A Comparative Study Of The Historical Concepts Of Polybius And Appian

The historian of the Hellenistic period Polybius,and the historian of the Roman Empire Appian.were both prominent classical historians of the Greek-speaking areas of the Roman dominions,and both are famous for writing Roman history to explore the reasons for the rise of Rome.The Rise Of The Roman Empire and The Roman History reflect Polypius' and Appian's understanding of history itself and related issues of historiography,and are the main reliance for the study of the duo's conception of history.Polypius and Appian,building on the fine tradition of classical historiography,combine their own experiences and the changes of the times to explore the development of Rome in depth.In the process of writing history,they chose the same subject,namely the historical changes of Rome in the Mediterranean world,and used different methods of historiography to express their distinctive historical ideas,which strongly promoted the development of classical historiography.On the question of the evolution of history and the cognition of the function of history,Polybius and Appian formed the same general history concept and pragmatic historical view;for the historical process of the relationship between God and man,they are not the same.It is precisely because Polypius and Apian conceptions of history have both great commonalities and many differences,that it is necessary to trace the causes of these differences through comparative studies.Based on The Rise Of The Roman Empire and The Roman History,this article focuses on the differences and similarities between Polypius' and Apian's conceptions of history and the root causes of these differences and similarities,with a view to deepening the knowledge of the two historians' conceptions of history,so as to correctly understand the evolution of classical historiography.The paper is divided into five parts.The first chapter explores the complex context of the times in which Polybius and Appian lived,and analyzes the biography of the two and their representative works,tracing the background of the formation of their historical thoughts.It can be seen that the historical thoughts of the two historians were heavily influenced by the context of the times and the classical historiographical tradition.The second chapter examines the differences and similarities in the way Polybius and Apian historiography are compiled,using The Rise Of The Roman Empire and The Roman History as basic historical sources.Both Polybius and Appian,with the theme of exploring the history of Rome's rise to power in the Mediterranean region,have made historiography through different bodies of codification,expressing their different understandings of issues such as the cultivation of the historian.Comparing the differences and similarities between the professional historian Polybius and the bibliographer Appian on historiographical perceptions is helpful in providing an overview of the classical historiographical flux in Greek-speaking areas under Roman rule.The third chapter analyses the perceptions of Polybius and Appian about the evolution of history and its utility,concluding that both men were aware of the continuity and wholeness of historical development.Thus,both of them hoped to draw lessons from history by tracing the causes of change in Roman society,and to provide lessons for real society and future generations.Both The Rise Of The Roman Empire and The Roman History were written for the purpose of changing and learning from the past and the present,reflecting the inheritance and development of the historical concepts of the two classical historians.Chapter 4 examines the interpretation of the relationship between the God and men in the writings of Polybius and Appian,analyzes the specific meaning of heavenly destiny in their writings,and compares the differences and similarities between their historical views of heavenly destiny.Polypius's view of the history of providence belongs to a dualistic view of history,in which he affirms the objective existence and role of providence in history,while placing great emphasis on the subjective initiative of man in the development of history,reflecting the changes in his concept of history.Like Polybius,Appian also used providence as one of the means of historical interpretation,but in explaining the roots of Roman development,Appian added various oracles and providences as a means of proclaiming the legitimacy and justification of Roman rule.The two men's answers to the question of celestial-human relations reflect the evolution of classical historiography from the Hellenistic period to the imperial period on the flanks,reflecting the profound influence of the social environment on the historian's idea of history.Chapter 5 explores the reasons for the differences in historical notions between Polybius and Appian.The same Greek identity and the experience of living in Rome is the reason why Polybius and Apian share the same historical perspective.The difference between Polypius' status as a Roman captive and that of Appian as a Roman ruling elite leads to differences in the perceptions of history and historiography of the two.In addition,the succession and development of classical historiography has had a tremendous impact on the duo's view of history.Moreover,by placing Polybius and Appian dialectically in the process of the development of classical historiography,it can be seen that the differences and similarities in their views of history are a reflection of the evolution of classical historiography.Comparing the similarities and differences between Polybius' and Apian's conceptions of history,one can see that in the complex context of the times and the social environment,the historians of the Greek-speaking regions under imperial rule had a changing understanding of history itself and historiography,and that their conceptions of history had a profound influence on subsequent historians.Through comparative studies,we have deepened our knowledge of the fine traditions of classical historiography,such as the spirit of truth-seeking,the combination of causality and value judgments,and the pursuit of the requisite qualities of historians,which has brought quite useful insights to our historical learning.