4 THUCYDIDEAN STASIS ANDTHEROMAN EMPIREINAPPIAN’SINTERPRETATION OFHISTORY Jonathan J. Price Various factors motivated men to write history in antiquity. Josephus mentionsfourreasonsinthefirstsentencesofhis Antiquitates Judaicae, 1 reflectingthe topos ofthehistorian’sself-justificationasithaddevelopedto hisday:literaryvanityandthirstforfame,gratificationofhistoricalsubjects orpatrons,settingtherecordstraightineventsinwhichthehistorianwas himselfpersonallyinvolved,andpublicedificationofimportantmatters. Obviouslythefirsttwoarementionedonlytoberejected(andascribedto thehistorian’srivalsandopponents);Josephusdulyappliesthelattertwo tohimself.Appian’sremarksabouthisownpurposeinwritingseemto reflectthathe,too,ifhehadbeenthetypetowriteasself-consciouslyas his predecessor Josephus on his own literary endeavour, would have stressedtheultimateaimofedificationandunderstanding.Thisessaywill propose that Appian had an insight into the meaning of the Romans’ history,whichherevealedinthepeculiarformandstructureofhis Roman History, combining discursive ethnographic analysis (empire) and diachronicnarrationofanessentialevent(civilwar).Ishallarguethat AppianthoroughlylearnedThucydides’modelof stasis andunderstoodthe Roman stasis in its terms, and viewed Rome’s greatest, unprecedented achievementinthefactthattheEmpiresurvivedamassivelydestructive stasis intactandstable. AppianopenshishistoryofRomewithageographical(i.e.ethnographic) surveyoftheentireEmpire.Hisfirstsentence,incontrasttothemore informative, grander, even grandiose first sentences of other Greek historians, 2 ismodest:‘IntendingtowriteRomanhistory,Ihavedeemed itnecessarytobeginbylayingouttheboundariesofthenationsoverwhich theRomansrule.Heretheyare.’ 3 Insteadofjustifyingtheprofessionof historiography or explaining his method and purpose, as so many HellenisticandRomanhistorianswritinginGreekhaddonebeforehim (DiodorusSiculus’introductionofferingafulsomebuttypicalexample), 45 86032_Appian_Book:Layout 1 6/10/15 13:23 Page 45