Universität Wien

090035 UE Exercise in Greek Historiography: Selected passages from Polybius' Histories (2015S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 9 - Altertumswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 09.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 16.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 23.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 13.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 20.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 27.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 04.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 11.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 18.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 01.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 08.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 15.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 22.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2
  • Monday 29.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Übungsraum Alte Geschichte Hauptgebäude, Tiefparterre Stiege 2

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

According to Polybius, one of the most remarkable events in history was that Rome obtained control over the Mediterranean world in few decades (220-167 BC). Polybius’ perception of Roman power is especially important since it reproduces the 2nd century BC reflection on Roman expansionist strategy. Indeed, as both a statesman in Greece and a hostage in Rome, Polybius was uniquely situated at the point of intersection between the Greek and Roman worlds during this transformative moment in Mediterranean history.
This course will examine Polybius’s analysis and interpretation of Roman expansion in the Mediterranean area between the 3rd and the 2nd century BC, by focusing in particular on Rome’s relationships with Carthage and Hellenistic kingdoms.

Assessment and permitted materials

Students are requested to participate in classes actively by commenting and interpreting the proposed passages, which will be weekly read both in English and in original language.
Furthermore, the students will be requested either to translate into German or into English a series of excerpts from Polybius or, alternatively, to prepare a written essay on a selected topic. Further details will be provided at the beginning of the course.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

On successful completion of the module, the students will demonstrate:
· An ability to engage with primary evidence provided by two of the most distinguished historians of antiquity, Polybius and Livy, and to analyze their approach to Roman imperialism critically.
· An appreciation of the historiographical and analytical skills needed to handle historical sources.
· An ability to use and to compare different sources in order to assess the main issues in the interpretation of Roman imperialism in the second century BC.
· An ability to discuss historical questions in oral and/or written work with coherent and logical arguments.
· An ability to present the positions of other scholars and to convey their own ideas clearly and correctly.

Examination topics

The students will be required to read, either in translation or in original language, and comment a selection of excerpts from Polybius’ text alongside passages of other Latin and Greek writers. In addition, they will be required to survey current scholarship in order to outline the cultural-political context in which Polybius elaborated his work.

Reading list

Polybius’ Text (only Greek):
T. Büttner-Wobst, PolybiiHistoriae, 5 vols.,Leipzig 1889-1905.

English Translation:
Polybius, The Histories, with English Translation by W. R. Paton Cambridge, MA
Vol. 1, revised by F. W. Walbank and C. Habicht
Vol. 2, revised by F. W. Walbank and C. Habicht
Vol. 3
Vol. 4
Vol. 5 & 6, containing the fragments of books 16-39
The English text of Paton’s Translation [first ed. without the revisions by Walbank and Habicht] is available athttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/home.html

Commentary on Polybius’ Work:
F. W. Walbank, A Historical Commentary on Polybius, 3 vols., Oxford 1957-1979.

Recommended reading (further suggestions will be provided during the course and according to the students’ specific interests):

A) Polybius’ Craft
H. Beister, “Pragmatische Geschichtsschreibung und zeitliche Dimension”, in Ch. Schubert, ed., Rom und der griechische Osten. Festschrift für Hatto H. Schmitt zum 65. Geburtstag, Stuttgart 1995, 329-349.
K. Clarke, “Universal Perspectives in Historiography”, in C. Kraus, ed., The Limits of Historiography, Leiden 1999, 249-279.
P. S. Derow, “Historical explanation: Polybius and His Predecessors”, in S. Hornblower, ed., Greek historiography, Oxford, 1994, 73-90.
B. C. McGing, Polybius' Histories, Oxford 2010
F. W. Walbank, Polybius, Berkeley 1972.

B) Understanding Rome
D. W. Baronowski, Polybius and Roman imperialism, Bristol 2011.
C. B. Champion, Cultural Politics in Polybius’ Histories, Berkeley 2004.
A. Erskine, “How to Rule the World: Polybius Book 6 Reconsidered”, in B. Gibson, ed., Polybius and His World, Oxford 2013, 231-246.
C. Nicolet, “Polybe et les institutions romaines”, in E. Gabba, ed., Polybe, Entretiens Hardt 20, Geneva 1974, 209-265.
S. Podes, “Polybius and the theory of anacyclosis: problems of not just ancient theory”, HPTh 12, 1991, 577-587.
F. W. Walbank, “Polybius’ perception of the one and the many”, in I. Malkin, ed., Leaders and Masses in the Roman World, Leiden 1995, 201-222.
F. W. Walbank, “A Greek looks at Rome: Polybius VI revisited”, SCI 17, 1998, 45-59.

C) Roman Imperialism
P. J. Burton, Friendship and Empire. Roman Diplomacy and Imperialism in the Middle Republic (353 - 146 BC), Cambridge 2011.
C. B. Champion, Roman Imperialism. Readings and Sources, Oxford 2004.
A. M. Eckstein, Rome Enters the Greek East. From Anarchy to Hierarchy in the Hellenistic Mediterranean 230 - 170 BC, Malden 2008.
A. Erskine, Roman Imperialism, Edinburgh 2010.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: We 15.12.2021 00:17