Xanthus (historian)

Due to his tendency of using anecdotes, it is believed that his historical arrangements within his works may have been loose, like Herodotus. According to a reference from Stephanus of Byzantium, it is believed that part of book IV of the Lydiaca describes the founding of Ascalon, a centre for the cult of Atargatis, from the point of view of a Lydian named Ascalus, the son of Hymenaeus (also known as Tymenaeus) during the rule of king Alkimos (also known as Akiamos).

The credibility of Lydiaca has been questioned numerous times due to conflicting quotations and due to the fact that only fragments of Xanthus' works have survived. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, gives Xanthus the most credibility, because in his paper about Thucydides, he mentions that most historians earlier than Herodotus had “mythographic tendencies,” but gives Xanthus a fair amount of praise. Dionysius of Halicarnassus refers to Xanthus as “a man with an exceptionally sound knowledge of early history, who must be considered second to none in establishing the history of his own country” (I. 28.).

For an intelligent writer like Dionysius to give such a strong statement about Xanthus and his works, it is inferred that he came to his conclusion by studying the original Lydiaca or at least

The Magica (Greek: Mαγικά, Magika) is referenced once by Clement of Alexandria, but this reference’s credibility is often questioned since Clement of Alexandria also unreliably referenced Xanthus for the date of the founding of Thasos.^[6]

Notes