Reading Guide due 11/12

Name:

Reading guide 9: Selections from books 1 and 3 of The Histories by Polybius due via Blackboard by 4:00pm on Monday, 11/12

Note: Polybius was from Megalopolis in Greece, he was sent as a hostage to Rome in 167 BCE after their war with King Perseus of Macedon.

Questions for book 1.1-6 (Polybius’ aims and subject)

What is the purpose of studying history, according to Polybius and his predecessors?

What is the subject of Polybius’ work and why does he think it’s so important?

How does Rome compare to earlier empires, according to Polybius?

What is unique about the period Polybius describes compared with those that came earlier and how will his work be different from that of earlier historians?

Questions for book 3.1-9 (More on Polybius’ aims and summary of his work)

What does Polybius want to clarify for the “present generation” of people living around the Mediterranean?

What does Polybius suggest should not be the end goal of military action, and what does he think should be the end goal instead?

Judging from chapter 5, how did Roman treatment of Greeks and Carthaginians differ?

What distinction does Polybius make between a cause and a starting point?

Why do so many people trust Fabius’ account of the cause of the war with Hannibal, according to Polybius?

Questions for book 3.47-49 (Hannibal and his elephants in the Alps)

What criticism does Polybius make of other accounts of Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps?

What does Polybius seem to think of Hannibal’s approach, contrary to these other writers?

How did the Roman consul Scipio react when he got to the river crossing at which he expected Hannibal to be stationed?

Questions for book 3.78-87 (battle of Lake Trasiminae)

How did Hannibal sneak into Etruria undetected?

How did Hannibal trick Flaminius to come out and fight and what was the result when he did?

How did Hannibal treat the prisoners who were allies of Rome and what was his reason for doing so?

After hearing about the loss in the subsequent cavalry battle what did the Senate decide the “crisis demanded?”

Questions for book 3.106-118 (the Battle of Cannae)

Upon becoming consul, what was the first step Aemilius took?

What did the two consuls, Aemilius and Varro, disagree about?

What did Hannibal tell his army the stakes of the coming battle were?

What was the outcome of the battle and how many Romans died?