POLYENUS, the name of many famous men recorded by the ancient writers. Amongst them was Julius Polyenus, of whom we have some Greek epigrams extant in the first book of the Anthologia. The Polyenus whom it most concerns us to know about, is the author of the eight books of
the Stratagems of Illustrious Commanders in War. He was probably a Macedonian, and perhaps a soldier in the early part of his life; but of this there is no certainty. He was undoubtedly a rhetorician and a pleader of causes; and, from the dedication of his work to the Emperors Antoninus and Verus, he appears to have lived towards the latter part of the second century. The Stratagemata were published in Greek by Isaac Casaubon, with notes, 1589, in 12mo; but no good edition of them appeared till that of Leyden, published in 1690, in 8vo.
We have in this work the various stratagems employed by above three hundred captains and generals of armies, chiefly Greeks and barbarians, for the Romans seldom resorted to such arts; and, besides, Polyæus has shown that he was little acquainted with Roman affairs. A great number of these stratagems appear to us to be ridiculous or impracticable; and neither the generals, nor even common soldiers, of our days, would be found simple enough to be caught by them. Few of the latter order indeed are capable of reading Polyæus's Stratagems; and if they were, they would reap but little benefit from the book. It is useful, however, to such as study the Greek language and antiquity; for many things will be found in it illustrative of the customs and opinions of ancient times. The sixth and seventh books are both imperfect.
Polyæus composed several other works besides the Stratagemata. Stobæus has produced some passages out of a book De Republica Macedonum; and Suidas mentions a piece concerning the Thebans. If death had not prevented him, he would have written Memorabilia of the Emperors Antoninus and Verus, which he promised to undertake in the preface to his sixth book of Stratagems. Casaubon, in the dedication of Polyæus to Mornæus, calls him an elegant, acute, and learned writer.