Dinon of Colophon
Dinon ( Greek Δίνων Dínōn ; * approx. 360 BC in Colophon , Asia Minor ; † approx. 330 BC) was an ancient Greek historian . Dinon's approximate dates of life are derived from a passage in his work that dates back to the reconquest of Egypt by Artaxerxes III. acts, which 343/342 BC Took place.
plant
Based on the Persika of Ktesias of Knidos, Dinon wrote a history of Persia, especially of the Achaemenid Empire , from the legendary early days to Artaxerxes III . It was, to judge from the thirty surviving fragments, probably based on the model of Ktesias' Persika , which dates from around 398/397 BC. Ends, divided into three parts (Assyriaka, Medika, Persika) and conceived as their continuation.
The following themes can be deduced from the fragments: Zarathustra ; a genealogy of Cambyses II ; Description of a custom on Xerxes' I royal table; the content of an alleged security guarantee that Themistocles allegedly received from Xerxes ( Artaxerxes I would be correct ); a very sketchy genealogy of a sister of Great King Artaxerxes I .; Persian manners.
The fragments show that the text was conceived for an audience with a certain sense of stories with fairytale, extraordinary and / or erotic elements.
reception
Dinon's son was the Alexander historian Kleitarchos , who presumably used his father's work himself.
The Roman biographer Cornelius Nepos viewed Dinon as a reliable source on Persian history. Even Plutarch has used the work obviously: He calls Dinon several times directly as a source in his Life of the Great King Artaxerxes II.
Editions and translations
- The fragments of the Greek historians No. 690 and Brill's New Jacoby No. 690 (with English translation and commentary)
- Dominique Lenfant (ed.): Les "Histoires perses" de Dinon et d'Héraclide (= Persika. 13). Fragments édités, traduits et commentés. De Boccard, Paris 2009, ISBN 978-2-7018-0255-8 .
literature
- Eran Almagor: Plutarch and the Persica. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2018.
- Gabriele Marasco: Ctesia, Dinone, Eraclide di Cuma e le origini della storiografia tragica. In: Studi italiani di filologia classica 6, 1988, pp. 48-67.
- Rosemary B. Stevenson: Persica. Greek Writing about Persia in the Fourth Century BC (= Scottish Classical Studies. 5). Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh 1997, ISBN 0-7073-0719-8 .
Web links
- Wolfgang Felix: Dinon . In: Ehsan Yarshater (Ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica (English, including references)
Remarks
- ↑ Dinon von Kolophon, fragment 30.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dinon of Colophon |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | ancient Greek historian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 360 BC Chr. |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Colophon , Asia Minor |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 330 BC Chr. |