Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus
Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus
Life
Pompeius Trogus's grandfather served under Pompey in his war against Sertorius. Owing to Pompey's influence, he was able to obtain Roman citizenship and his family adopted their patron's praenomen and nomen Gnaeus Pompeius. Trogus's father served under Julius Caesar as his secretary and interpreter. Trogus himself seems to have been a polymath.[1]
Works
Following Aristotle and Theophrastus, Pompeius Trogus wrote books on the natural history of animals and plants.[1]
His principal work, however, was his 44-volume Philippic Histories and the Origin of the Whole World and the Places of the Earth (
Style
Pompeius Trogus's idea of history was more exacting than that of Sallust and Livy, whom he criticized for their habit of putting elaborate speeches into the mouths of the characters of whom they wrote.[3]
On the Jews
Pompeius Trogus discusses the Jews in the context of the history of the Seleucid Empire. Along with the passages in Tacitus, the summary of Pompeius Trogus includes the most extensive description of the Jews in classical Latin literature.[4] His main overview of the Jews is divided into 3 parts: 1. The Antiquities of the Jews - includes a combination of 3 different traditions: Damascus tradition, Biblical tradition and the Egyptian-Greek tradition hostile to the Exodus 2. A brief geographical description of the land of Judea. 3. A history of the Jews beginning with the
Trogus used Greek sources for his composition. It is possible that the writing of the Jews he used the writings of Timagenes and perhaps also by Posidonius.[5]
Legacy
The original text of the Philippic Histories has been lost and is preserved only in excerpts by other authors (including
Pompeius Trogus's works on animals and plants were extensively quoted in the works of Pliny the Elder.[1]
Notes
References
Citations
- ^ a b c Chisholm 1911, p. 299.
- ^ Chisholm 1911, pp. 299–300.
- ^ a b Chisholm 1911, p. 300.
- ^ Menachem Stern, Studies in the history of Israel during the Second Temple period, p. 469.
- ^ Menahem Stern, Greek and Latin Authors on Jews and Judaism, Vol. I, XLVII. Pompeius Trogus, pp. 332-333
- ^ Winterbottom (2006).
Bibliography
- "Pompeius Trogus". Britannica. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 299–300.
- Winterbottom, Michael (Winter 2006), "Review: Justin and Pompeius Trogus: A Study of the Language of Justin's Epitome of Trogus by J. C. Yardley", International Review of the Classical Tradition, vol. 12, Springer, pp. 463–465, JSTOR 30222069.
External links
- Prologi of Pompeius Trogus's work at the Tertullian Project