Hesychius of Miletus

Hesychius of Miletus (Greek: Ήσύχιος ο Μιλήσιος Hesychios o Milesios), Greek chronicler and biographer, surnamed Illustrius, son of an advocate, flourished at Constantinople in the 6th century AD during the reign of Justinian.

According to Photius (cod. 69) he was the author of three important works:

A Compendium of Universal History in six books, from Belus, the reputed founder of the Assyrian empire, to Anastasius I (d. 518). A considerable fragment has been preserved from the sixth book, a history of Byzantium from its earliest beginnings till the time of Constantine the Great.
A Biographical Dictionary of Learned Men, arranged according to classes (poets, philosophers), the chief sources of which were the works of Aelius Dionysius and of Herennius Philo. Much of it has been incorporated in the Suda, as we learn from that book. It is disputed, however, whether the words in the Suda ("of which this book is an epitome") mean that Suda's compiler himself epitomized the work of Hesychius, or whether they are part of the title of an already epitomized Hesychius used in the compilation of the Suda. The second view is more generally held. The epitome referred to, in which alphabetical order was substituted for arrangement in classes and some articles on Christian writers added as a concession to the times, is assigned from internal indications to the years 829-837. Both it and the original work are lost, with the exception of the excerpts in Photius and the Suda. A smaller compilation, chiefly from Diogenes Laërtius and the Suda, with a similar title, is the work of an unknown author of the 11th or 12th century.
A History of the Reign of Justin I (518–527) and the early years of Justinian, completely lost.

In 1663 Gilles Ménage published an anonymous Vita Aristotelis that is commonly attributed to Hesychius.

Photius praises the style of Hesychius, and credits him with being a veracious historian.

Editions; J. C. Orelli (1820) and J. Flach (1882); fragments in C. W. Müller, Frag. hist. Graec. iv. 143 and in Theodor Preger's Scriptores originis Constantinopolitanae, i. (1901); Pseudo-Hesychius, by J Flach (1880).

References

Anthony Kaldellis, "The Works and Days of Hesychios the Illoustrios of Miletos", in: Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 45 (2005), pp. 381–403.
Vasiliev, Alexander Alexandrovich, Justin the First. An introduction to the Epoch of Justinian the Great, Harvard University Press, 1950.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hesychius of Miletus". Encyclopædia Britannica. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 415.

External links

The Ancient Catalogues of Aristotle's Writings: Hesychius and Ptolemy al-Garib. A Survey of Current Research
The Life of Plato by Hesychius of Miletus translated by George Burges
Free public domain audiobook version of The Life of Plato by Hesychius of Miletus translated by George Burges

Byzantine historians
5th century	Malchus Panodorus of Alexandria Priscus
6th century	Agathias Evagrius Scholasticus Hesychius of Miletus John of Ephesus John of Epiphania Jordanes John Malalas Liberatus of Carthage Marcellinus Comes Menander Protector Peter the Patrician Procopius Theodorus Lector Theophanes of Byzantium Zacharias Rhetor Zosimus
7th century	Trajan the Patrician Theophylact Simocatta John of Antioch
8th century	Hippolytus of Thebes
9th century	Theophanes the Confessor George Syncellus Nikephoros I of Constantinople George Hamartolos
10th century	Constantine VII Joseph Genesius John Kaminiates Leo the Deacon Symeon the Metaphrast Theophanes Continuatus
11th century	Michael Attaleiates George Kedrenos Michael Psellos John Skylitzes John Xiphilinus Yahya of Antioch
12th century	Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger Niketas Choniates Eustathius of Thessalonica Michael Glycas Anna Komnene John Kinnamos Constantine Manasses Joannes Zonaras
13th century	George Akropolites
14th century	Nicephorus Gregoras Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos George Pachymeres Michael Panaretos
15th century	John Anagnostes John Cananus Laonikos Chalkokondyles Michael Critobulus Doukas George Sphrantzes

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 89604435 LCCN: n87899441 ISNI: 0000 0000 8833 8719 GND: 100967760 SUDOC: 101842953 BNF: cb104731020 (data)

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