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Hecataeus of Abdera

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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HECATAEUS OF ABDERA (or of Teos), Greek historian and Sceptic philosopher, flourished in the 4th century B.C. He accompanied Ptolemy I. Soter in an expedition to Syria, and sailed up the Nile with him as far as Thebes (Diogenes Laertius ix. 61). The result of his travels was set down by him in two works - Aiyu7rrcaea and IIEpi `T7rEpOopEwv, which were used by Diodorus Siculus. According to Suidas, he also wrote a treatise on the poetry of Hesiod and Homer. Regarding his authorship of a work on the Jews (utilized by Josephus in Contra Apionem ), it is conjectured that portions of the Aiywnrrtath were revised by a Hellenistic Jew from his point of view and published as a special work.

Fragments in C. W. Muller's Fragmenta historicorum Graecorum.