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Introduction

The aim of The Library of Polybius is to collect, describe, and analyze passages from The Histories of Polybius, where other authors and literary works are quoted. The Wikibase includes:

●       The original Greek text of the quoting passages.

●       Information about the quoted authors (e.g., name, provenance, period) and their works (e.g., title, number of books, content).

●       The relevant linguistic elements of the quoting text–namely, the Greek forms of the authors’ names and their works, as well as verbs introducing citations.

The Library of Polybius originated in the framework of the PhD Project "Detecting and Retrieving Lost Historians", conducted by Leonardo D'Addario at Leipizig University in cotutelle with KU Leuven under the supervision of Monica Berti (Leipzig University) and Stefan Schorn (KU Leuven). This project is also part of MECANO, an MSCA Doctoral Network which explores the dynamics of the canonization of Graeco-Roman texts by fostering the integration of digital tools and traditional methodologies. The goals of this research are:

1. analyse the language that Polybius uses when citing other historiographers;
2. provide insights into Polybius’ quoting practice and assess his reliability as a source for fragments;
3. establish whether Polybius’ quoting practice reflects engagement with a specific canon of authoritative writers.

Data model for quoting passages

Necessity	Properties	Values
yes	instance of	quoting passage (item)
yes	quoting text	Greek text (string)
yes	[Q] transcribed from the expression	expression (item)
yes	[R] CTS URN	CTS URN (external identifier)
yes	[R] URL of the transcription	URL to Perseus Scafe Viewer (url)
yes	taken from	work (item)
yes	[Q] citation	citation (string)
yes	quoted author(s)	person (item)
yes	[Q] textual form	Greek text (string)
yes (if “textual form” has a value)	[Q] lemma(s)	lemma (string)
yes (if “textual form” has a value)	[Q] reference form	proper name / toponym / generic noun (item)
yes	[R] determination method	explicit textual reference / inferred from the context (item)
yes (if “textual form” has a value)	[R] lemma reference(s)	Logeion URL (url)
yes	quoted work(s)	work (item)
yes (if there is the previous pair)	[Q] textual form	Greek text (string)
yes (if “textual form” has a value)	[Q] lemma(s)	lemma (string)
yes (if “textual form” has a value)	[Q] reference form	name / section (item)
yes	[R] determination method	explicit textual reference / inferred from the context (item)
yes (if “textual form” has a value)	[R] lemma reference(s)	logeion URL (url)
no	reporting verb(s)	lemma (string)
yes (if there is the statement)	[Q] textual form	Greek text (string)
yes (if there is the statement)	[Q] subject	person (item)
yes (if there is the statement)	[R] lemma reference(s)	logeion URL (url)