Polybius, a native of Megalopolis in Peloponnesus, son of Lycortas. He was early initiated in the duties, and made acquainted with the qualifications, of a statesman, by his father, who was a strong supporter of the Achæan league, and under him Philopœmen was taught the art of war. In Macedonia he distinguished himself by his valour against the Romans, and when Perseus had been conquered, he was carried to the capital of Italy as a prisoner of war. But he was not long buried in the obscurity of a dungeon. Scipio and Fabius were acquainted with his uncommon abilities as a warrior and as a man of learning, and they made him their friend by kindness and attention. Polybius was not insensible to their merit; he accompanied Scipio in his expeditions, and was present at the taking of Carthage and Numantia. In the midst of his prosperity, however, he felt the distresses of his country, which had been reduced into a Roman province, and, like a true patriot, he relieved its wants, and eased its servitude by making use of the influence which he had acquired by his acquaintance with the most powerful Romans. After the death of his friend and benefactor Scipio, he retired from Rome, and passed the rest of his days at Megalopolis, where he enjoyed the comforts and honours which every good man can receive from the gratitude of his citizens, and from the self-satisfaction which attends a humane and benevolent heart. He died in the 82nd year of his age, about 124 years before Christ, of a wound which he had received by a fall from his horse. He wrote a universal history in Greek, divided into 40 books, which began with the wars of Rome with the Carthaginians, and finished with the conquest of Macedonia by Paulus. The greatest part of this valuable history is lost; the five first books are extant, and of the 12 following the fragments are numerous. The history of Polybius is admired for its authenticity, and he is, perhaps, the only historian among the Greeks who was experimentally and professedly acquainted with the military operations and the political measures of which he makes mention. He has been recommended in every age and country as the best master in the art of war, and nothing can more effectually prove the esteem in which he was held among the Romans, than to mention that Brutus the murderer of Cæsar perused his history with the greatest attention, epitomized it, and often retired from the field where he had drawn his sword against Octavius and Antony, to read the instructive pages which describe the great actions of his ancestors. Polybius, however great and entertaining, is sometimes censured for his unnecessary digressions, for his uncouth and ill-digested narrations, for his negligence, and the inaccurate arrangement of his words. But everywhere there is instruction to be found, information to be collected, and curious facts to be obtained, and it reflects not much honour upon Livy for calling the historian, from whom he has copied whole books almost word for word, without gratitude or acknowledgment, haudquaquam spernendus auctor. Dionysius also, of Halicarnassus, is one of his most violent accusers; but the historian has rather exposed his ignorance of true criticism, than discovered inaccuracy or inelegance. The best editions of Polybius are those of Gronovius, 3 vols., 8vo, Amsterdam, 1670; of Ernesti, 3 vols., 8vo, 1764; and of Schweighæuser, 7 vols., 8vo, Lipscomb, 1785. Plutarch, Philopœmen, preface.—Livy, bk. 30, ch. 45.—Pausanias, bk. 8, ch. 30.——A freedman of Augustus. Suetonius.——A physician, disciple, and successor of Hippocrates.——A soothsayer of Corinth, who foretold to his sons the fate that attended them in the Trojan war.
Polybœa, a daughter of Amyclas and Diomede, sister to Hyacinthus. Pausanias, bk. 3, ch. 19.
Polybœtes. See: [Polypœtes].
Polybōtes, one of the giants who made war against Jupiter. He was killed by Neptune, who crushed him under a part of the island of Cos, as he was walking across the Ægean. Pausanias, bk. 1, ch. 2.—Hyginus, preface to fables.
Polybus, a king of Thebes in Egypt in the time of the Trojan war. Homer, Odyssey, bk. 22, li. 284.——One of Penelope’s suitors. Ovid, Heroides, poem 1.——A king of Sicyon.——A king of Corinth. See: [Polybius].
Polycāon, a son of Lelex, who succeeded his brother Myles. He received divine honours after death, with his wife Messene, at Lacedæmon, where he had reigned. Pausanias, bk. 4, ch. 1, &c.——A son of Butes, who married a daughter of Hyllus.
Polycarpus, a famous Greek writer, born at Smyrna, and educated at the expense of a rich but pious lady. Some suppose that he was St. John’s disciple. He became bishop of Smyrna, and went to Rome to settle the festival of Easter, but to no purpose. He was condemned to be burnt at Smyrna, A.D. 167. His epistle to the Philippians is simple and modest, yet replete with useful precepts and rules for the conduct of life. The best edition of Polycarp’s epistle is that of Oxford, 8vo, 1708, being annexed to the works of Ignatius.
Polycaste, the youngest of the daughters of Nestor. According to some authors she married Telemachus, when he visited her father’s court in quest of Ulysses.
Polychăres, a rich Messenian, said to have been the cause of the war which was kindled between the Spartans and his countrymen, which was called the first Messenian war.
Polyclēa, the mother of Thessalus, &c.