Polybius and the Tyrants of Syracuse

The scholars who dealt in a specific way with Polybius’ interests for the past history made only quite brief observations on the modest references to the Greek West in the Histories. They stressed, on the one side, Polybius’ low interest for the history of the West, on the other, the insertion of Polybian references to the western historical context almost exclusively in the framework of the historiographical polemic with Timaeus. However, a survey of Polybius passages on the Syracusan tyranny highlights: a) firstly, that Polybius looks to the phenomenon of the Syracusan tyranny with a certain interest, evaluating its representatives on the basis of their government qualities, often considered remarkable; b) secondly, that this behaviour of the historian is in part independent from issues of historiographical polemic and that quite probably it is affected by judgment perspectives of Achaean and Roman origin.