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The Greek statesman Polybius (c.200–118 BC) wrote his account of the relentless growth of the Roman Empire in order to help his fellow countrymen understand how their world came to be dominated by Rome. Opening with the Punic War in 264 BC, he vividly records the critical stages of Roman expansion: its campaigns throughout the Mediterranean, the temporary setbacks inflicted by Hannibal and the final destruction of Carthage. An active participant of the politics of his time as well as a friend of many prominent Roman citizens, Polybius drew on many eyewitness accounts in writing this cornerstone work of history.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
- Sales Rank: #44717 in Books
- Brand: Polybius/ Scott-Kilvert, Ian (TRN)
- Published on: 1980-02-28
- Released on: 1980-02-28
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 7.76" h x 1.05" w x 5.07" l, .88 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 576 pages
Language Notes
Text: English, Greek (translation)
About the Author
Polybius (200-118 BC) was a Greek statesman and historian.
F.W. Walbank has published numerous works on ancient Greece.
Ian Scott-Kilvert has also translated Plutarch's works for Penguin Classics.
Most helpful customer reviews
111 of 119 people found the following review helpful.
A Useful but Fragmentary History
By R. A Forczyk
Polybius, a Greek hostage held in Rome from 168 BC to 150 BC, set himself the task of explaining the rise of the Roman Empire. Deliberately written for Roman audiences, Polybius intends to describe the 53 year rise to hegemony from 220-167 BC. However Polybius includes considerable background material on the First Punic War and he later decided to extend his history to include the Third Punic War. Unfortunately, much of the original work is missing and Penguin has decided to edit out even more, which leaves a hollow remnant.
The real value of this book lies in Polybius' description of the Second Punic War with Hannibal. There are excellent battle descriptions of the Trebbia, Lake Trasimene, Cannae, the Metaurus and Zama. Remember, Polybius was writing only 60-70 years after these events and had access to many documents that are now lost. Polybius was also able to visit some of the battlefields when they had not changed significantly since Hannibal's time. There is also a good section on Roman military methods, which was enlightening.
However this book is disappointing in a number of areas. In terms of the original work, Polybius tends to digress on topics of interest to himself (but not to modern readers), such as criticizing other contemporary historians. He also has a strong pedantic streak and strives more to impart "lessons" than facts. He continually hammers home his theory that one cannot be a good historian unless one has walked the ground and gained personal military and political experiences. This certainly helps, but there are plenty of generals and politicians that make poor authors. Yet the greatest disappointment lies in the lack of any detail on the Third Punic War and the dramatic defeat of the Greek phalanx by Roman legions at Cynocephalae. Since Polybius was a witness at the destruction of Carthage, I eagerly anticipated this chapter only to find it instead to be a very short three page section with only general comments.
Amazingly, the period with the greatest detail is the Second Punic War, when Polybius was not alive. The Third Punic War and the Siege of Numantia in Spain, both of which Polybius observed directly, are excluded. This reduced the value of this volume tremendously.
56 of 61 people found the following review helpful.
For what it is -- quite excellent
By J. Ott
Many other reviewers on this site lament all that has been cut from this translation. The decision, of course, was not entirely up to Penguin. A great portion of Polybius' work has been lost to the ravages of history. Other surviving portions are quite repetitive. As someone with an interest in the history but not a consuming scholarly passion, I found the selections well-chosen and fascinating; the translation readable. What more can you ask?
F.W. Walbank's long-winded introduction told me much more than I ever needed to know about this second-tier historian. What makes Polybius valuable is that he actually played a part in some of the events he described and seems to have prized first-hand sources, interviewing people involved and consulting contemporary documents, especially in the Roman Senate. As a Greek who had spent time in Rome, he wrote the history primarily for his fellow Greeks, to explain how a nothing civilization (Rome) on the edge of the Hellenistic World rose to power so quickly.
The account of Rome's Wars with Carthage is very even-handed and compelling. In other passages, his Greek prejudices often show through. Especially when he is talking about rival historians like Timaeus. He devotes a whole chapter, in fact, to insulting Timaeus. The chapter shows you something of Polybius' character that he would stop his history of the world to engage in academic fisticuffs.
This book functions well as an explanation of Rome to a non-Roman. I learned a great deal about the character of Rome and the Romans as well as all the Hellenistic kingdoms. At 541 pages, no one can accuse this of being a reader's digest version. The appendix includes nice maps and all the sections are titled so that one can easily flip through and find the portion in the chapter "Affairs in Greece" on "The Character of Philip." I guess what you have to ask yourself is whether you are already an expert on the history of the Mediterranean World from 200 to 146 BCE. If so, you are probably beyond Penguin editions like this one.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful.
Lamenting What Could Have Been
By Philip
I am not going to review Polybius, the historian, because this is not the appropriate place to do so. But, suffice it to say that Polybius is one of the more reliable ancient historians extant. For the period Polybius covers in his history, particularly for the period for which he was a contemporary, he is considered the most authoritative source, other than inscriptions or archeological evidence.
Thus, the importance of Polybius cannot be overstated.
That is why this English Language edition is both so promising, and at the same time dissipointing.
F.W. Walbank is the pre-eminent English-speaking Historian of the past 60 years on Polybius and the Hellenistic era. His scholarly work "Historical Commentaries on Polybius" are a standard reference for any historian writing about this period.
As such, an accessible English translation of Polybius edited by Professor Walbank should be (and I emphasize the word "should") the standard text in every English speaking classroom teaching this material.
And, in fact it mostly is.
But, like many others reviewing this edition, I can only lament that material that has been left out of the volume. And, I also agree that for whatever reason, Professor Walbank did not do a particularly good job of explaning what was excised and why he made the editorial decisions he did.
The translation by Ian Scott-Kilvert is frist rate. And you have the added comfort of knowing that the great F.W. Walbank gave it his stamp of approval.
But, I wish there were a complete, modern Polybius English translation that included all of the fragmentary materials and the portions of Polybius' work that were left out of this edition. [The Loeb translation by Paton is over 80 years old]. Specifically, it would have been nice to have a full English Translation that tracked Walbank's 3 Volume "Historical Commentary on Polybius," as almost a companion to that seminal work. Those who wished to pursue an issue in more depth could consult the Commentaries if they so desired.
There are rumors that a new English language edition of Polybius is being produced, and one can only hope that it is more comprehensive and comes close to the authoritativeness of Walbank's.
But, given the quality of what is provided in the Penguin Classics edition, and the assuredness of the scholarship that produced it, this is the starting point volume for any study of Polybius.
UPDATE FROM APRIL, 2010:
I hinted at the rumors, in my earlier review, that a new Polybius English translation was in the works. Joyfully, I can report that the Loeb classic volume originally translated ably by Paton so many decades ago has been completely revised with a great deal of input from none other than professor Walbank. They are set to be released in May of 2010, and I wholeheartedly recommend that anyone interested in the full Polybius look into acquiring them. Sadly, Professor Walbank passed away in 2008 so he was not able to complete the revision -- the revision is only of books 1-4 (in two volumes) of Polybius' work. Hopefully, Christian Habicht -- who also worked on the revision -- will be able to complete it.
UPDATE FROM JUNE, 2010:
The good news continues. Oxford is also preparing a new English translation by Robin Waterfield and Brian McCing -- of all the extant books and fragments. As someone with an avid interest in the middle Roman Republic, and who owns this Penguin volume, the Loeb volumes and also Professor Walbank's commentaries on Polybius, I look forward to these welcome additions. Anyone interested in this subject should have the Penguin volume because of Professor Walbank's influence on it. But, because it is incomplete, these updated translations are also essential.
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