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

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

'', or as Castor the Annalist, was a Greek 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, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

and

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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 Caesar's civil wa ...

Background

Castor is frequently referred to as an authority in historical matters. A partiality to the Romans is suggested by the surname ''Philoromaeus'', and may have been evident in a work mentioned by

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

as comparing the institutions of Rome with those of

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos (; BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath, and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of P ...

. The ''Suda'' describes the grammarian and rhetorician Castor as a son-in-law of the Galatian king Deiotarus (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 (, ''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, Panaetius the Stoic, and the grammarian Aristarchu ...

, 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.

References

Sources

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