Polybius Was Right
Atthebeginningofthethree-volumecollectionofessaysentitledRome, the
Greek World, and the East,FergusMillar,inaprologuewrittenforvolume,
looksbackattheessayscollectedhereandcontendsthat‘‘AncientHistory’’
ismeaningfulandintelligibletouspreciselybecauseitiscomparativelyso
recentandwearestillsoclosetoitinsomanyimportantways.
Followingtheauthor’sprologue,theessaysof Millarinthisvolumede-
fend the continued significance of the studyof classics, argue forexpand-
ingthedefinitionofwhatconstitutesclassics,andchallengethedominant
twentieth-centuryscholarlyinterpretationofRomanpolitics.Accordingto
Millar,theRomanpeople,nottheSenate,wasthesovereignpowerinRe-
publicanRome.
Afterabriefsurveyofthecontentsofvolume,TheRomanRepublicandthe
Augustan Revolution,followingthelogicofMillar’sargument,inthisintro-
ductionIsetoutsomeoftherelativelyunexploredinterpretiveimplications
ofacceptingthatPolybiuswasrightabouttheroleofthepeopleinthestruc-
tureoftheRomanRepublic.
In the first essay of this volume, ‘‘Taking the Measure of the Ancient
World,’’Millarremindsclassicistsandothersoftheenormoussubstantiveand
temporalboundariesofthefield.Classicsis,orshouldbe,thestudyofthe
culture,inthewidestsense,ofanypopulationusingGreekandLatinfrom
thelateBronzeAgetotheIslamicinvasionsoftheseventhcentury..at
theearliest.Theimportanceofclassicsasamajorpartofhumanexperience
stemsfromitssheerextensivenessinspaceandtime.
Havingdefinedthevastscopeofthefieldofclassics,Millarthenargues
persuasivelyforstudyingGreekandRomanhistorytogether.Weshoulddo
sobecausethehistoriesandculturesofGreeceandRomewerecloselycon-
nected from the eighth century..and became even more inextricably
intertwined as time went on.Within the same essay a compelling case is
made for including Jewish and Christian texts in our conception of clas-
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