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Zusatztext This is an excellent boo? Informationen zum Autor Brian C. McGing is Regius Professor of Greek, and Director of the Centre for Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies at Trinity College Dublin. Klappentext The Histories of the second-century B.C. author Polybius chronicles one of the most exciting, and important, developments in the ancient world-the transformation of Rome from an Italian peninsular state into the first, and only, pan-Mediterranean super-power there has ever been. This volume provides an accessible introduction to this great work, of which forty books survive (of which only the first five are preserved in full) covering the period 264-146B.C. Zusammenfassung Polybius' Histories is one of classical antiquity's great political narratives. Written in 40 books (of which only the first five are preserved in full), it originally set out to explain the dramatic rise of Rome in the half century from the war against Hannibal to the defeat and abolishment of the Macedonian kingdom in 167 BC. At a later stage, Polybius extended his coverage down to the Roman destruction of Carthage and Corinth in the year 146 BC. Although written in an ordinary Greek style, the work was composed with great care, clarity and skill, and provides a fascinating discourse on the politics of power. The author was himself a leading Greek politician and general who moved at ease among the most powerful men of the day and participated in many of the events that he describes. This volume provides an accessible introduction to this important work of classical literature. Beginning with an outline of its contents and organization, Brian McGing goes on to examine Polybius' theoretical approach to writing history and the careful artistry behind his work. Later chapters discuss Polybius' eventful life and how it affected his views on history and politics, and analyze the influential theorizing of book six of the Histories. In an epilogue, McGing chronicles the fate of Polybius' work after his death, from classical antiquity to the Renaissance to the American Revolution and up to the present. The volume includes detailed maps and a list of prominent persons. Inhaltsverzeichnis Editors' Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction 1: Contents and Organization of the Work 2: The Historian's Task 3: Art and History: the Narrative of Books 4 and 5 4: The Historian as Homeric Hero 5: The Political Theorizing of Book 6 Epilogue Into the Future: the Influence of Polybius' Work in Later Times Maps Appendix: Outline of the Work Bibliography of Works Cited List of Prominent Persons Index ...
