Timaeus of Tauromenium (Ancient Greek:Τιμαῖος; born 356 or 350 BC; diedc. 260 BC) was anancient Greekhistorian. He was widely regarded by ancient authors as the most influential historian between the time ofEphorus (4th century BC) andPolybius (2nd century BC).[1][2][3] In the words of scholarLionel I. C. Pearson, Timaeus "maintained his position as the standard authority on the history of the Greek West for nearly five centuries."[4]
Timaeus was bornc. 356[3] orc. 350 BC[2][5] inTauromenium (modernTaormina, in easternSicily), to a wealthy and influential Greek family. His father,Andromachus, was a dynast who had refounded Tauromenium in 358 with former inhabitants ofNaxos (destroyed byDionysius I in 403), and ruled there withTimoleon's support.[2][3][6]
Some time after 316 BC, perhaps in 315 or 312,[6] Timaeus is said to have been banished from Sicily byAgathocles, thetyrant ofSyracuse, possibly because of Timaeus' hostility towards him after the tyrant had captured Tauromenium.[6] Some scholars have suggested that he left Sicily earlier,[7][3] although most researchers agree that he was forced out in the 310s, rather than leaving voluntarily as a young man.[8]
Timaeus spent at least fifty years inAthens.[6] It is not clear if he ever returned to Sicily.[9] Scholar Christopher A. Baron writes that Timaeus may never have returned to his homeland, even after Agathocles' death in 289 BC,[6] whileCraige B. Champion argues that he may have come back under the reign ofHiero II (ca. 271–216).[3]
While in Athens, Timaeus wrote a history of the Greek West down to 289 BC, and another chronicling the wars ofPyrrhus continuing to 264 BC.[2][6] Claims that he studied underPhiliscus of Miletus, a pupil ofIsocrates, remain uncertain and may stem from later attempts to link Timaeus stylistically with Isocrates.[6]
He died shortly after 264 BC, likely around 260 BC.[2][3][6] According toPseudo-Lucian, he reached the age of 96.[2]
While in Athens, he completed his great historical work, theHistories, which comprised thirty-eight books.[3] This work was divided into unequal sections containing the history of Greece from its earliest days until the firstPunic War. TheHistories treated the history of Italy and Sicily in early times, of Sicily alone, and of Sicily and Greece together.[10] The last five books address the time ofAgathocles in detail; the work most likely concluded before the Romans crossed over into Sicily in 264.[3] Timaeus also wrote a monograph on the Greek kingPyrrhus, which almost certainly had the wars against Rome as its centrepiece.[3]
Timaeus devoted much attention tochronology and introduced the system of reckoning byOlympiads. In order to plot chronologies, he employed the years ofArchons ofAthens, ofEphors ofSparta, and of priestesses ofArgos. This system, although not adopted in everyday life, was widely used by the Greek historians afterwards.[10]
Timaeus can claim to be the first to recognize in his work the rising power of theRoman Republic,[11] although it is not clear whether he regarded Rome as a potential friend or foe, and how he understood its significance for the history of the Mediterranean world as a whole.[3] According to scholar Craige B. Champion, "Timaeus may well have been the first writer to see clearly the importance to the western Greeks of the victor of the great Sicilian War, whether it be Rome or Carthage, which he could not have divined."[3]
Very few parts of the elaborate work of this historian were preserved afterAntiquity:[citation needed]
Timaeus was highly criticized by other historians, especially byPolybius, and indeed his unfairness towards his predecessors, which gained him the nickname ofEpitimaeus (Ἐπιτίμαιος, "fault-finder"[12][13][14]), laid him open to retaliation. While Polybius was well-versed in military matters and a statesman, Timaeus is depicted as a bookworm without military experience or personal knowledge of the places he described. The most serious charge against him was that he willfully distorted the truth when influenced by personal considerations: thus, he was less than fair toDionysius I of Syracuse andAgathocles, while loud in praise of his favouriteTimoleon.[10]
On the other hand, as even Polybius admitted, Timaeus consulted all available authorities and records. His attitude towards the myths, which he claimed to have preserved in their simple form, can be contrasted to the rationalistic interpretation under which it had become the fashion to disguise them. This is probably the origin of his nicknamegraosyllektria (γραοσυλλεκτρία; "Old Ragwoman", or "collector of old wives' tales"), an allusion to his fondness for trivial details.[10]
BothDionysius of Halicarnassus and thePseudo-Longinus characterized him as a model of "frigidity", although the latter admitted that he was nevertheless a competent writer.Cicero, who was a diligent reader of Timaeus, expressed a far more favourable opinion, especially commending his copiousness of matter and variety of expression. Timaeus was one of the chief authorities used byGnaeus Pompeius Trogus, byDiodorus Siculus, and byPlutarch (in hislife of Timoleon).[15]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Timaeus".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 977–978.