Polybius

Polybius (Megalopolis, Greece, 200 BC-118 BC) was a Greek historian. He is considered one of the most important historians, because he is the first to write a universal history. His central purpose was to explain how Roman hegemony could be imposed in the Mediterranean basin, showing how the political and military events that occurred in all corners of this geographical area are linked. In addition to this, Polybius is the ancient historian who has written the most about history and the way of doing History. He will be taken up in modernity to forge some of the basic points that will form the discipline of the Theory of History.

His political insights are still considered today, being study material in various disciplines, such as Political Science or International Relations.

He is also considered the creator of the Polybius Square, a way of encrypting a message by replacing letters with pairs of numbers.

Biography

As a member of the ruling class, Polybius had the opportunity to learn first-hand about the political and military affairs of his time. His political career was long dedicated to preserving the independence of the Achaean League. He began as an ambassador, along with Licortas (his father) and Aratus the Younger in the ill-fated embassy to Ptolemy V Epiphanes, who died before being able to receive them. He was then elected hipparch of the league for the period 169/168 BC. C. As the main representative of the policy of neutrality in the war between Rome and Perseus of Macedonia, he attracted the suspicions of the Romans, being one of the 1000 Achaean nobles transported in 166 BC. C. to Rome as hostages, where he was held for seventeen years.

Thanks to his high cultural level, Polybius was admitted to the most distinguished houses of Rome, particularly that of Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonian, winner of the Third Macedonian War (171-168 BC), who commissioned him to education of his children: Fabius and Scipio. Through the intercession of Scipio in 150 BC. C., Polybius obtained permission to return home, but instead spent the following years in the company of his friend in Africa, where he was able to be present in the Third Punic War and in the conquest of Carthage, an event that he described in its historical narrative. Polybius personally fought at the site, establishing his opinion that only a true soldier should write about war.

His stay in the Iberian Peninsula, during the Celtiberian Wars, helped him study the geography, people and customs of Hispania. After the destruction of Corinth (146 BC), and thanks to his popularity in Rome, he was commissioned to establish the foundations of the future province of Achaia, using as a basis the decisions of the commission of decemvirs. Polybius returned to Greece and used his connections with the Romans to promote an improvement in living conditions there, helping to consolidate the government of the oligarchies in agreement with Rome. Polybius faced the difficult task of organizing the new form of government of the Greek cities, earning the greatest recognition in this work.

After completing this work, he returned to Rome. The following years saw a great boost to his written work, imbued as he was with his historical work, occasionally undertaking long journeys through Mediterranean countries to gain first-hand knowledge of historical places. Apparently, he also often interviewed veterans of Rome's wars to clarify details of the events he described, and gained access to the archives for this same purpose.

After the death of his friend Scipio, he returned to Greece, where he died at the age of eighty-two after falling from his horse, as Pseudo Lucian points out.

Work

Most of his work is preserved, written with a rigorous method that is based on strict documentation and his presence at the scene of the events he describes. His extensive General History had 40 volumes. Other citable works are Treatise on Tactics, "Encomio a Filopemen" and The War of Numantia, but of which nothing has remained except direct testimonies from Polybius himself and other authors of antiquity. Furthermore, with Thucydides, he was one of the first historians to exclude divine action between material causes and their consequences.

He systematically composed his work so that it was always consistent in its relationship with the general history of the Mediterranean world. Polybius says that "...from the reciprocal comparison and confrontation of facts a very different judgment is formed from the one conceived by seeing them separately [...] how much advantage there is to knowing by simply hearing, just as much surpasses history universal to particular relationships." (Stories, III, 7). His work is, at the same time, pragmatic, in its continuous demonstration of the principles of cause and effect. The causes are divided into (V, III):

• Case (kriseis, dialectis, epinoiai and syllogismis)
• Home (epiboaí, práxeis)
• Pretext.

The performance of tykhe (Fortune) is a somewhat controversial topic, the writer invokes it in repeated passages, there is a dialectical tension between tykhe and eunoia. For the author, the elements that define the facts are, first of all: the politeia; second: the great characters; and, finally, Fortune. The following fragment is most eloquent in this regard; “… people who cannot accurately discern the occasions, motives and attitudes of each person, either due to their natural shortness or due to inexperience or laziness, attribute to the gods or luck the justification of what is done with the intelligence that is born from reflection and foresight.” (X, 5, 8).

The main characteristic of his thinking was the care and veracity he gave to his conclusions. He had a natural instinct to find the truth: “The truth, said Polybius, is exposed by nature to men as something supreme in divinity and power; sooner or later, the truth would prevail over any opposition.”

Nietzsche describes the thought of Polybius, who, having in his mind the man of action, says that the study of political history constitutes the most adequate preparation for the government of the State and is the best teacher who, by reminding us of the misfortunes of others, he admonishes us to firmly endure the changes of fortune. Polybius expresses, with crystal clarity, the objective of his history – and it is no coincidence that it is still valid today: “(…) elucidate the general and total structure of the events that occurred, when and where they originated, and how they reached their culmination.” (I, 4, 3)

Story Content

Historias consisted of forty books, of which the first five are preserved complete. The historian aims to narrate the 52 years that it took Rome to gain world hegemony (220-168), but he goes back to the first Punic War (264) to let us know the background and continues until 146 to let us know the consequences.. In these books Polybius presents different theories, such as that of anacyclosis.

• I-II: Introduction
• III: First Punic War to the Battle of Cannas.
• IV-V: War of Allies
• VI. Roman Constitution
• VII- XV: Conquests of Italy, Sicily, Spain, Galia, war of Hannibal, rebellion of Egypt.
• XII: Method, controversial with Timeo.
• XVI-XXX: Second Macedonian War, Antiochus War, Third Macedonian War, triumph of Paulo Emilio (Pydna Battle).
• XXIV: Geography
• XXXVIII- XXXIX: Destruction of Carthage and Corinth.
• XL: Contents

Universal history

Polybius is the great inventor of universal history. Josep Alsina explains to us that he was driven by the ecumenical conceptions of Stoicism to write a “noptic” vision, although he himself recognizes Ephorus as his precursor. In order to carry out such a great undertaking, he weaves his warp with the symploké , the intertwining and correlation of events.

Pragmatic history

Polybius makes a universal history, which aims to cover all the peoples of the Mediterranean, uniting the events. He will say that this is the result of a reality, which is Rome, which has unified all areas. It is finally a universe.

The central theme of Polybius is the conquest of Rome. Polybius is going to tell us many details of the military episodes, but he will also look for the structural causes, which turns out to be the first time it has been done. The driving element for all these stories is war.

He believes that there are three types of history:

• The family history, which is based on the study of genealogies, is a story that is not interested in it.
• History of the founding of colonies and power, which does not interest Polibio.
• La Pragmatic history, which is the one that really interests you, because it is a useful story, as it has a use for scholars, speaking of wars and political affairs. Polibio confirms the idea that the historian must be an exile. It is the tradition of the historian as a traitor, who passes to the side of the victors. What makes pragmatic to this story is the search for causes. Polibio, in this case of conquest, finds military causes, from battles, analyzes that the Roman army is superior, because the legion has structural advantages over other types of formations, because it is more elastic and better prepared. The other type of cause he mentions is that which derives from the socio-political structure of a State, the best being that of Rome because it is more plastic and resistant than others. It also makes a classification of pragmatic history according to sources (XXII 25e):
• Documentary
• Geographic
• Policy

Polybius, based on Aristotle, affirms that there are six forms of government, and all of them suffer degradation. Initially, there are three types of structures:

1. Monarchy: One government.
2. Aristocracy: government of several.
3. Democracy: the government of many.

All of them can degenerate:

1. Monarchy: Tiranía
2. Aristocracy: Oligarchy
3. Democracy: Oclocracy

Polybius maintained that all the powers that had been powerful had fallen due to degradation. But Rome preserved its power because it combined the three forms in a balanced way, being:

1. Royalty: Consulate
2. Aristocracy: Senate
3. Democracy: Compositions

For this reason, Rome could always prevail over the other States, with Carthage being the only one that could confront them, since they also reached a balance, although it was not as perfect as that of Rome. The most important thing is that Polybius is the first to raise this type of cause. Polybius's fate has been diverse over the centuries.

Style

Polybius writes in Greek, with Attic morphology, lexicon and koiné syntax, grouping of synonyms, paraphrases, adjectives and substantive infinitives, formations in –sis and –ma, phrasal verbs, idioms, constructions participials, typical expressions of the Hellenistic chancery. The decoration is not particularly careful; However, there are examples of poetic language: hyperbaton, comparisons, metaphors, quotes from Homer and Euripides. Avoid hiatus, do not give great importance to the rhythm of the phrase. Although he himself declares that he does not seek dramatic narration, he uses it in some passages, such as the revolt of Alexandria (XV, 25-33) or the “storm of evils” of Philip V (XXIII, 10 sqq.).

Influence

Polybius was a mediocre writer for the Greeks, unattractive to read, since history was, above all, literature and Polybius was a bad narrator, since he did not pay attention to form; Another reason why he was not liked among the Greeks is that in his book he recounts how they had been defeated by the Romans. In the Renaissance it gained great prestige because this was a time in which scholars were very concerned about the origin of forms of government. Among those who follow him, Nicolás Machiavelli stands out, taking his categorization of political regimes and his explanation of the success of the Roman republic. His influence would also extend until the 18th century, when Montesquieu based his ideas on the division of power on this author. in the same way that the Constitution of the United States will also be partially based on his ideas. In the 19th century it will lose importance again, with the romantics. However, in the 20th century and with structural history, he will once again be considered an important author. As is common for Greco-Roman authors, only approximately half of the twenty-four books he wrote survive.

Eponymy

• The moon crater Polybius carries this name in his memory.
• The asteroid (6174) Polybius also commemorates its name.