Ctesias (; grc-gre, Κτησίας; fl. fifth century BC), also known as Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of

Cnidus Knidos or Cnidus (; grc-gre, Κνίδος, , , Knídos) was a Greek city in ancient Caria and part of the Dorian Hexapolis, in south-western Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. It was situated on the Datça peninsula, which forms the southern s ...

in Caria, then part of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

Historical events

Adrien Guignet - Retreat of the ten thousand

Ctesias, who lived in the fifth century BC, was physician to the Achaemenid king, Artaxerxes II, whom he accompanied in 401 BC on his expedition against his brother

Cyrus the Younger Cyrus the Younger ( peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ''Kūruš''; grc-gre, Κῦρος ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC i ...

. Ctesias was part of the entourage of King Artaxerxes at the Battle of Cunaxa (401 BC) against Cyrus the Younger and his Greek mercenaries called the Ten Thousand, when Ctesias provided medical assistance to the king by treating his flesh wound. He reportedly was involved in negotiations with the Greeks after the battle, and also helped their Spartan general Clearchus before his execution at the royal court at Babylon. Ctesias was the author of treatises on rivers and on the Persian revenues as well as an account of India entitled '' Indica'' (Ἰνδικά), and of a history of Assyria and Persia in 23 books, entitled ''Persica'' (Περσικά) that was written in opposition to Herodotus in the Ionic dialect. Professedly, the work was founded on the Persian Royal Archives.

''Persica''

The first six books of ''Persica'' covered the history of Assyria and

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

to the foundation of the Persian empire in 550 BC by Cyrus the Great; the remaining 17 books covered the years to 398 BC. Of the two histories, abridgments by

Photius Photios I ( el, Φώτιος, ''Phōtios''; c. 810/820 – 6 February 893), also spelled PhotiusFr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materia ...

and fragments are preserved by Athenaeus, Plutarch, Nicolaus of Damascus, and especially

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, whose second book is derived mainly from Ctesias. As to the worth of ''

Persica Persica may be: * Persica (Ctesias), a lost historical work * Persica, a subgenus of plants {{disambig ...

'', much controversy occurred, both in ancient and modern times. Although many ancient authorities valued the work highly and used it to discredit Herodotus, a modern author writes, "(Ctesias's) unreliability makes Herodotus seem a model of accuracy." Reportedly, Ctesias's account of the Assyrian kings does not reconcile with the cuneiform evidence. The satirist

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore ...

thought so little of the historical reliability of Ctesias that in his satirical '' True Story'' he places Ctesias on an island where the evil were punished. Lucian wrote, "The people who suffered the greatest torment were those who had told lies when they were alive and written mendacious histories; among them were Ctesias of Cnidus, Herodotus, and many others." According to the '' Encyclopædia Britannica'', Ctesias mentioned that the grave of

Darius I Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...

at Persepolis was in a cliff face that could be reached with an apparatus of ropes.

''Indica''

Nuremberg_chronicles_-_Strange_People_-_Umbrella_Foot_(XIIr)

A record of the view that the Persians held of India was written by Ctesias under the title '' Indica''. It includes descriptions of artisans, philosophers, and people having the qualities of deities, as well as accounts of unquantifiable gold, among other riches and wonders. The work is of value as it records the beliefs of the Persians about India. The book only remains in fragments and in reports made about the book by later authors.

References

Müller Müller may refer to: * ''Die schöne Müllerin'' (1823) (sometimes referred to as ''Müllerlieder''; ''Müllerin'' is a female miller) is a song cycle with words by Wilhelm Müller and music by Franz Schubert * Doctor Müller, fictional character ...

1858)
Texts of Ctesias
{{Authority control Classical-era Greek historians 4th-century BC historians 5th-century BC Greek physicians Ancient Cnidians Ancient Greeks from the Achaemenid Empire 5th-century BC births 4th-century BC deaths Historians from ancient Anatolia Physicians of the Achaemenid Empire Historians of Iran Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Greek Indologists Historians of the Achaemenid Empire People from Muğla Province

Historical events

''Persica''

''Indica''

References

Further reading

External links