The Histories
by Polybius · Ἱστορίαι
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 150-118 BCE
- Form
- History
- Language
- Greek
- Length
- Long · 560 pp300 to 700 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Rise of the Roman Empire, translated by Ian Scott-KilvertPenguin Classics, 1979A generous selection including all of Book VI, in a clear translation with F. W. Walbank's introduction.
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A Greek hostage in Rome set out to explain how Rome conquered nearly the whole known world in fifty-three years, from 220 to 167 BCE. Of forty books, the first five survive complete and the rest in extracts. They cover the Punic Wars, Hannibal's crossing of the Alps and Cannae, the wars in Greece and Macedon, and the sack of Carthage. Book VI, the most read, analyses the Roman constitution as a mixture of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy and describes the cycle through which constitutions decay.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Histories are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
