Image: Wikimedia Commons

Polybius

Ancient Greek historian and politician of the 2nd century BC

PersonhumanQ131169

Also known as Polybius of Megalopolis

Born: 200 BCE
2
Sources
1.referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/polybius-e1000940
2.Stated in Great Norwegian EncyclopediaRetrieved 2026-10-18
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, 212 BCE
1
Sources
1.Stated in De Polybii vita et itineribus quaestiones chronologicae
View statement on Wikidata ↗
, 211 BCE
1
Sources
1.Stated in De Polybii vita et itineribus quaestiones chronologicae
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Died: 120 BCE
2
Sources
1.referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/polybius-e1000940
2.Stated in Great Norwegian EncyclopediaRetrieved 2026-10-18
View statement on Wikidata ↗
, 132 BCE
1
Sources
1.Stated in Q89122410
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, 130 BCE
1
Sources
1.Stated in De Polybii vita et itineribus quaestiones chronologicae
View statement on Wikidata ↗
+1 more
Birthplace: Megalopolis
Citizenship: Achaean League
Occupation: historian
1
Sources
1.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2026-04-20
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, military personnel
, writer
1
Sources
1.Stated in Library of the World's Best Literature
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Languages spoken, written or signed: Ancient Greek
1
Sources
1.Stated in CONOR.SI
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Notable work: The Histories

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Polybius was an ancient Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his Histories, a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covers the period 264–146, recording in detail events in Italy, Iberia, Greece, Syria, Egypt, and Africa, and documents the Punic Wars and Macedonian Wars among many others.

Overview

Author of

4 linked to Polybius in Wikidata

Created

1 linked to Polybius in Wikidata

WWho is the greater fool, the one who milks a male-goat or the one who holds the sieve to catch it?ancient saying, attributed to the Greek historian Polybius ("The Histories", 33.21.1)

Discovered

1 linked to Polybius in Wikidata

PPolybius squaretype of cipher

Named after them

3 linked to Polybius in Wikidata

All data

226 statements · 18% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Sex or gender: male
Time period: Hellenistic period
Father: Lycortas
Cause of death: horse fall
Writing language: Ancient Greek
Name in native language: Πολύβιος ala-lc romanization: Polybios
Given name: Polivios
Copyright status as a creator: copyrights on works have expired applies to jurisdiction: worldwide
Native language: Ancient Greek
Commons Creator page: Polybius
Manner of death: accidental death
Significant place: Megalopolis
1
Sources
1.Stated in The Histories
View statement on Wikidata ↗

On other databases

163 identifiers linking Polybius across the web's reference databases

Data quality

226

statements

18%

externally sourced

Source last edited October 18, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). Polybius (Q131169). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/polybius-Q131169