Hellanicus of Lesbos

Hellanicus of Lesbos (born c. 480 bc, Lesbos [Greece]—died c. 395 bc, Perperene, Asia Minor [Turkey]) was a Greek historian whose work marks an advance in the development of historiography. Hellanicus lived for some time at the court of one of the kings of Macedonia and in Athens. Some 30 works (of which fragments survive) are attributed to him, including Hiereiai tes Heras en Argei (“Priestesses of Hera at Argos”).

Hellanicus was not content to repeat the traditions that had gained general acceptance through the poets but tried to render them as they were locally remembered and told. He attempted to lay the foundations of a scientific chronology, based primarily on a list of the Argive priestesses of Hera and secondarily on genealogies, lists of victors in athletic contests, lists of magistrates (e.g., the archons at Athens), and Asian dates, in place of the old reckoning by generations. But his materials were insufficient, and he often fell back on the older methods. Because he deviated so much from common tradition, he was thought untrustworthy by the ancients themselves.

His five books on mythology created a chronologically coherent narrative of Greek myths, and his methods influenced the subsequent writing of myth and history. Hellanicus wrote monographs on many parts of the Greek and Middle Eastern world. His work on genealogies and historical lists helped create the basis of a common chronology for Greek history. His two-book history of Attica (Atthis), spanning the time from the mythical kings to the end of the Peloponnesian War, formed the indispensable basis for Thucydides’ history, although Thucydides declared that Hellanicus was inaccurate in his dates.

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