Publius Herennius Dexippus ( el, Δέξιππος; c. 210–273 AD), Greek historian, statesman and general, was an hereditary priest of the Eleusinian family of the

Kerykes The kerykes or ceryces ( grc, Κήρυκες, pl. of , ''Keryx'') of Bronze Age Pylos 1200 BC, home to the aged Homeric hero Nestor and the Neleides, are listed in the Linear B tablets as ''ka-ru-ke'' serving the ''ra-wa-ko-ri'', the commande ...

, and held the offices of ''

archon basileus ''Archon basileus'' ( grc, ἄρχων βασιλεύς ') was a Greek title, meaning "king magistrate": the term is derived from the words ''archon'' "magistrate" and ''basileus'' "king" or "sovereign". Most modern scholars claim that in Classical ...

'' and '' eponymous'' in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

Life

When the Heruli overran

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

and captured Athens (267), Dexippus showed great personal courage and revived the spirit of patriotism among his fellow-countrymen. A statue was set up in his honour, the base of which, with an inscription recording his services, has been preserved. It is remarkable that the inscription is silent as to his military achievements. Photius speaks very highly of the style of Dexippus, whom he calls a second Thucydides.

Works

Photius (''cod''. 82) mentions three historical works by Dexippus, of which considerable fragments remain: #Τὰ μετ᾽ Ἀλέξανδρον (''The Events after Alexander''), apparently an epitome of a work by Arrian #Σκυθικά (''Scythica''), a history of the wars of Rome with the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...

(called

Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Cent ...

in archaizing language) in the 3rd century #Χρονικὴ ἱστορία (''Chronike Historia'') in twelve books, probably covering a thousand years to the reign of the emperor Claudius Gothicus (270) The ''Chronicle'' was continued by Eunapius of Sardis, who opens his own history with a critique of his predecessor. The ''Chronicle'' also appears to be the primary source of the '' Historia Augusta'' between 238 and 270, but Paschoud has demonstrated that the author of the ''Historia Augusta'' sometimes attributes material to Dexippus falsely, and so this evidence must be used with caution.Paschoud, "L'Histoire Auguste et Dexippe".

References

Sources

* Gunther Martin: ''Dexipp von Athen. Edition, Übersetzung und begleitende Studien''. Tübingen 2006 (edition and German translation). * Laura Mecella, Dexippo di Atene. Testimonianze e frammenti. Introduzione, edizione, tradizione e commento. Tivoli 2013. *

Fergus Millar Sir Fergus Graham Burtholme Millar, (; 5 July 1935 – 15 July 2019) was a British ancient historian and academic. He was Camden Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford between 1984 and 2002. He numbers among the most infl ...

(1969) "P. Herennius Dexippus: The Greek World and the Third-century Invasions," ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 59: 12–29. *François Paschoud (1991) "LHistoire Auguste'' et Dexippe," in G. Bonamente et al., eds., ''Historiae Augustae Colloquium Parisinum'', 217–69.

External links

Dexippus' Fragments in Dindorf's 1870 Minor Greek Historians
{{Authority control 210 births 273 deaths 3rd-century historians 3rd-century clergy 3rd-century Greek people 3rd-century Romans Eleusinian hierophants Roman-era Greek priests Roman-era Athenians Ancient Roman generals Roman-era Greek historians Dexippus, Publius Eponymous archons