Sosylus of Lacedaemon

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sosylus
Σωσύλος
Nationality
Lacedaemon
OccupationHistorian
EmployerHannibal
Known forTutoring Hannibal

Sosylus of Lacedaemon (Greek: Σωσύλος) was a Greek historian in the 3rd century BC. He would campaign alongside Hannibal throughout the Second Punic War, teaching him Greek and recording the events of his campaign.[1]

Biography

There are some disputes regarding where Sosylus was born. The predominant theory sides with his epithet, claiming that he was born in

Lacedaemon.[2][3][4][5] There is evidence however, that he may have been born in Ilium or Elis as stated by competing testimony from Diodorus.[6][7]

Serving Hannibal

Sosylus accompanied Hannibal during the Second Punic War and is the author of the Deeds of Hannibal, a lost historical work of seven volumes; only fragments of the work are known.[6][5][8][9][10] It is often assumed that Sosylus only recounted the first part of the war due to Battle of Ebro River being recorded in the fourth volume of the work.[11] Sosylus taught Hannibal Greek, while also recording the events of the war.[2][3][12][13] He also is believed to have served as an advisor to Hannibal.[14]

It is possible that

Polybios may have used material from Sosylus' history for his writing about Hannibal in The Histories.[15][16]

References

  1. ISBN 978-90-04-21711-9
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 9780801405495
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 9780283352553
    .
  4. ISBN 978-0-8204-1403-4
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-300-21015-6
    .
  6. ^ a b Thompson, James Westfall (1942). A History of Historical Writing ... Macmillan.
  7. ^ "ToposText". topostext.org. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  8. ^ Sosylus, in Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (Fragments of Greek Historians) by Felix Jacoby
  9. ISBN 978-0-307-42518-8
    .
  10. ISBN 978-1-134-50712-2
    .
  11. ^ Scullard, Howard Hayes (1930). Scipio Africanus in the Second Punic War. CUP Archive.
  12. ISBN 9781119025504
    .
  13. ISBN 978-0-300-21860-2
    .
  14. ISBN 978-1-4391-0217-6
    .
  15. ISBN 978-1-134-59251-7
    .
  16. ^ Jona Lendering (April 6, 2016). "Hannibal in the Alps". Livius.org. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sosylus_of_Lacedaemon&oldid=1180008786"