Neanthes of Cyzicus (; el, Νεάνθης ὁ Κυζικηνός) was a Greek historian and rhetorician of

Cyzicus Cyzicus (; grc, Κύζικος ''Kúzikos''; ota, آیدینجق, ''Aydıncıḳ'') was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peni ...

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

living in the fourth and third centuries BC.

Biography

Neanthes was a pupil of Philiscus of Miletus ("who is reasonably certain to have died before 300 BC"Michael Weißenberger, "Neanthes," ''Brill's New Pauly'', 2011). Philiscus himself had been a pupil of

Isocrates Isocrates (; grc, Ἰσοκράτης ; 436–338 BC) was an ancient Greek rhetorician, one of the ten Attic orators. Among the most influential Greek rhetoricians of his time, Isocrates made many contributions to rhetoric and education throu ...

. In an honorary decree of 287 BC, the people of

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...

award him the

proxeny Proxeny or ( grc-gre, προξενία) in ancient Greece was an arrangement whereby a citizen (chosen by the city) hosted foreign ambassadors at his own expense, in return for honorary titles from the state. The citizen was called (; plural: o ...

, and this is the earliest of "only five decrees from the third century honoring historians, teachers of grammar or literature, or philosophers for their educational activities in the cities' gymnasia." Neanthes was a voluminous writer, principally of

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

, but very little has reached us to form any judgement of his merits. The various authors that quote him seem, with rare exceptions, to place great reliance on his accuracy and judgement. He is frequently referred to by

Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Ancient Greece, Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a ...

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

, and by several of the early

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

writers, as well as by others. Among the writings of Neanthes there were: #''Memoirs of king Attalus'' #''Hellenica'' #''Lives of illustrious men'' #''Pythagorica'' #''The myths about the city'' #''On Purification'' #''Annals'' He probably wrote an account of Cyzicus, as we can infer from a passage in

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

. He may also have written many

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...

al orations and a work Περὶ κακοζηλίας ῥητορικῆς or Περὶ ζηλοτυπίας against the

Asiatic style The Asiatic style or Asianism ( la, genus orationis Asiaticum, Cicero, ''Brutus'' 325) refers to an Ancient Greek rhetorical tendency (though not an organized school) that arose in the third century BC, which, although of minimal relevance at the ...

of rhetoric.

Leonard Whibley Leonard Whibley (20 April 1864 – 8 November 1941) was a British scholar who edited ''A Companion to Greek Studies'' from 1905 to 1931.Sydney C. Roberts, revised by Mark Pottle (2004).Whibley, Leonard (1863–1941). ''Oxford Dictionary of Nationa ...

, ''A Companion to Greek Studies'', Cambridge University Press, 1905
p. 88
/ref> This latter work, as well as the history of

Attalus I Attalus I ( grc, Ἄτταλος Α΄), surnamed ''Soter'' ( el, , "Savior"; 269–197 BC) ruled Pergamon, an Ionian Greek polis (what is now Bergama, Turkey), first as dynast, later as king, from 241 BC to 197 BC. He was the first ...

(who ruled 241–197), are irreconcilable with the dates of the Delphian decree and of Philiscus of Miletus; therefore, it is supposed that they are the work of a later Neanthes of the second century BC.

Notes

References

* * Fuentes González, Pedro Pablo, �
Néanthe de Cyzique
��, in R. Goulet (ed.), ''Dictionnaire des Philosophes Antiques'', vol. IV, Paris, CNRS, 2005, p. 587-594. {{Authority control 3rd-century BC Greek people 2nd-century BC Greek people Ancient Greek biographers Hellenistic-era historians 3rd-century BC historians 2nd-century BC historians Historians from Hellenistic Anatolia People from Cyzicus