Overview

Born about 200 B.C. in Greece to a politically prominent family, Polybius had his own political career cut short when he was deported to Rome as a hostage. During his exile, he commenced the composition of his Histories, with the original goal of examining Rome's rise to supremacy during the years from 220 to 168 B.C.; later he would extend his investigation down to the aftermath of the Third Punic and Achaean wars, which ended in 146 B.C. Of the original forty books of the Histories, today only the first five survive essentially intact, with most of the remaining books represented by fragments of various lengths. In this volume, David D. Phillips presents a commentary on Polybius' first book. The volume includes the definitive text by Theodor Buttner-Wobst, together with detailed commentary on points of linguistic and historical interest, and an introduction to Polybius' life, the  Histories (with special attention to Book 1), and Polybian language, style, and tone. An index of Greek words is also provided.

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9780979971372

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Reviews

 'a long-awaited contribution to Polybian scholarship, as it focuses on the historian's language and style and opens up this difficult text to those in need of more direction. 'The fact that this volume was used to and is intended to teach from is clear from the presentation of Polybius' original text.  The Greek is printed in a clear and easily readable font, the number of the passages are presented at the top of each page, and the individual passage numbers within the text are highlighted in bold for ease of identification. '... it will open doors to the teaching, analysis and reception of Polybius. It will hopefully be the impetus for further linguistic commentaries on Polybius' work, and the start of a new direction in the teaching of post-classical koinê Greek.' Emma Nicholson, University of Exeter -- Emma Nicholson, University of Exeter * Histos 12 (2018) * Teachers and students reading Polybius in Greek will find this commentary to be a useful asset for understanding the language and context of the first book of the Histories. [...]I recommend this commentary as a companion text for students reading Polybius in Greek at the advanced undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or early graduate levels. Daniel Walker Moore, University of Virginia  -- Daniel Walker Moore, University of Virginia * Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2017.11.54 *

'a long-awaited contribution to Polybian scholarship, as it focuses on the historian's language and style and opens up this difficult text to those in need of more direction. 'The fact that this volume was used to and is intended to teach from is clear from the presentation of Polybius' original text. The Greek is printed in a clear and easily readable font, the number of the passages are presented at the top of each page, and the individual passage numbers within the text are highlighted in bold for ease of identification. '... it will open doors to the teaching, analysis and reception of Polybius. It will hopefully be the impetus for further linguistic commentaries on Polybius' work, and the start of a new direction in the teaching of post-classical koine Greek.' Emma Nicholson, University of Exeter -- Emma Nicholson, University of Exeter * Histos 12 (2018) *

Author Information

David D. Phillips is Professor of History, University of California, Los Angeles. Previous books include The Laws of Ancient Athens (University of Michigan Press, 2013), Avengers of Blood: Homicide in Athenian Law and Custom from Draco to Demosthenes (Franz Steiner Verlag, 2008), and Athenian Political Oratory: 16 Key Speeches (Routledge, 2004).

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