Polybius

What do Livy and Polybius pinpoint as the causes of the Second Punic War? Why should historians treat their interpretations with caution? The Second Punic War of 218-201BC demonstrated a challenge for Rome to prove its power against Carthage, and to finally establish itself as the greatest and most powerful city-state of the Mediterranean. The accounts of Roman historian Livy and Greek historian Polybius allow events surrounding the Second Punic War to be analyzed and explained in terms of significance and effect to determine what caused this infamous war. These ancient historians share related and also contrasting accounts, sources and ideas on what these causes were. However, it is important to treat these interpretations with caution, in…

Since the antiquity, the question of who is fit to rule has been examined. When it comes to deciding who should rule, philosophers come with different views. From Plato, Aristotle, Polybius to Cicero, all have their own vision of how the rulers should be. This paper will argue that Plato suggests philosopher kings should rule whereas Aristotle proposes the middle class as ruling entity. For Polybius, society needs a mixed government and Cicero recommends replicating the Roman system. First,…

In times before Rome, many cultures had a common constitution, however, before the Roman constitution, a Greek historian named Polybius claimed these were flawed and too ‘simple’. According to Polybius these constitutions operated under one of four types, kingship, aristocracy, democracy, and mob rule. These constitutions with the formation of civilization, begin and with kingship and work their way down respectively and are cyclical, as Polybius would point out “Constitutional…

Polybius Describes the Romans’ Worship of Their Ancestors 1. Polybius admired the Roman Republic a great deal, in fact, he believed the roman republic to be a perfect form of government. He believed the success of the Roman Republic was tied to the Romans’ principle mosmaiorum, “the code of elders”. One of the main features that sets apart the Romans from the other civilizations at the time, was their devotion to their ancestors. The Romans’ practice during funerals showcased their devotion and…

The 3rd Punic War is a collection of four books from a series of thirty-nine books titled The Histories, authored by Polybius. The books that cover The 3rd Punic War are books 36 through 39. In book 36, Polybius covers the negotiations of surrender between the Romans and Carthaginians. In book 37, Polybius gives his views of how the Romans have become obsessed with power and control, then he jumps to his 1st hand account of structuring a peace deal between the Achaeans and the Romans. Book 38,…

For the purposes of this assignment, I have chosen passage number one. The passage is an excerpt (specifically the conclusion) from Book VI of the greater “The Rise of the Roman Empire,” authored by Polybius, who is regarded as a chief historian, second only to Thucydides by contemporary historians. “The Rise of The Roman Empire” represents the perspective of the author Polybius with respect to his historical sources and rationale during the years 221 to 146 BC in which he compiled forty books…

production was exclusive to the noble historian, whereby history would be an amalgamation of the public Roman memory and his own memory and assertions. For as sociologist Halbwach surmised, the individual memory does not alone have control over recovering the past, needing social interaction and the views of milieu through constructs such as language to create history. Further, the created collective memory mythicises history, unable to provide an objective outlook on truth due to its…

When reading this paper, it is important to keep in mind that many of the sources that were used were written after the events had already occurred. With saying that, one should still take into consideration that these pieces of written history are valuable and can shed some light on Roman history, culture, ideologies, and beliefs. Most of the information in this paper comes from the works of Polybius, who lived between 200 and 118 BCE, Livy, who lived between 59 and 17 BCE, and the Twelve…

Rome was wildly known for their success, but what was the reason they were so successful? Rome’s political institutions have a lot to with the great success and expansion and the ability to control so many territories. I feel the separation of power, the location and the desire for expansion is the reason for the great success in the Roman Empire. I will look at the Primary Source, The Roman Constitution by Polybius, The visual source of The Geographic and Cultural Environment. Rome had a…

differences of the Spartan system and the others of Greece creating this idea of separation. Going on to explain how the Spartans ruled he talks about the rights of each citizen and the differences between Sparta and Athens in ways such as the education of women and how the women of Sparta controlled the in workings over the men who focused on waring (Xenophon, n.d.). The accounts of the Spartan government are more of an observation by Xenophon rather than his views on the system as a whole,…