The only surviving work of Polyaenus, a Macedonian author of the second century CE, was dedicated to the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and his co-emperor Lucius Verus. It comprises eight books describing the 'stratagems' - skills of warfare and leadership - of famous Greek generals, of 'foreign people' including the Romans, and of women. 833 of the original 900 have survived in the most complete copy (of the thirteenth century, and now in the Laurentian Library in Florence). Polyaenus' examples include mythical characters such as the gods Pan and Dionysus, and the heroes Heracles and Odysseus. The fifth century BCE is covered in detail, as are the careers of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great, while foreigners include Persians, and Romans from Amulius onwards, and among the women are Semiramis and Artemisia. This edition with Latin commentary was published in 1887 by Johann Melber, drawing on the work of Eduard von Woefflin.