Agathocles (writers)

For other people with this name, see Agathocles (disambiguation).

Agathocles (Ancient Greek: Ἀγαθοκλῆς; fl. 3rd century BC) was a Greek historian who wrote a history of Cyzicus (περὶ Κυζίκου) in the Ionic dialect.^[1] He is called by Athenaeus both a Babylonian^[2] and a Cyzican.^[3] He may originally have come from Babylon, and have settled at Cyzicus. The first and third books are referred to by Athenaeus.^[4] The time at which Agathocles lived is unknown, and his work is now lost; but it seems to have been extensively read in antiquity, as it is referred to by Cicero,^[5] Pliny,^[6] and other ancient writers. Agathocles also spoke of the origin of Rome.^[7][8] The scholiast on Apollonius^[9] cites Memoirs (ὑπομνήματα) by an Agathocles, who is usually supposed to be the same as the above-mentioned one.^[10][11][12]

There are several other writers of the same name, whose works are lost to us but are mentioned by later writers:

• Agathocles of Atrax, who wrote a work on fishing.^[13]
• Agathocles of Chios, who wrote a work on agriculture.^[14][15]
• Agathocles of Miletus, who wrote a work on rivers.^[16]
• Agathocles of Samos, who wrote a work on the constitution of Pessinus.^[17]