Local knowledge and authority in Polybius' histories

Abstract

This paper discusses the importance attributed to Polybius in recent years as a supposed precursor of global sociology, and the overlap between his universal historical discourse and the multiple local pieces of knowledge consulted by him. Two passages of his Histories are explored in detail: Plb. 9.22-26, on Hannibal; and 12.5-16, on Locri Epizephyrii. In both texts, there are some explicit references to local knowledge and perspectives, as well as an explicit authorial assessment of their historical value. An important argument here is that Polybius consciously self-fashioned as a cosmopolitan historian, stressing his own authorial competence to build a wider and deeper understanding of historical deeds.