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ELECTRUM*Vol.19(2012):9-40
doi:10.4467/20843909EL.12.001.0742
CTESIASANDTHEIMPORTANCEOFHISWRITINGSREVISITED
EranAlmagor
Abstract:FollowingtherecentattemptstorehabilitatethereputationofCtesiasandtheinforma-
tiongiveninhisworks,thispaperproposestounderstandcertainoftheseeminglyfancifuldetails
thatwereassociatedwiththephysicianandhiswritings.Ittriestoshedsomelightonseveral
uncertaintiesconnectedwithCtesias(i.e.,hissojourninPersia)andthePersica(i.e.,date,original
styleandsourcesofimagery).Itarguesthatthepedestrianlistsincludedintheworkmighthave
beenlaterinterpolationsandthattheminorworkscirculatingunderCtesias’namemighthave
beeneithersectionsofthePersicathatweretakenouttobepresentedasstand-alonevolumes
orelsefalselyattributedtohim.ThepaperaddressestheIndicaandputsforwardseveralpos-
sibilitiesconcerningitsrelationwiththePersica.TheinfluenceofCtesiasontheauthorDeinon
isexamined,andintheappendixtheimpactofthePersicaonXenophon’sAnabasisisanalyzed.
Keywords:Ctesias,Persica,Indica,ArtaxerxesII,Xenophon,Anabasis,GreekHistoriography,
Photius,Plutarch,Deinon.
FromCnidoscomesoneofthemorecontroversialandinfluentialauthorsofClassical
literature,namelyCtesias,aphysicianandahistorian(probablyfloruit401-392BCE).1
Ctesiasseemsnotonlytohavebeenoneofthefirstprosewriterstodwellonhisown
personalexperiences(inthiscase,atthecourtoftheGreatKingArtaxerxesII),inwhat
mightbeconsideredtantamounttoaproto-autobiography,2butalsotohavedeveloped
auniquegenreofhistoricalwriting,followingHerodotusyetgoingbeyondhismodel,
increatingworkssituatedbetweenfactandfiction.3Ontheonehand,Ctesiasseemsto
1
ForabibliographyonCtesiasandhisPersica,seethereferencesinAlonso-Núñez(1996);Lenfant
(2004);Wiesehöfer/Lanfranchi/Rollinger(2011).ThefragmentsandtestimoniaofCtesiaspresentedherefol-
lowtheacceptedsequenceofJacoby(1958),asaugmentedbyLenfant(2004),andshouldbeunderstoodas
FGrH,no.688.SeealsoTuplin(2004a)forfurtherreferences.Thefirstfulltranslationsofallfragmentswas
inLatin(Müller1844),followedbytheFrenchonesofAuberger(1991),Lenfant(2004)andNichols(2008).
FragmentsoftheIndicaweretranslatedintoEnglishbyMcCrindle(1881)andNichols(2011),thoseofthe
PersicabyGilmore(1881)followedbythoseofLlewellyn-Jones/Robson(2010)andStronk(2010).In1972
KönigpublishedaGermantranslationandcommentaryofthePersica.ThetextofPhotiuswastranslatedby
Henry(1947)intoFrenchandWilson(1994)intoEnglish.
2
Alongsidefifth-centurytraveldescriptions;cf.Momigliano1971:57.
3
Cf.Lenfant2004:XXVIII-XXXII.
