Hellanikos of Lesbos

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Hellanikos of Lesbos (Greek Ἑλλάνικος Hellánikos , Latinized Hellanicus ; * around 490/480 BC probably in Mytilene ; † around 400 BC in Perperene in Mysia ) was an ancient Greek historian .

Hellanikos is considered the first Greek writer who writes a lot. But only fragments of his numerous works (probably more than twenty) have survived. He collected the Greek sagas and arranged them according to gender and landscape. In addition, he wrote works on geography, including on Egypt, Persia ( Persica ) and individual Greek landscapes, and chronological lists (especially of the Herapriestesses of Argos ). His Atthis ("Attic story"), like his other local stories, has not survived, but was mentioned by Thucydides . It described the time from the beginnings of Athens to the Peloponnesian War in a chronological method, which was considered a particular step forward compared to its predecessors. With the atthis , a tradition of Attic local historians, the atthidographers , began. Hellanikos did not rely on his own observations and research, but on the statements of other people, which he accepted without criticism. Thucydides and his successors criticized Hellanikos' style and inaccuracies. His work, especially his chronological compilations, led to the actual writing of history.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Hellanikos of Lesbos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ἑλλάνικος (Greek); Hellanicus (Latin); Hellanikos
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Greek writer
DATE OF BIRTH around 480 BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH unsure: Mytilene
DATE OF DEATH around 400 BC Chr.
Place of death Perperene , Mysia