The Mixed Constitution A Roman Reality

Polybius's theory of the mixed constitution, developed in Book VI of his *Histories*, is undoubtedly the political theory that has had the greatest influence on the conception of modern governments. Its significance lies in the fact that, for the first time, a political theory was used to explain the Roman constitution. Its reception in antiquity was consequently very widespread, to the point that it was taken up and largely adapted in Cicero's *De Republica*. Although Polybius wrote his work during his exile in Rome, between 160 and 150 B.C., he decided to analyze the Roman constitution as it stood immediately after the defeat at Cannae in 216, at a time when the Republic was experiencing its darkest hours, "because it is believed that the sole touchstone of perfection in a man is his ability to endure radical changes in fortune with dignity and nobility. " (Polybius, VI, 2, 6). Indeed, Rome's recovery after this disaster and its meteoric expansion over the following fifty years led the Greek historian to question the nature of the constitution that had made such a feat possible.