The Nature of Authoritative Evidence in Polybius and Agelaus' Speech at Naupactus

Abstract

From several perspectives, the Aetolian ambassador Agelaus' speech at Naupactus is a key passage in Polybius' Histories (5.104.1-11). It contains what is perhaps the most memorable image in the work, the metaphor of the ultimate victor in the Hannibalic War as clouds from the west looming over Greece (5.104. 10), and it signals the initiation of the symploke, the historical point at which, in Polybius' eyes, the affairs of east and west became inextricably intertwined (5.105.4-10). Henceforth, Polybius judged, there were no longer discrete historical theaters; the only worthwhile history would therefore be synoptic and universal in scope.' Most modem scholars agree that Polybius has amplified the historical importance of the Naupactus conference as a marker for the unification of the oikoumene. Moreover, Agelaus' speech furthers Polybius' representation of Philip V of Macedonia as an aggressor with unlimited imperialistic schemes, as Agelaus, like Demetrius of Pharos before him, appeals to Philip's ambitions for world sovereignty in his plea for peace at Naupactus.

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