Castor of Rhodes ( el, Κάστωρ ὁ Ῥόδιος), also known as Castor of Massalia or Castor of Galatia according to the ''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souida ...

'', or as Castor the Annalist, was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

grammarian and rhetorician. He was surnamed Philoromaeus (Φιλορώμαιος, meaning Lover of Rome) and is usually believed to have lived about the time of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

and

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

Background

Castor is frequently referred to as an authority in historical matters. A partiality to the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

is suggested by the surname ''Philoromaeus'', and may have been evident in a work mentioned by

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

as comparing the institutions of Rome with those of

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His poli ...

. The ''Suda'' describes the grammarian and rhetorician Castor as a son-in-law of the

Galatia Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace ...

n king

Deiotarus Deiotarus of Galatia (in Galatian and Greek Deiotaros, surnamed Philoromaios ("Friend of the Romans"); 42 BC, 41 BC or 40 BC) was a Chief Tetrarch of the Tolistobogii in western Galatia, Asia Minor, and a King of Galatia ("Gallo-Graecia"). He was ...

(whom it calls a Roman senator), who afterwards put both Castor and his wife to death because Castor had brought charges against him before Caesar, evidently alluding to the affair in which Cicero defended Deiotarus. This appears to be the same Castor, mentioned by Strabo, who was surnamed ''Saecondarius'', was a son-in-law of Deiotarus, and was put to death by him. When Cicero spoke for Deiotarus, the Castor who brought Deiotarus into peril is expressly called a grandson of that king, and was yet a young man at the time (44 BC). It is however uncertain if this was the same Castor as the rhetorician, Castor of Rhodes. One of the works of Castor is referred to in the '' Bibliotheke'' formerly ascribed to

Apollodorus of Athens Apollodorus of Athens ( el, Ἀπολλόδωρος ὁ Ἀθηναῖος, ''Apollodoros ho Athenaios''; c. 180 BC – after 120 BC) son of Asclepiades, was a Greek scholar, historian, and grammarian. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon, P ...

, who died sometime around 140 BC. Because of this circumstance, one conclusion is that the rhetorician Castor must have lived at or before the time of Apollodorus, around 150 BC, and thus had no connection with the Deiotarus for whom Cicero spoke. Another common conclusion, which assumes Castor of Rhodes really was contemporary with Caesar and Cicero, is that ''Bibliotheke'' could not have been written by Apollodorus, hence the appellation "Pseudo-Apollodorus" for this work.

Works

According to the Suda, Castor composed the following works: *''Anagraphe ton Thalassokratesanton'' ("Record of Thalassocrasies") in two books. *''Chronika Agnoemat''a ("Chronological Errors") which is also referred to by the '' Bibliotheca''.Pseudo-Apollodorus 2.1.3. *''Peri Epicheirematon'' ("On Arguments or Adventures"), in nine books. *''Peri Peithous'' ("On Persuasion"), in two books. *''Peri tou Neilou'' ("On the Nile"). *''Techne Rhetorike'' ("Rhetorical Art") *''Chronologia'' or ''Chronika'', which is referred to several times by

Eusebius of Cesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...

References

Sources

* {{Authority control Roman-era Rhodians 1st-century BC Greek people 1st-century BC historians Ancient Greek grammarians Roman-era Greek historians Ancient Greek rhetoricians Galatian people Ancient Greek historians known only from secondary sources Chronologists