Polybius' Histories

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.

Brian C. McGing is Regius Professor of Greek, and Director of the Centre for Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies at Trinity College Dublin.

"This is an excellent book--comprehensive, balanced, and thought-provoking. It even helps readers understand some of Polybius's annoying characteristics: his relentless assault on other historians and his cruel attacks on contemporaries (powerful Romans excluded). McGing is well aware of Polybius's shortcomings and questionable practices, but he shows that, beyond them, there is a genuine, interesting historian." --HISTORY: Reviews of New Books"McGing's book provides a thorough and usually thought-provoking introduction to the Histories that should interest and encourage any reader who is approaching Polybius for the first time." --Bryn Mawr Classical Review