Duris of Samos (or Douris) (; BCafter 281BC) was a
Greek historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
and was at some period
tyrant of
Samos. Duris was the author of a narrative history of events in Greece and especially
Macedonia from 371BC to 281BC, which has been lost. Other works included a life of
Agathocles of Syracuse and a number of treatises on literary and artistic subjects.
Personal and political life
Duris claimed to be a descendant of
Alcibiades. He had a son,
Scaeus, who won the boys' boxing at the
Olympian Games "while the Samians were in exile"; that is, before 324BC. From 352 to 324 Samos was occupied by
Athenian
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
cleruchs who had expelled the native Samians.
Duris therefore may well have been born at some date close to 350BC, and, since his main historical work ended with the death of
Lysimachus in 281 BC, must have died at an unknown date after that. Some modern sources assume that the Olympic victor Scaeus must have been the father, not the son, of the historian Duris; hence he is described in at least two encyclopedias as "son of Scaeus".
The ancient sources, admittedly meagre, do not support this. Duris was the brother of
Lynceus of Samos, author of comedies, letters and the essay ''Shopping for Food''.
Many 20th century works state that Duris was a pupil of
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; ; c. 371 – c. 287 BC) was an ancient Greek Philosophy, philosopher and Natural history, naturalist. A native of Eresos in Lesbos, he was Aristotle's close colleague and successor as head of the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum, the ...
at Athens. There is no evidence for this claim other than a conjectural emendation by
Adamantios Korais of the text of the ''
Deipnosophistae'' of
Athenaeus. The emendation was published by J. Schweighäuser in 1802 and has been accepted by all subsequent editors of Athenaeus. The manuscript text says not that Duris studied under Theophrastus, but that his brother Lynceus and Lynceus's correspondent Hippolochus did so.
The only recorded fact about Duris's public life is that he was tyrant, or sole ruler, of Samos. How he attained this position, for how long he held it, and what events took place under his rule, are unknown. "His reign was uneventful", Hazel guesses.
Writings
Duris was the author of a narrative history of events in Greece and
Macedonia from the
battle of Leuctra (371BC) down to the death of
Lysimachus (281BC). This work, like all his others, is lost; over thirty fragments are known through quotations by other authors, including
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'', ...
. It was continued in the ''Histories'' of
Phylarchus. Other works by Duris included a life of
Agathocles of Syracuse, which was a source for books 19-21 of the ''Historical Library'' of
Diodorus Siculus. Duris also wrote historical annals of Samos arranged according to the lists of the priests of
Hera
In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...
; and a number of treatises on literary and artistic subjects.
[ C. Müller, ''Fragmenta historicorum Graecorum'' vol. 2 (Paris, 1848) pp. 466–488. reek with Latin translation and commentary/ref>][ F. Jacoby, '' Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker'' vol. 2A pp. 1136–1158 reek text vol. 2C pp. 115–131 erman commentary/ref>
]
List of works
Parts of eight of Duris's works survive, ranging from 33 fragments of his ''Histories'' to a single, small fragment from his ''On Sculpture''. A full listing is:
Later opinions
Of those later authors who knew Duris's work, few praise it. 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 ...
accords him qualified praise as an industrious writer. 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'', ...
used his work but repeatedly expresses doubt as to his trustworthiness. Dionysius of Halicarnassus speaks disparagingly of his style. Photius regards the arrangement of his work as altogether faulty. By contrast with recent predecessors such as Ephorus, Duris served as the exemplar of a new fashion for "tragic history" which gave entertainment and excitement greater importance than factual reporting. In Plutarch's "Life of Pericles" a telling example is Duris's elaborate (and, according to Plutarch, exaggerated) description of cruelty and extensive destruction at Samos when Athenian forces, led by Pericles, subdued the island.
Recent critics, believing that Duris was a pupil of Theophrastus, have attempted either to demonstrate that "tragic history" agreed with the teachings of the Peripatetic school or to analyse Duris's motives for taking a different line from his supposed teachers. The debate was inevitably inconclusive.[ A. Lesky, ''A History of Greek Literature'' (2nd ed., Eng. trans., London, 1966) p. 765; Dalby (1991).]
References
Bibliography
Editions of the fragments
* C. Müller, ''Fragmenta historicorum Graecorum'' vol. 2 (Paris, 1848) pp. 466–488. reek with Latin translation and commentary* F. Jacoby, '' Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker'' vol. 2A pp. 1136–1158 reek text vol. 2C pp. 115–131 erman commentary
Modern scholarship
*J. P. Barron, "The Tyranny of Duris of Samos" in ''Classical Review'' new series vol. 12 (1962) pp. 189–192.
*C. O. Brink, "Tragic History and Aristotle's School" in ''Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society'' vol. 186 (1960) pp. 14–19.
* A. Dalby, "The Curriculum Vitae of Duris of Samos" in ''Classical quarterly'' new series vol. 41 (1991) pp. 539–541.
*R. B. Kebric, ''In the Shadow of Macedon: Duris of Samos''. Wiesbaden, 1977.
*R. B. Kebric, "A Note on Duris in Athens" in ''Classical Philology'' vol. 69 (1974) pp. 286–287.
*F. Landucci Gattinoni, ''Duride di Samo''. Roma, 1997.
*L. Okin, ''Studies on Duris of Samos''. University of Michigan dissertation, 1974.
*L. Okin, "A Hellenistic Historian Looks at Mythology" in ''Panhellenica'' (Lawrence, Kansas, 1980).
*P. Pédech, ''Trois historiens méconnus: Théopompe, Duris, Phylarque''. Paris, 1989.
*E. Schwartz, "Duris (3)" in '' Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft: neue Bearbeitung'' (Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler, 1894-1980) vol. 5 pt 2 cols 1853-1856.
* F. W. Walbank, "History and Tragedy" in ''Historia'' vol. 9 (1960) pp. 216–234.
*C. Baron
Timaeus of Tauromenium and Hellenistic Historiography
(2012) pp. 247–255.
Other encyclopedias
*M. von Albrecht, "Duris (1)" in ''Der kleine Pauly'' ed. Konrat Ziegler, Walther Sontheimer (Munich: Artemis, 1975).
*D. Bowder, "Duris of Samos" in ''Who Was Who in the Greek World'' (Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1982) pp. 101–102.
in ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 6th ed. (2008).
*J. Hazel,
Duris (2)
in J. Hazel, ''Who's Who in the Greek World'' (London, 1999) p. 89.
*R. Schmitt, "" in '' Encyclopædia Iranica''. OCLC 311688910
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duris of Samos
4th-century BC births
3rd-century BC deaths
Classical-era Greek historians
3rd-century BC Greek historians
Ancient Greek tyrants
Ancient Samians