Polybius’ approach to documents: the Roman-Aetolian treaty of 212/211 BC. A case study

<p>This article aims to analyse Polybius’ treatment of documents by using the Roman-Aetolian treaty of 212/211 BC as a case study, especially through a careful examination of some of the language contained in the epigraphic text. It argues that the documents were cited by Polybius only when needed and when useful to the historian’s narrative. It also argues that, for the sake of his own version of the events, Polybius tweaks the way in which he addresses the documents at his disposal and finds ways to avoid referring to them in the proper way when such documents might undermine his narrative. </p>