Polybius the Non-hostage

It is a common notion that Polybius was a hostage in Rome, but was it really so his position was looked upon? Has any preserved ancient author used the term for him? No, in fact none of them has called him so. The part where Polybius himself described his and his colleagues’ transport to Rome is not preserved, and he gives no term for his position. Of the other historians who deal with the sequel of the Macedonian war none narrates the event in their preserved parts, and nobody uses the word hostage. The narrative of the event is instead given by Pausanias in his description of Achaea, who also does not use the word hostage (in fact he seldom does). So technically it is quite wrong to use the word hostage of Polybius. But of course Polybius may have felt as a hostage even if he does not use the word about his status. In fact many persons in Antiquity have metaphorically described themselves or their relatives as hostages, so in that respect the word can be used in a wider sense.