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Hecataeus (c. 550 BC–c. 476 BC), named after goddess Hecate, was a Greek philosopher, and a native of Miletus. He flourished during the time of the Persian invasion. After having travelled extensively, he settled in his native city, where he occupied a high position, and devoted his time to the composition of geographical and historical works. Hecataeus is the first known Greek historian, and was one of the first classical writers to mention the Celtic people.

Some have credited Hecataeus with a work entitled Ges Periodos ("Travels round the Earth" or "World Survey"), a point-to-point coastal survey. One on Europe, is essentially a periplus of the Mediterranean, reaching as far north as Scythia. The other book, on Asia, is arranged similarly to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea of which a version of the 1st century CE survives. The descriptive matter was accompanied by a map, based upon Anaximander’s map of the earth.