Hellanicus of Mytilene

Hellanicus of Lesbos (Greek: Ἑλλάνικος, Latin form: Hellanicus; * to 490/480 BC, probably in Mytilene; † around 400 BC in Perperene in Mysia ) was an ancient Greek historian in the 5th century BC.

He is considered the first prolific writers of Greek literature; of his numerous works ( probably more than twenty) but are preserved only fragments. He collected the stories of Greek mythology and arranged them according to gender and landscapes. He also wrote works of regional studies (including Egypt, Persia [ Persika ] and single Greek landscapes) and chronological lists ( especially the Herapriesterinnen of Argos ). His Atthis ( " Athenian history " ) is like its other local histories not recorded, but mentioned by Thucydides. She described the time from the beginning to Athens Peloponnesian War in chronological method, which was compared to its predecessors as a special progress. With the Atthis continued a tradition of Attic local historians, Atthidographen, a. Hellanicus leaning not on our own observations and research, but to the statements of other people, which he took over uncritically. Thucydides and his followers criticized the style and inaccuracies of the Hellanicus. His work, particularly his chronological compilations, but initiated on the actual history.