Strabo, Polybius, and the limits of historical reconstruction: some remarks on the context of Strab. X, 3, 5

The article comments on Strabo’s criticism on the way Ephorus dealt with the ancient history of Delphi and the Aetolian region, to shed light on the reason why Strabo relates with this discussion a further criticism against Polybius (Strab. X, 3, 5). Therefore, a comparison with another similar criticism against Polybius (Strab. II, 4, 2), and a discussion of Polybius and Strabo’s attitude toward the reconstruction of the past, will be proposed. This will allow us to understand that, by demonstrating the errors of Ephorus, Strabo was able to show that the study of ancient history did not merely consist of repeating what his predecessors had already said, as Polybius’ methodological remarks (Polyb. IX, 1, 4-2, 2) might suggest.

Keywords: historiography, geography, Strabo, Polybius, criticism.