Comparing the Penguin and Oxford editions of Polybius

Quick note: these editions are divided into large sections termed as books, so if I refer to a ‘book’ then that effectively means what most modern people mean by chapter.

It’s been over a decade since I last read Polybius, so I decided the time was right to reacquaint myself with this top chap. But, as I finished the first book, it occurred to me I had two editions and had never compared the two. So, I thought I would. And it turns out there’s actually a lot missing n one and present in another. Because I like Polybius quite a lot it seemed interesting (and maybe useful for anyone pondering which to buy) to compare and contrast the Penguin and Oxford editions of his writings.

Note: the size of each page is identical so the page guide is very useful but not a perfect comparison.

Book	Penguin pages	Oxford pages
I	71	75
II	68	56
III	100	93
IV	15	68
V	12	81
VI	52	44
VII	12	X
VIII	23	X
IX	19	X
X	21	X
XI	6	X
XII	24	42
XIV	13	X
XV	31	X
XVIII	25	X
XXIV	4	X
XXXI	15	X
XXXVI	6	X
XXXIX	2	X

 

So, as the table clearly indicates the first three books and book VI are present in both editions and in roughly the same size. However, books IV and V are vastly expanded upon in the Oxford edition, and Book XII is longer there as well. On the other hand, the Penguin version has multiple books (though often small) that are totally absent from the alternative. In terms of total length (NB this is only the Polybius text not counting introductions and the like) the Penguin version comes in at 519 pages to the 459 of Oxford.

But as any history reader knows, there’s more to text than the, er, text. Penguin employs the use of footnotes, which I far prefer to the endnotes of Oxford (requiring the reader to flit from front to back and so forth). However, Oxford also has textual notes on translations from the Greek which may be helpful for some.

The Penguin edition has maps at the back, covering Iberia, the Alpine route of Hannibal, northern Italy, Italy itself (a two page map including Sicily), Carthage’s territory, northern Greece, and central and southern Greece. There’s also a diagram of a four legion camp, as described by the author, and a chronological table of events.

In the Oxford version, maps are at the front, and cover Italy, Greece (a two page map), and the Mediterranean (a two page map). There’s also a five page glossary at the back explaining Greek and Latin terms, and a chronology (at the front).

Both versions have introductions, select bibliographies, and indices.

Because I was reading the sections that each version missed I saw a little overlap (end of one edition, start of another) and the text of both conveys much the same meaning though the translations so slightly differ. Neither, I would say, is inferior to the other, however.

 

So, what’s missing?

With such a degree of variance I can’t give a categorical list, but I did make notes of some of the chief areas of difference, looking primarily at things I found very interesting but which were only in one translation.

A prime example would be after the end of the First Punic War when the Carthaginians had to deal with rebellious, and savage, mercenaries and were almost undone by the conflict (present at the end of book I in Oxford but not Penguin).

Greek and Macedonian affairs are a mixed bag, with the Social War and early career of Philip V of Macedon absent from Penguin, and later parts of the same king’s reign and doings in Penguin but not Oxford. Another highlight, in book VIII and only in Penguin, is the account of the Romans trying to storm Syracuse only to run into the inventions of Archimedes that would set them back into settling for a prolonged siege.

For the most part, sections absent in one edition come in large lumps, either contiguous sections (such as the end of book I in Oxford) or complete books (as per Penguin). An exception is book XII, which is fragmentary in both but has more parts present in Oxford.

So, which would I recommend? As mentioned, it’s an annoying fact that there are very good sections missing from both, probably adding perhaps 300 pages or so (collectively). I would say it is worth getting both, but if you only want one I would probably go for the Penguin version. The convenience of footnotes is a nice bonus, and it does have the Third Punic War included (to an extent). While the earlier part of Greek and Macedonian events is absent, it has more on the later doings in this sphere. But, if you have the money, time, and inclination, there’s a significant amount of text that is only present in one or the other book.

 

As the cunning among you will have noticed, this is very much a comparison of the two editions and not a review of the general contents (excepting the parts missing from each edition). Concisely, Polybius covers quite a lot of history, the largest section of which is devoted to the Second Punic War in which Hannibal tussled with Rome but Scipio Africanus ultimately proved victorious. The conduct of that war is included, in both versions, down to the Battle of Cannae, with more in the Penguin version. It’s an excellent source for the Second Punic War, though not as complete as Livy’s account.

It’s also quite ironic that Polybius, whose excellent work has been whittled down over the years due to only excerpts being preserved, is still being reduced even in the modern era and, while the knowledge is retained, it still struck me as something of a historic echo of a trend that sadly deprived us of his complete works.

Thaddeus