Xanthus of Lydia ( el, Ξάνθος ὁ Λυδός, ''Xanthos ho Lydos'') was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
,
logographer and citizen of
Lydia who, during the mid-fifth century BC, wrote texts on the history of
Lydia known as ''Lydiaca'' (Λυδιακά), a work which was highly commended by
Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Xanthus also wrote occasionally about geology. It is believed that Xanthus was the earliest historian to have written a significant amount on the topic of Lydian history. He is also believed to have written a work entitled ''Magica'' (Mαγικά), as well as one entitled ''Life of
Empedocles
Empedocles (; grc-gre, Ἐμπεδοκλῆς; , 444–443 BC) was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a native citizen of Akragas, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles' philosophy is best known for originating the cosmogonic theory of the ...
''. It is believed that Xanthus had some knowledge of
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
traditions, and it is plausible that he, a Lydian, would write about Persian religion, but it seems unlikely due to the available evidence. His seat was believed to be at
Sardis
Sardis () or Sardes (; Lydian: 𐤳𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣 ''Sfard''; el, Σάρδεις ''Sardeis''; peo, Sparda; hbo, ספרד ''Sfarad'') was an ancient city at the location of modern ''Sart'' (Sartmahmut before 19 October 2005), near Salihli, ...
, the capital. A contemporary and colleague of
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
, most of his writings concerned the lineage and deeds of the
Lydian kings. Xanthus was known for writing in the traditional
Ionian style of trying to establish the scene of popular myths. One example of Xanthus using this type of writing style is when he placed the scene of the "giant's punishment" in
Katakekaumene
Katakekaumene or Catacecaumene ( el, Κατακεκαυμένη) was a name for a district in Lydia (modern western Turkey), and a union of ten cities in the area, during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
The name means "burnt land" or "burnt ...
. Xanthus was also known for adapting historical events that were often considered boring into passages that the general
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
public would enjoy. Xanthus was one of the chief authorities used by
Nicolaus of Damascus
Nicolaus of Damascus (Greek: , ''Nikolāos Damaskēnos''; Latin: ''Nicolaus Damascenus'') was a Greek historian and philosopher who lived during the Augustan age of the Roman Empire. His name is derived from that of his birthplace, Damascus. He w ...
.
Lydiaca
According to references from
Stephanus of Byzantium, the ''Lydiaca'' ( el, Λυδιακά, ''Ludiaka'') is believed to be composed of four different books. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell how Xanthus arranged his material within the books as well as what amount of it would deal with pre-
Mermnad dynasty times (i.e. before 700 BC).
Due to his tendency of using anecdotes, it is believed that his historical arrangements within his works may have been loose, like Herodotus. According to a reference from Stephanus of Byzantium, it is believed that part of book IV of the ''Lydiaca'' describes the founding of
Ascalon, a centre for the cult of
Atargatis
Atargatis (; grc, Ἀτάργατις, translit=Atárgatis or arc, , translit=ʿtrʿth; syc, ܬܪܥܬܐ, translit=Tarʿaṯā) was the chief goddess of northern Syria in Classical antiquity. Ctesias also used the name Derketo ( grc-koi, Δε ...
, from the point of view of a Lydian named Ascalus, the son of Hymenaeus (also known as Tymenaeus) during the rule of king Alkimos (also known as Akiamos).
The credibility of ''Lydiaca'' has been questioned numerous times due to conflicting quotations and due to the fact that only fragments of Xanthus' works have survived.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, gives Xanthus the most credibility, because in his paper about
Thucydides
Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...
, he mentions that most historians earlier than
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
had “mythographic tendencies,” but gives Xanthus a fair amount of praise. Dionysius of Halicarnassus refers to Xanthus as “a man with an exceptionally sound knowledge of early history, who must be considered second to none in establishing the history of his own country” (I. 28.).
For an intelligent writer like Dionysius to give such a strong statement about Xanthus and his works, it is inferred that he came to his conclusion by studying the original Lydiaca'' ''or at least
epitome of
Menippus
Menippus of Gadara (; el, Μένιππος ὁ Γαδαρεύς ''Menippos ho Gadareus''; fl. 3rd century BC) was a Cynic satirist. The Menippean satire genre is named after him. His works, all of which are lost, were an important influence ...
, and not by reading the unreliable quotations by Scytobrachion. Many interpret this as evidence that Xanthus’s work was substantive and legitimate, and not just a fabrication of some other writer such as Scytobrachion who attributed quotes to Xanthus that were never said and were actually his own statements. According to
Strabo, in the first book of the Lydiaca Xanthus mentions finding rocks in the shape of seashells in many inland areas, such as
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
,
Matiene
Matiene was the name of a kingdom in northwestern Iran on the lands of the earlier kingdom of the Mannae. Ancient historians including Strabo, Ptolemy, Herodotus, Polybius, and Pliny mention names such as Mantiane, Martiane, Matiana, Matiani, ...
, and Lower Phrygia, and from this observation he speculates that the entire
Anatolian Peninsula
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 reg ...
was once under water (I. 3, 4).
Magica
The ''Magica'' ( el, Mαγικά, ''Magika'') is referenced once by
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen an ...
, but this reference’s credibility is often questioned since Clement of Alexandria also unreliably referenced Xanthus for the date of the founding of
Thasos
Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area.
The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate r ...
.
[Pearson, L: ''Early Ionian Historians'' , pages 117-120. Cambridge UP, 1939.]
Notes
Works cited
* Easterling, P. E., Bernard MacGregor, and Walker Knox. Greek Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1985. Google Books. Web. 29 Jan. 2010
Greek Literature
* Marincola, John. Greek Historians. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001. Google Books. Web. 29 Jan. 2010
Greek Historians
* Pearson, Lionel. Early Ionian Historians. London: Oxford UP, 1939. Print.
*
* Seters, John Van. In Search of History: Historiography in the Ancient World and the Origins of Biblical History. New Haven: Yale UP, 1983. Google Books. Web. 29 Jan. 201
In Search of History: Historiography in the Ancient World and the Origins of Biblical History
* Tozer, Henry Fanshawe, and Max Cary. A History of Ancient Geography, Volume 1. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, n.d. Google Books. Web. 29 Jan. 2010
A History of Ancient Geography, Volume 1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xanthus
Early Greek historians
Historians from ancient Anatolia
5th-century BC historians
Lydia
Historians of the Achaemenid Empire