POLYBIUS, ‘THE TREATY OF PHILINUS’, AND ROMAN ACCUSATIONS AGAINST CARTHAGE

摘要

Philinus of Agrigentum, a pro-Carthaginian and anti-Roman historian of the First nPunic War (Polyb. 1.14.3), asserted that there was a treaty between Rome and nCarthage which forbade Roman involvement in Sicily as it forbade Carthaginian ninvolvement in Italy. The terms of the treaty which Philinus reported are summa-nrized by Polybius at 3.26.3: ἔδει ̔Ρωμαίους μὲν ἀπέχεσθαι Σικελίας ἁπάσης, nΚαρχηδονίους δ᾽ ᾽Ιταλίας. Philinus went on to assert that when the Romans crossed ninto Italy to aid the Mamertines of Messana (264 B.C.), and thus began the First nPunic War, this was a violation of the treaty and of Roman oaths to the gods to nobey it; the Romans broke τὰς συνθήκας καὶ τοὺς ὅρκους (3.26.7, cf. 26.4).n1