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Concept
Polybius
Summary
Polybius (pəˈlɪbiəs; Πολύβιος, ; 200-118 BC) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. 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. 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.
Polybius's 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. Polybius's 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.
The leading expert on Polybius for nearly a century was F. W. Walbank (1909–2008), who published studies related to him for 50 years, including a long commentary of his Histories and a biography.
Polybius was born around 200 BC in Megalopolis, Arcadia, Greece when it was an active member of the Achaean League. The town was revived, along with other Achaean states, a century before he was born.
Polybius's father, Lycortas, was a prominent, land-owning politician and member of the governing class who became strategos (commanding general) of the Achaean League. 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. In his early years, he accompanied his father while travelling as ambassador. He developed an interest in horse riding and hunting, diversions that later commended him to his Roman captors.
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.
Official source
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