Moral Vision in the Histories of Polybius

Arthur M. Eckstein

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9780520085206
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780520914698
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Ancient History
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Arthur Eckstein's fresh and stimulating interpretation challenges the way Polybius' Histories have long been viewed. He argues that Polybius evaluates people and events as much from a moral viewpoint as from a pragmatic, utilitarian, or even "Machiavellian" one. Polybius particularly asks for "improvement" in his audience, hoping that those who study his writings will emerge with a firm determination to live their lives nobly. Teaching by the use of moral exemplars, Polybius also tries to prove that success is not the sole standard by which human action should be judged.


Arthur Eckstein's fresh and stimulating interpretation challenges the way Polybius' Histories have long been viewed. He argues that Polybius evaluates people and events as much from a moral viewpoint as from a pragmatic, utilitarian, or even "Machi

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS 1
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• ONE Introduction: Polybius and “Machiavellianism”
• POLYBIUS OF MEGALOPOLIS
• POLYBIUS AND “MACHIAVELLIANISM”
• TWO
• Polybius’s Aristocratic Ethos: Deeds of Personal Courage INTRODUCTION
• GENERALS IN THE BATTLE LINE
• HEROIC SUICIDE
• CONCLUSION
• THREE Polybius’s Aristocratic Ethos: Honor, War, and Wealth
• INTRODUCTION
• WAR FOR HONOR’S SAKE
• WEALTH AND ITS TEMPTATIONS
• CONCLUSION
• FOUR Polybius’s Aristocratic Ethos: Deceit and Good Faith
• INTRODUCTION
• “MACHIAVELLIAN” PASSAGES
• NON-“MACHIAVELLIAN” PASSAGES
• CONCLUSION
• FIVE Threats to the Social Order in The Histories, and the Polybian Response
• INTRODUCTION
• BARBARIANS
• MERCENARIES
• THE MASSES
• THE YOUNG
• WOMEN
• CONCLUSION
• SIX The Art of Generalship as the Imposition of Order
• INTRODUCTION
• THE CHARACTER OF THE SOLDIERY
• HAMILCAR BARCA AND THE MERCENARY WAR
• SCIPIO AT NEW CARTHAGE
• THE BATTLE OF CYNOSCEPHALAE
• CONCLUSION
• SEVEN Politics: Greece and Rome
• INTRODUCTION
• POLYBIUS’S POLITICAL HERITAGE
• THE BEHAVIOR OF THE OPPONENTS OF ROME
• THE SERVILE
• THE BEHAVIOR OF THE ROMANS
• CONCLUSION
• EIGHT Optimism and Pessimism
• INTRODUCTION
• HUMAN CHARACTER
• POLYBIUS’S GROWING PESSIMISM
• CONCLUSION
• NINE Conclusion: The Duty to Act
• APPENDIX: POLYBIUS ON DRINKING AND DRUNKENNESS
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• GENERAL INDEX
• INDEX OF POLYBIAN TERMINOLOGY
• INDEX LOCORUM