Heraclides Lembus (, ''Hērakleidēs Lembos'') was an Ancient Greek statesman, historian and philosophical writer whose works only survive in fragments quoted in later authors.

Life

Heraclides was an Egyptian civil servant who lived during the reign of

Ptolemy VI Philometor Ptolemy VI Philometor (, ''Ptolemaĩos Philomḗtōr'';"Ptolemy, lover of his Mother". 186–145 BC) was a Greek king of Ptolemaic Egypt who reigned from 180 to 164 BC and from 163 to 145 BC. He is often considered the last ruler o ...

(2nd century BC).''Suda'', s.v. Ἡρακλείδης, η 462 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 ...

mentions a Heraclides of

Oxyrhynchus Oxyrhynchus ( ; , ; ; ), also known by its modern name Al-Bahnasa (), is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo in Minya Governorate. It is also an important archaeological site. Since the late 19th century, t ...

, but according to

Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; , ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Little is definitively known about his life, but his surviving book ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal source for the history of ancient Greek ph ...

Diogenes Laërtius, v. 94 he originated from

Callatis Mangalia (, ), ancient Callatis (; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. The municipality of Mangalia als ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

.He was the son of a man named Sarapion ('Lembus' is a nickname meaning 'cockboat'). He is said to have negotiated the treaty that ended

Antiochus IV Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( 215 BC–November/December 164 BC) was king of the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. Notable events during Antiochus' reign include his near-conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt, his persecution of the Jews of ...

's invasion of Egypt in 169 BC. That Agatharchides of Cnidus became known by being his secretary is further evidence to his importance in the Ptolemaic administration.

Works

His works (mainly excerpts and

epitome An epitome (; , from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "to the degree of." A ...

s from earlier writers) survive only in fragments. * ''Histories'' (Ἱστορίαι) in at least 37 books. The extant fragments discuss the following topics: a frog plague in Paeonia and Dardania;

Demetrius Poliorcetes Demetrius I Poliorcetes (; , , ; ) was a Macedonian Greek nobleman and military leader who became king of Asia between 306 and 301 BC, and king of Macedon between 294 and 288 BC. A member of the Antigonid dynasty, he was the son of its founder, ...

and his father Antigonus Monophthalmus in love with the courtesan Demo; philological eccentricities concerning Alexarchus, the brother of

Cassander Cassander (; ; 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and '' de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death. A son of Antipater and a contemporary of Alexander the ...

inventing words. Traditionally, two further fragments are attributed to the ''Histories'' on the foundation of Rome by Greeks returning from the Trojan war and on the Spartan king Archidamus II; however, these might actually belong to Heraclides' epitome of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

's ''Constitutions''. An epitome was, presumably, made by Hero of Athens, a rhetor tentatively dated to the first century AD. * ''Lembeutikos Logos'' (Λεμβευτικὸς λόγος), about which nothing is known, apart from an obscure connection to his nickname. * an epitome of

Sotion Sotion of Alexandria (, ''gen''.: Σωτίωνος; fl. c. 200 – 170 BC) was a Greek doxographer and biographer, and an important source for Diogenes Laërtius. None of his works survive; they are known only indirectly. His principal work ...

's ''

Successions of Philosophers Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

''. * an epitome of Satyrus' ''Lives''. * an epitome of

Hermippus Hermippus (; fl. 5th century BC) was the one-eyed Athenian writer of the Old Comedy, who flourished during the Peloponnesian War. Life He was the son of Lysis, and the brother of the comic poet Myrtilus. He was younger than Telecleides and old ...

's ''On Lawgivers'', ''On the Seven Sages'' and ''On Pythagoras''. * excerpts from an epitome of

's ''Constitutions'' () and ''Barbarian Customs'' (Νόμιμα βαρβαρικά). The fragments of these largely lost works (only the ''

Constitution of the Athenians (Aristotle) The ''Constitution of the Athenians'', also called the ''Athenian Constitution'' (), is a work by Aristotle or one of his students. The work describes the constitution of Athens. It is preserved on a papyrus roll from Hermopolis, published in ...

'' extant) were published in 1847 as ''Heraclidis politiarum quae extant'', by F. G. Schneidewin. * a biography of

Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse ( ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Greek mathematics, mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and Invention, inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse in History of Greek and Hellenis ...

(doubtful), mentioned by

Eutocius Eutocius of Ascalon (; ; 480s – 520s) was a Greek mathematician who wrote commentaries on several Archimedean treatises and on the Apollonian ''Conics''. Life and work Little is known about the life of Eutocius. He was born in Ascalon, t ...

Criticism

As a historian Heraclides has been discounted, as the selection criteria in his epitome of Aristotle's ''Constitutions'' show a certain inclination towards the weird and sensational, e.g.: His prime merit lies in the faithful transmission of otherwise lost sources (e.g. the missing first part of the ''Constitution of the Athenians''). The ''Histories'' were, presumably, criticised by

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus (, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style was ''atticistic'' – imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime. ...

in ''The Arrangement of Words'' with regard to his

Asiatic style The Asiatic style or Asianism (, Cicero, '' Brutus'' 325) refers to an Ancient Greek rhetorical tendency (though not an organized school) that arose in the third century BC, which, although of minimal relevance at the time, briefly became an i ...

.Dion. Hal., ''De comp. verb.'' 4 (line 112 Ed. Usener-Radermacher)

Notes

References

*Mervin R. Dilts, ''Heraclidis Lembi. Excerpta Politiarum'' (1971), editor and translator M. R. D. (Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies Monographs no. 5) *

Miroslav Marcovich Miroslav Marcovich (March 18, 1919 – June 14, 2001) was a Serbian-American philologist and university professor. Early life Marcovich was born in Belgrade, Serbia. He studied at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy graduating ...

, ''Heraclidis Lembi Excerpta Politiarum'', The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 96, No. 1 (Spring, 1975), pp. 16–18 * C. Müller, ''Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum'' (1841–1870) 2, 197-224 (''Constitutions'', wrongly attributed to

Heraclides Ponticus Heraclides Ponticus ( ''Herakleides''; c. 390 BC – c. 310 BC) was a Greek philosopher and astronomer who was born in Heraclea Pontica, now Karadeniz Ereğli, Turkey, and migrated to Athens. He is best remembered for proposing that the Earth ...

) and 3, 167-171. *Rudolf Daebritz, "Herakleides Lembos (51)". ''Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft'' VIII,1 (1945) Sp. 488-491. *Marina Polito, "Dagli scritti di Eraclide sulle Costituzioni: un commento storico", Napoli 2001

External links

Suda On Line, ἩρακλείδηςDilts (1971), ''Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies'' via the website of the Duke University Libraries
{{Authority control Ancient Greek biographers Hellenistic-era philosophers from Africa Ptolemaic court 2nd-century BC Greek philosophers