Philistus Φίλιστος
Born	c. 432 BC Syracuse
Died	356 BC (agedc. 76)

Philistus (Ancient Greek:Φίλιστος;c. 432 – 356 BC), son of Archomenidas, was a Greek historian fromSicily,Magna Graecia.

Philistus was born inSyracuse around the time thePeloponnesian War began. He was a faithful supporter of the elderDionysius, and commander of the citadel.Cicero, who had a high opinion of his work, called him the miniatureThucydides (pusillus Thucydides).^[1] He was admitted by theAlexandrian critics into the canon ofhistoriographers, and his work was highly valued byAlexander the Great. His works were continued by the later historianAthanas of Syracuse.

Philistus was quite wealthy. Before his rise to power, Dionysius criticized the generals of Syracuse on their poor performance against the Carthaginians, and was fined by the assembly for hisseditious language. Philistus stepped in to pay Dionysius' fines, with the promise to continue paying them so long as the council saw fit to issue them. It was through Philistus' support that Dionysius was able to rise to power and control Syracuse.^{[citation needed]}

In 386 BC, without consulting the tyrant, Philistus married the daughter of Dionysius' brotherLeptines. Dionysius feared that Leptines and Philistus would use the marriage as the basis of an alliance against him, and exiled both men from Syracuse. Philistus settled atThurii but afterwards moved toAdria, where he remained until the death of Dionysius in 367 BC. During his stay at Adria, Philistus occupied himself with the composition of his history of Sicily in eleven books. The first part comprised the history of the island from the earliest times to the capture ofAgrigentum by theCarthaginians (406 BC); the second, the history of the elder and the younger Dionysius (down to 363 BC). From this point the work was carried on by Athanas.^{[citation needed]}

Philistus was then recalled by the youngerDionysius, whom he persuaded to dismissPlato andDion.^{[2][clarification needed]} When Dion set sail fromZacynthus with the object of liberating Syracuse in 356 BC, Philistus was entrusted by Dionysius II with the command of the fleet. After a lengthy sea battle, his ship was surrounded. Philistus took his own life to avoid retribution from his countrymen.

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Philistus".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

• 430s BC births
• 356 BC deaths
• Classical-era Greek historians
• Ancient Syracusans
• 5th-century BC Syracusans
• 4th-century BC Syracusans
• 4th-century BC historians
• Historians from Magna Graecia
• Suicides in ancient Greece

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