Hellanicus (orHellanikos)of Lesbos (Greek:Ἑλλάνικος ὁ Λέσβιος,Hellánikos ho Lésbios), also calledHellanicus of Mytilene (Greek:Ἑλλάνικος ὁ Μυτιληναῖος,Hellánikos ho Mutilēnaîos;c. 490 –c. 405 BC), was an ancientGreeklogographer who flourished during the latter half of the 5th century BC.[1]
Hellanicus was born inMytilene on the isle ofLesbos in 490 BC and is reputed to have lived to the age of 85. According to theSuda, he lived for some time at the court of one of the kings ofMacedon, and died atPerperene, a city inAeolis on the plateau of Kozak nearPergamon, oppositeLesbos.[2] He was one of the most prolific of early historians. His many works, though now lost, were very influential. He was cited by a number of other authors, who thereby preserved many fragments of his works, the most recent collection of which is by José J. Caerols Pérez, who includes a biography of Hellanicus.[3]
A fragment ofAtlantis by Hellanicus (Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1084, early 2nd century).
Hellanicus authored works of chronology, geography, and history, particularly concerningAttica, in which he made a distinction between what he saw asGreek mythology andhistory. His influence on thehistoriography ofAthens was considerable, lasting until the time ofEratosthenes (3rd century BC).
He transcended the narrow local limits of the older logographers, and was not content to merely repeat the traditions that had gained general acceptance through the poets. He tried to record the traditions as they were locally current, and availed himself of the few national or priestly registers that presented something like contemporary registration.[1]
He endeavoured to lay the foundations of a scientific chronology, based primarily on the list of theArgive priestesses of Hera, and secondarily on genealogies, lists of magistrates (e.g. thearchons at Athens), and Oriental dates, in place of the old reckoning by generations. But his materials were insufficient and he often had to seek recourse to the older methods.[1]
Some thirty works are attributed to him, chronological, historical and episodical. They include:[1]
The Priestesses of Hera at Argon: a chronological compilation, arranged according to the order of succession of these functionaries
Carneonikae: a list of the victors in the Carnean games (the chiefSpartan musical festival), including notices of literary events.
Atthis, giving the history ofAttica from 683 BC to the end of thePeloponnesian War (404 BC), which is mentioned byThucydides (i. 97), who says that he treated the events of the years 480 BC to 431 BC briefly and superficially, and with little regard to chronological sequence.
Phoronis: chiefly genealogical, with short notices of events from the times ofPhoroneus, primordial king inPeloponnesus.
Troica andPersica: histories of Troy and Persia.[1]
Atlantis (orAtlantias), about the daughter of the TitanAtlas.[4] Some of his text may have come from an epic poem whichCarl Robert calledAtlantis,[5] a fragment of which may beOxyrhynchus Papyri 11, 1359.[6]
His work includes the first mention of the legendary founding ofRome by theTrojans; he writes that the city was founded byAeneas when accompanyingOdysseus on his travels throughLatium.[7] He also supported the idea that an incoming group ofPelasgians lay behind the origins of theEtruscans. The latter idea, fromPhoronis, influencedDionysius of Halicarnassus, who cites him [I.28] as a source.[8]
^Three short fragments of that work have been assembled by Robert Louis Fowler (2000),Early Greek Mythography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 161-162.
^"The following papyrus, 1359, which Grenfell and Hunt identified as also from the Catalogue, is regarded by C. Robert as part of a separate epic, which he calls Atlantis'." Bell, H. Idris "Bibliography: Graeco-Roman Egypt A. Papyri (1915-1919)",The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Apr., 1920), pp. 119-146.
^P.Oxy. 1359. See Carl Robert (1917): "Eine epische Atlantias",Hermes, Vol. 52, No. 3 (Jul., 1917), pp. 477-79.
^José J. Caerols,Helanico de Lesbos (1991), fragment 84.
^José J. Caerols,Helanico de Lesbos (1991), fragment 4.
Mure, William,A Critical History of the Language and Literature of Ancient Greece, Volume IV, London, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1853.Google Books.
H. Kullmer,Hellanikos in Jahrbücher für klass. Philologie (Supplementhand, xxvii. 455 sqq.) (1902), which contains new edition and arrangement of fragments.
C. F. Lehmann-Haupt,Hellanikos, Herodot, Thukydides, in Klio vi. (1906), 127 sqq.
J. B. Bury,Ancient Greek Historians (1909), pp. 27 sqq.
D. Ambaglio,L'opera storiografica di Ellanico di Lesbo, Pisa 1980ISBN88-427-0963-8
G. Ottone,L'Attike xyngraphe di Ellanico di Lesbo. Una Lokalgeschichte in prospettiva eccentrica. In C. Bearzot - F. Landucci (a cura di),Storie di Atene, storia dei Greci. Studi e ricerche di attidografia, Milano 2010, pp. 53–111ISBN978-88-343-1950-5
G. Ottone - A. Filoni,Hellanikos of Lesbos (1782), inDie Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker Continued. Part IV E.Paradoxography and Antiquities. IV 2. Antiquities, vol.1, ed. by D. Engels - S. Schorn, publ. online Oct. 2017.Online version at Brill.[dead link]
A. von Blumenthal,Hellanicea: de Atlantide (1913) Doctoral thesis approved by Carl Robert at Halle University
Theodosios Polychronis, “Les listes dans l'œuvre d'Hellanicos de Lesbos”, in Ledentu M., Loriol R. (eds),Penser en listes dans les mondes grec et romain, collection ScriptaAntiqua, Ausonius Éditions, 2020.
Theodosios Polychronis, “Etymology as Explanation in Hellanicus of Lesbos' Fragments”, in Zucker A., Lefeuvre C., Chriti M. (eds),Ancient And Medieval Greek Etymology Theory and Practice II, Trends In Classics - Supplementary Volumes, 2025.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hellanicus".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 234–235.
