece, making use of his Roman connections to lighten the conditions there. The Achaean hostages were released in 150 BC, and Polybius was granted leave to return home, but the next year he went on campaign with Scipio Aemilianus to Africa, and was present at the Sack of Carthage in 146, which he later described. When Scipio defeated the Carthaginians in the Third Punic War, Polybius remained his counsellor. Polybius remained on cordial terms with his former pupil Scipio Aemilianus and was among the members of the Scipionic Circle. In Rome, by virtue of his high culture, Polybius was admitted to the most distinguished houses, in particular to that of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, the conqueror in the Third Macedonian War, who entrusted Polybius with the education of his sons, Fabius and Scipio Aemilianus (who had been adopted by the eldest son of Scipio Africanus). Lycortas attracted the suspicion of the Romans, and Polybius subsequently was one of the 1,000 Achaean nobles who were transported to Rome as hostages in 167 BC, and was detained there for 17 years. Polybius' father, Lycortas, was a prominent advocate of neutrality during the Roman war against Perseus of Macedon in 171-168 BC. Polybius' political career was cut short in 168, however as a consequence of the final defeat of the Antigonid kingdom in the Third Macedonian War, 1,000 Achaeans (including Polybius) with suspect allegiances were interned in Rome and its surrounding area. This office was the second highest position of the Achaean League and often presaged election to the annual strategia (chief generalship). In either 170 BC or 169 BC, Polybius was elected hipparchus (cavalry officer) and was due to assist Rome militarily during the Third Macedonian War, although this never came about. In 182 BC, he was given the honour of carrying the funeral urn of Philopoemen, one of the most eminent Achaean politicians of his generation. He developed an interest in horse riding and hunting, diversions that later commended him to his Roman captors. In his early years, he accompanied his father while travelling as ambassador. Consequently, Polybius was able to observe first hand during his first 30 years the political and military affairs of Megalopolis, gaining experience as a statesman. Polybius' father, Lycortas, was a prominent, land-owning politician and member of the governing class who became strategos (commanding general) of the Achaean League. The town was revived, along with other Achaean states, a century before he was born. Polybius was born around 200 BC in Megalopolis, Arcadia, when it was an active member of the Achaean League. Walbank (1909–2008), who published studies related to him for 50 years, including a long commentary of his Histories and a biography. The leading expert on Polybius for nearly a century was F. Polybius' discussion of the separation of powers in government, of checks and balances to limit power, and his introduction of "the people", all influenced Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws, John Locke's Two Treatises of Government, and the framers of the United States Constitution. Polybius' Histories is important not only for being the only Hellenistic historical work to survive in any substantial form, but also for its analysis of constitutional change and the mixed constitution. It covered the period of 264–146 BC, recording in detail events in Italy, Iberia, Greece, Macedonia, Syria, Egypt and Africa, and documented the Punic Wars and Macedonian Wars among many others. He is noted for his work The Histories, a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. 118 BC) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. Polybius ( / p ə ˈ l ɪ b i ə s/ Greek: Πολύβιος, Polýbios c. Cicero, Diodorus, Strabo, Livy, Plutarch, Arrian, Machiavelli, Andrzej Fredro, John Locke, Montesquieu, John Adams, Edmund Burke, Joseph De Maistre, Charles Joseph Minard, Ortega y Gasset
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