Essay Questions

Summarize the predominant allusion which Polybius employs.

Historical allusion; “In this book I shall take as may starting point the first occasion on which the Romans crossed the sea from Italy. This event occurs at the point where Timaeus’ history leaves off, namely in the 129th Olympiad. It will therefore be my task to describe first of all how and at what date the Romans established themselves in Italy, and what considerations impelled them to cross Sicily.” Historical allusions render Polybius’s work a pertinent historical text which is founded on Logos. The allusions bid vital milestones which subsidized Roman Empire’s unshakable ascension.

How does Syphax exploit impression management in his dealings with Scipio?

Polybius writes, “For these missions Scipio would include a number of men of tried experience and others of military capacity; they would be humbly and shabbily dressed, disguised in fact in the clothes of slaves, and their task was to examine and explore the approaches and entrances to both camps without interference.” The dilapidated dressing is an effective scheme for impression management for it does not provoke mistrust over the men’s intents. They are observed as deprived slaves due to their appearance which permits them to infiltrate their adversaries securely.