Polybius, Histories II, 56.6-11:
Wishing, for instance, to instist on the cruelty of Antigonus and the Macedonias and also on that of Aratus and the Achaeans, he tells us that the Mantineans, when they surrendered, were exposed to terrible sufferings and that such were the misfortunes that overtook this, the most ancient and greatest city in Arcadia, as to impress deeply and move to tears all the Greeks. In his eagerness to arouse the pity and attention of his readers he treats us to a picture of clinging women with their dishevelled and their breasts bare, or again of crowds of both sexes together with their children and aged parents weeping and lamenting as they are led away to slavery. This sort of thing he keeps up throughout his history, always trying to bring horrors vividly before our eyes. Leaving aside the ignoble and womanish character of such a treatment of his subject, let us consider how far it is proper or serviceable to history. A historical author should not try to trhill his readers by such exaggerated pictures, nor should he, like a tragic poet, try to imagine the probable utterances of this characters or reckon up all the consequences probably incidental to the occurrences with which he deals, but simply record what really happened and what really was said, however commonplace. For the object of tragedy is not the same as that of history but quite the opposite.

Polybius, Histories II, 56.13-16:
Apart from this, Phylarchus simply narrates most of such catastrophes and does not even suggest their causes or the nature of these causes, without which it is impossible in any case to feel either legitimate pity or proper anger. Who, for instance, does not think it an outrage for a free man to be beaten? but if this happen to one who was the first to resort to violence, we consider that he got only his desert, while where it is done for the purpose of correction or discipline, those who strike free men are not only excused but deemed worthy of thanks and praise. Again, to kill a citizen is considered the greatest of crimes and that deserving the highest penalty, but obviously he who kills a thief or adulterer is guiltless, and the slayer or a traitor or tyrant everywhere meets with honour and distinction.

Polybius, Histories IV, 16.4:
The Aetolians at least, continouing to behave in this manner, constantly pillaging Greece and committing frequent acts of war without declaration, not only never thought it complaints, but ridiculed anyone who called them to account for their past offences or even for their future designs.

Polybius, Histories V, 88.4-90.1:
The Rhodians at least so dealt with the matter, that by laying stress on the greatness of the calamity and its dreadful character and by conducting themselves at public audiences and in private intercourse with the greatest seriousness and dignity, they had such an effect on cities and especially on kings that not only did they receive most lavish gifts, but that the donors themselves felt that a favour was being conferred on them. For Hiero and Gelo not only gave seventy-five silver talents, partly at once and the rest very shortly afterwards, to supply oil in the gymnasium, but dedicated silver cauldrons with their bases and a certain number of water-pitchers, and in addition to this granted ten talents for sacrifices and ten more to qualify new men for citizenship, so as to bring the whole gift up to a hundred talents. They also relieved Rhodian ships trading to their ports from the payment of customs, and presented the city with fifty catapults three cubits long. And finally, after bestowing so many gifts, they erected, just as if they were still under an obligation, in the Deigma or Mart at Rhodes a group representing the People of Rhodes being crowned by the People of Syracuse. ptolemy also promised them three hundred talents of silver, a million artabae of corn, timber for the construction of ten quinqueremes and ten triremes, forty thousand cubits (good measure) of squared deal planking, a thousand talents of coined bronze, three thousand talents of tow, three thousand pieces of sail-cloth, three thousands talents (of bronze?) for the restoration of the Colossus, a hundred master builders and three hundred and fifty masons, and fourteen talents per annum for their pay, and besides all this, twelve thousand artabae of corn for the games and sacrifices and twenty thousand artabae to feed the crews of ten triremes. Most of these things and the third part of the money he gave them at once. Antigonus in like manner gave them ten thousand pieces of timber ranging from eight to sixteen cubits in length to be used as rafters, five thousand beams of seven cubits long, three thousand talents of silver, a thousand talents of pitch, a thousand amphorae of raw pitch and a hundred talents of silver, while Chryseis his wife gave them a hundred thousand medimni of corn and three thousand talents of lead. Seleucus, the father of Antiochus, besides exempting Rhodians trading to his dominions from custom duties, presented then with ten quinqueremes fully equipped, two hundred thousand medimni of corn, then thousand cubits of timber and a thousand talents of hair and resin. Similar gifts were made by Prusias and Mithridates as well as by the other Asiatic princelets of the time, Lysanias, Olympichus, and Limnaeus.

Polybius, Histories XXIII, 15:
I never can share the sentiment of those who exercise their vengeance on those of their own race to such an extent that they not only deprive the enemy of the year's harvest, but destroy trees and agricultural apparatus, leaving no room fro redress. On the contrary in my opinion those who act thus make a very serious mistake. For the more they think to terrorize the enemy by spoiling their country and depriving them not only of all present but of all future hope of procuring the means of existence, the more they make the men savage, and to avenge a single offence inspire an ineradicable hatred of themselves.

Strabo, Geography, 14.2.5:
The city of the Rhodians lies on the eastern promontory of Rhodes; and it is so far superior to all others in harbours and roads and walls and improvements in general that I am unable to speak of any other city as equal to it, or even as almost equal to it, much less superior to it. It is remarkable also for its good order, and for its careful attention to the administration of affairs of state in general; and in particular to that of naval affairs, whereby it held the mastery of the sea for a long time and overthrew the business of piracy, and became a friend to the Romans and to all kings who favoured both the Romans and the Greeks. Consequently it not only has remained autonomous, but also has been adorned with many votive offerings, which for the most part are to be found in the Dionysium and the gymnasium, but partly in other places. the best of these are, first, the Colossus of Helius, of which the author of the iambic verse says, "seven times then cubits in height, the work of Chares the Lindian"; but it now lies on the ground, having been thrown down by an earthquake and broken at the knees. In accordance with a certain oracle, the people did not raise it again. This, then, is the most excellent of the votive offerings (at any rate, it is by common agreement one of the Seven Wonders); and there are also the paintings of Protogenes, his Ialysus and also his Satyr, the latter standing by a pillar, on top of which stood a male partridge. And at this partrigde, as would be natural, the people were so agape when the picture had only recently been set up, that they would behold him with woner but overlook the Satyr, although the latter was a very great success. But the partridge-breeders were still more amazed, bringing their tame partridges and placing them opposite the painted partridge; for their partrigdes would make their call to the painting and attract a mob of people. But when Protogenes saw that the main part of the work had become subordinate, he begged those who were in charge of the sacred precinct to permit him to go there and efface the partrigde, and so he did. The Rhodians are concerned for the people in general, although their rule is not democratic; still, they wish to take care of their multitude of poor people. Accordingly, the people are supplied with provisions and the needy are supported by the well-to-do, by a certain ancestral custom; and there are certain liturgies that supply provisions, so that at the same time the poor man receives his sustenance andthe city does not run short of useful men, and in particular of the manning of the fleets. As for the roadsteads, some of them were kept hidden and forbidden to the people in general; and death was the penalty for any person who spied on them or passed inside them. And here too, as in Massalia and Cyzicus, everything else are objects of exceptional care, and even more so that anywhere else.

Plutarch, Life of Demetrius, 27.1-2:
But among the many lawless and shocking things done by Demetrius in the city at this time, this is said to have given the Athenaians most despleasure, namely, that after he had ordered them to procure speedily two hundred and fifty talents for his use, and after they had levied the money rigorously and inexorably, when he saw the sum that had been collected, he commanded that it should be given to Lamia and her fellow courtesans to buy soap with. For the shame they felt was more intolerable to the people than their loss, and the words which accompanied it than he deed itself. But some say that those who received this treatment were Thessalians, not Athenians. Apart from this incident, however, Lamia, when she was preparing a supper for the king, exacted money on her own account from many citizens. And the costliness of this supper gave it so wide a renown that it was described in full by Lynceus the SAmian. Hence also a comic poet not inaptly called Lamia "a veritable City-taker". And Demochares of Soli called Demetrius himself "Fable", because he too, like Fable, had a Lamia.

Plutarchs, Life of Aratus, 45.4-6:
It was thought also that the treatment of Mantineia by the Achaeanas was not in accord with the Grrek spirit. For after mastering that city with the aid of Antigonus, they put to death the leading and most noted citizens, and of the rest, some they sold into slavery, while others they sent off into Macedonia in chains, and made slayes of their wives and children, dividing a third of the money thus raised among themselves, and giving the remaining two-thirds to the Macedonians. Is it true that this came under the law of reprisal; for thouh it is a terrible thing to treat men of the same race and blood in this way, out of anger, still "in dire stress even cruelty is sweet", as Simonides says, when men, as it were, give satisfaction and healing care to a mind that is in anguish and inflamed. But the subsequent treatment of the city by Aratus was neither necessary nor honourable, and cannot be excused. For after the Achaeans had received the city form Antigonus as a present and had decided to colonize it, Aratus himself was chosen to be the founder of the new settlement, and being then general, got a decree passed that the city should no longer be called Mantineia, but Antigoneia, and this it its name down to the present time. And so it was due to Aratus that the name of "lovely Mantineia" was altogether extinguished, and the city continues to bear the name to him who destroyed and slew its former citizens.