No More Learning

188. 2 [1990] [not in Ar. ] The philosopher M. Terentius Varro died, at the age of about 90 years.
[1992 in Ar. ] Thebes in Egypt was razed to the ground.
[not in Ar. ] The poet Cornelius Gallus of Forum Julii, who as we said above was the first governor of Egypt, committed suicide in the 43rd year of his life.
[1992 in Ar. ] Tralles was destroyed by an earthquake.
188. 3 [1991] [not in Ar. ] The Indians sent envoys to Augustus to ask for a treaty of friendship.
[not in Ar. ] Messala Corvinus was appointed to be the first prefect of the city, but he resigned on the sixth day of his tenure, declaring that such power was oppressive.
188. 4 [1992] [1993 in Ar. ] Augustus reduced Calabria and Gaul [ or "the Galatians" - Ar. ] to tributary status.
[not in Ar. ] Munatius Plancus, a follower of Cicero, was considered an outstanding orator. While he was governor of Gallia Comata, he founded the city of Lugdunum.
189th OLYMPIAD [=24-21 B. C. ]

189. 1 [1993] M. Lollius made Galatia a Roman province.
[1994 in Ar. ] Augustus was offered the title of king, but refused it.
189. 2 [1994] [not in Ar. ] Quintilius of Cremona, the friend of Vergilius and Horatius, died.
189. 3 [1995] Augustus took away the liberty of the citizens of Cyzicus.
[not in Ar. ] Pylades of Cilicia, a performer of mimes, was the first to have a chorus and piper to perform for him, when his predecessor had sung and danced for themselves.
189. 4 [1996] [1995 in Ar. ] Tiberius was sent by Augustus to seize Armenia [ or "the Jews" - Ar. ].
[not in Ar. ] Atratinus, who prosecuted Caelius when he was seventeen years old, was considered an outstanding orator. In the end, he became weary of illness and killed himself in the bath, leaving Augustus as his heir.
190th OLYMPIAD [=20-17 B. C. ]

190. 1 [1997] [not in Ar. ] A revolt of the Cantabri was suppressed.
190. 2 [1998] [1996 in Ar. ] Herodes constructed many great buildings in Jerusalem.
190. 3 [1999] [not in Ar. ] Vergilius died at Brundisium, in the consulship of Sentius Saturninus and Lucretius Cinna. His bones were taken to Neapolis and buried two miles from the city, with the following inscription above them, which he had dictated as he died:
"Mantua gave me birth; the Calabrians took me away; Parthenope
now holds me. I sang of pastures, countryside and leaders. "
190. 4 [2000] [1996 in Ar. ] Herodes completely rebuilt Samaria, which was lying in ashes, and in honour of Augustus he called it Augusta, that is Sebaste. He also built the so-called Panium at Paneas.
[1997 in Ar. ] Augustus granted freedom to the Samians [ or "the Samaritans" - Ar. ].
[1998 in Ar. ] Many parts of the cities in Cyprus were destroyed by an earthquake.
[1998 in Ar. ] The Germans began an armed uprising, but were defeated by M. Lollius.
[not in Ar. ] Varius and Tucca, the associates of Vergilius and Horatius, were considered outstanding poets. They afterwards edited the books of the Aeneid, on the principle that they should add nothing to it.
[only in Ar. ] Tiberius was given the title of Caesar.
191st OLYMPIAD [=16-13 B. C. ]

191. 1 [2001] Augustus adopted Gaius Agrippa as his son.
[not in Ar. ] The poet Aemilius Macer of Verona died in Asia.
191. 2 [2002] Tiberius brought the Vindelici and the tribes around Thrace under Roman rule.
191. 3 [2003] [2001 in Ar. ] Colonies were founded at Berytus and Patrae.
[2002 in Ar. ] Agrippa conquered the Bosphorus.
191. 4 [2004] [not in Ar. ] Cestius of Smyrna, a teacher of rhetoric, taught in Latin at Rome.
192nd OLYMPIAD [=12-9 B. C. ]

192. 1 [2005] [2003 in Ar. ] Augustus was appointed by the senate to be pontifex maximus.
Herodes refounded the city which was previously called Strato's Tower, and renamed it Caesareia in honour of Caesar.
192. 2 [2006] [2004 in Ar. ] Herodes restored Anthedon and called it Antipatris in honour of his father Antipater; he also founded a city which he called Herodium after his own name. He skilfully constructed many other buildings in the individual cities of Syria which he ruled.
192. 4 [2008] [2009 in Ar. ] Tiberius Caesar celebrated a triumph after defeating the Pannonians.
[not in Ar. ] Horatius died at Rome, in the 57th year of his life.
[not in Ar. ] Passienus the elder, who was a famous declaimer, died.
[not in Ar. ] C. Julius Hyginus, called Polyhistor, was considered an outstanding grammarian.
[2007 in Ar. ] Tiberius conquered the Germans and was proclaimed imperator.
193rd OLYMPIAD [=8-5 B. C. ]

193. 1 [2009] [2008 in Ar. ] Herodes killed Hyrcanus, the previous high priest of the Jews who had returned from captivity in Parthia, and his son, who had succeeded him as high priest. He also callously killed Hyrcanus' sister, his own wife, together with her two sons, who had now reached manhood, and the mother of his dead wife, his own mother-in-law.
193. 3 [2011] [not in Ar. ] Tiberius triumphed over the Rhaeti, Vindelici, Armenians and Pannonians.
[not in Ar. ] Albucius Silo of Novaria, a famous teacher of rhetoric, was in his prime.
[2012 in Ar. ] Many parts of the island of Cos were devastated by an earthquake.
193. 4 [2012] [2013 in Ar. ] Augustus banished his own daughter Julia, who had been caught in adultery.
194th OLYMPIAD [=4-1 B. C. ]

194. 1 [2013] [not in Ar. ] M. Tullius Tiro, the freedman of Cicero who first invented shorthand notes, lived on the estate at Puteoli in his old age, up until his hundredth year.
[2014 in Ar. ] Augustus presented a gladiatorial show and a naval battle.
[not in Ar. ] The grammarian Melissus of Spoletium was in his prime.
[not in Ar. ] M. Porcius Latro, a Latin declaimer, committed suicide because he was suffering from double quartan fever.
194. 2 [2014] [2008 in Ar. ] In addition to the cruelties mentioned above, Herodes killed the husband of his sister Salome, and after he gave her in marriage to another man, he killed him as well. He also murdered the scribes and the interpreters of the holy law.
[not in Ar. ] Tertullianus, in his book "Against the Jews", states that Christ was born in the 41st year of Augustus, and suffered in the 15th year of Tiberius.
194. 3 [2015] Jesus [ "Christ" - Ar. ], the son of God, was born at Bethlehem in Judaea.
194. 4 [2016] [2015 in Ar. ] Quirinius was sent to Judaea by decree of the senate, to hold a census of the people and their possessions.
[2015 in Ar. ] From Abraham up until the birth of Christ, there is a total of 2,015 years.
195th OLYMPIAD [=1-4 A. D. ]

195. 1 [2017] [2015 in Ar. ] C. Caesar made a treaty of friendship with the Parthians.
Sextus, the Pythagorean philosopher, was born [ or "was in his prime" - Ar. ].
195. 2 [2018] [2017 in Ar. ] Augustus adopted Tiberius and Agrippa as his sons.
Judas the Galilaean incited the Jews to rebel.
195. 3 [2019] [2018 in Ar. ] When Herodes was warned by the wise men about the birth of Christ, he ordered all the young boys in Bethlehem to be killed.
195. 4 [2020] Herodes, struck down by dropsy and with worms spreading throughout his body, deservedly suffered a miserable death.
[not in Ar. ] Asinius Pollio, the orator and ex-consul who had triumphed over the Dalmatians, died in his 80th year at his villa near Tusculum.
196th OLYMPIAD [=5-8 A. D. ]

196. 1 * [2021] Archelaus [became] leader of the Jews, for 9 years.
Archelaus was appointed by Augustus to be the successor of Herodes; and his four brothers, Herodes, Antipater, Lysias and Philippus, became tetrarchs.
196. 2 [2022] [2025 in Ar. ] There was such a great shortage of food at Rome, that five modii [ or "one modius" - Ar. ] were sold for twenty seven and a half denarii.
196. 3 [2023] [not in Ar. ] Philisto the writer of mimes, from Magnesia in Asia, was in his prime at Rome.
[2022 in Ar. ] Tiberius Caesar conquered the Dalmatians and Sarmatians, and brought them under Roman rule.
196. 4 [2024] [2023 in Ar. ] Athenodorus of Tarsus, a stoic philosopher, and M. Verrius Flaccus, a grammarian, were in their prime.
197th OLYMPIAD [=9-12 A. D. ]

197. 1 [2025] [2029 in Ar. ] The Athenians attempted to revolt against the Romans, but they were suppressed and the leaders of the uprising were killed.
197. 3 [2027] [not in Ar. ] The orator Messala Corvinus lost his memory and his senses two years before he died, to such an extent that he could scarcely put together a few words. In the end, an ulcer grew round the base of his spine, and he killed himself by abstaining from food, in the 72nd year of his life.
198th OLYMPIAD [=13-16 A. D. ]

198. 1 [2029] Augustus and his son Tiberius conducted a census at Rome, and listed 9,370,000 [or "4,190,117" - Ar. ] citizens.
Sotion of Alexandria, the philosopher and teacher of Seneca, was in his prime.
[2027 in Ar. ] In the ninth year of his reign, Archelaus was banished to Vienna, a city in Gaul.
There was an eclipse of the sun, and Augustus died at Atella in Campania, in the 76th year of his life. He was buried at Rome in the Campus Martius.
198. 2 * [2030] Tiberius became the third emperor of the Romans, for 23 years.
* Herodes the tetrarch became leader of the Jews, for 24 years.
[not in Ar. ] Gaius Asinius Gallus, the orator and son of Asinius Pollio, who is also mentioned by Vergilius, was tortured and killed by Tiberius.
199th OLYMPIAD [=17-20 A. D. ]

199. 1 [2033] [not in Ar. ] The historian Livius died at Patavium.
[not in Ar. ] The poet Ovidius died in exile, and was buried near the town of Tomi.
Germanicus Caesar triumphed over the Parthians.
199. 2 [2034] [2033 in Ar. ] Thirteen cities were destroyed by an earthquake: Ephesus, Magnesia, Sardis, Mostene, Aegae, Hierocaesareia, Philadelphia, Tmolus, Temus, Cyme, Myrina, Apollonia Dia and Hyrcania.
199. 3 [2035] [not in Ar. ] Fenestella, the historian and poet, died at the age of seventy years and was buried at Cumae.
199. 4 [2036] [not in Ar. ] Tiberius enticed many kings into visiting him, and never released them. Among these was Archelaus of Cappadocia; his kingdom was turned into a [Roman] province and the distinguished city of Mazaca was renamed Caesareia, by order of Tiberius.
200th OLYMPIAD [=21-24 A. D. ]

200. 1 [2037] The theatre of Pompeius was burnt down.
200. 2 [2038] Tiberius made Drusus his partner in ruling the empire.
200. 3 [2039] Drusus Caesar died from poisoning.
200. 4 [2040] [not in Ar. ] Quintus Haterius, a fluent and popular orator, survived until nearly his ninetieth year, with great honour.
[not in Ar. ] Saevius Plautus was charged with defiling his own son, and committed suicide during the trial.
201st OLYMPIAD [=25-28 A. D. ]

201. 1 [2041] [2039 in Ar. ] Philippus the tetrarch constructed many building at Paneas and renamed it Caesareia Philippi. He also built the city of Julias.
201. 2 [2042] Pilatus was sent by Tiberius to be the procurator of Judaea.
201. 3 [2043] [not in Ar. ] The orator Votienus Montanus of Narbo died on the Balearic Islands, to which he had been banished by Tiberius.
Herodes founded the cities of Tiberias and Livias.
201. 4 [2044] John the son of Zechariah prophesied in the desert by the river Jordan, saying that Christ the son of God had come among them.
At that time, the Lord Jesus Christ himself began to announce to the people the road to salvation, demonstrating by signs and by his goodness the truth of what he said [ or "demonstrating to the crowd by deeds and words the quality of divine power" - Ar. ].
From the second year of the restoration of the temple [ or "from the second building of the temple at Jerusalem" - Ar. ] which happened in the second year of Dareius the king of the Persians [ "in the 65th Olympiad" - Ar. ], up until the present year, which is the 15th year of Tiberius, there is a total of 548 years [ or "542 years" - Ar. ]. From Solomon and the first building of the temple there are 1,060 years [ or "1,064 years" - Ar. ], from Moses and the exodus of Israel from Egypt, 1,539 years [ or "1,540 years" - Ar. ], from Abraham and the reign of Ninus and Semiramis, 2,044 years. From the flood up until Abraham, there were 942 years; from Adam up until the flood, there were 2,242 years [ or "from the flood, 2,986 years, from Adam, 5,228 years" - Ar. ] .
202nd OLYMPIAD [=29-32 A. D. ]

202. 1 [2045] [not in Ar. ] The beginning of the 81st Jubilee, according to the Hebrews.
Jesus Christ, the son of God, announced the road to salvation for everyone, and performed the miracles which are written in the gospels.
202. 2 [2046] [2045 in Ar. ] Jesus Christ, the son of God, revealed to his disciples the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and commanded them to proclaim to all nations the message of conversion to God [ "and to the laws of his kingdom" - Ar. ].
202. 3 [2047] [2048 in Ar. ] Jesus Christ, in accordance with the prophecies which were spoken about him, went to his passion in the 18th [ or "19th" - Ar. ] year of Tiberius, and we have found the following things written about this year in the histories of the gentiles [ or "Greeks" - Ar. ] : there was an eclipse of the sun, Bithynia was devastated by an earthquake, and many buildings in the city of Nicaea were destroyed. All this coincides with the events of the passion of our Saviour. Phlegon, in the 13th book of his admirable account of the Olympiads, writes about this as follows: "In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, there was an eclipse of the sun, greater than any which had occurred previously. At the sixth hour, the day became as dark as night, and the stars were visible in the sky. An earthquake in Bithynia destroyed many buildings in Nicaea. " Proof that the passion of our Saviour happened in this year is provided by the gospel of John, who write that our Lord taught for three years after the 15th year of Tiberius. And Josephus, the native historian of the Jews, relates that around this time, on the day of Pentecost, first the priests noticed some movement and noise, and then a voice suddenly burst forth from the innermost sanctuary of the temple, saying "Let us move out of here". Josephus also says that in the same year the governor Pilatus secretly by night set up some statues of Caesar in the temple [ "where it was not right for them to be" - Ar. ], and this was the first cause of rebellion and disturbances amongst the Jews.
[only in Ar. ] Flaccus Avillius, the governor of Alexandria and Egypt, proposed to Tiberius many plots against the Jews.
202. 4 [2048] From this time onwards, it can be seen how many disasters overtook the Jews.
[2049 in Ar. ] James the brother of the Lord was ordained by the apostles as the first bishop of the church of Jerusalem.
[not in Ar. ] Cassius Severus, an outstanding orator who jested with the famous "Quintian proverb", died in the (? ) 25th year of his exile, in such great poverty that he scarcely had a rag to cover his genitals.
203rd OLYMPIAD [=33-36 A. D. ]

203. 1 [2049] After the revolt mentioned above, which was caused by the statues of Caesar, Pilatus used the sacred treasure, called the Corbanas by the Jews, to pay for an aqueduct at Jerusalem. This caused another revolt.
203. 2 [2050] Sejanus, the prefect of Tiberius, who held great influence with the emperor, constantly urged him to destroy the Jewish people. Philon relates this in the second book of his "Embassy".
[only in Ar. ] Philon of Alexandria, a very learned man, was in his prime.
[not in Ar. ] Persius Flaccus, the satirical poet, was born at Volaterrae.
203. 3 [2051] [2052 in Ar. ] Agrippa, the son of king Herodes, came to Rome to accuse Herodes the tetrarch, but was thrown into prison by Tiberius.
Pilatus wrote to Tiberius about the faith of the Christians, and Tiberius referred it to the senate, so that it could be accepted amongst the other religions. But when the senate decreed that the Christians should be expelled from Rome, Tiberius issued an edict threatening the persecutors of Christians with death. Tertullianus [ "the Roman" - Ar. ] relates this in his "Apologeticus".
203. 4 [2052] Many Roman senators and knights were killed.
[not in Ar. ] Tiberius died in Campania.


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Fragments of Greek Historians

This is a selection of passages which can be found in Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker, Felix Jacoby's monumental collection of fragments, relating to Hellenistic and Roman history.

There are separate translations of Nicolaus, Porphyrius, Memnon and some Greek chronicles, which are also based on Jacoby's text.

Contents:

(73) Diyllus
(81) Phylarchus
(87) Poseidonius
(154) Hieronymus of Cardia
(155) "Heidelberg Epitome"
(156) Arrianus
(176) Sosylus
(241) Eratosthenes
(257) Phlegon
(257a) ? Phlegon
(328) Philochorus
(523) ? Zenon of Rhodes
(723) Eupolemus
73: Diyllus of Athens

Diyllus wrote a history of the Greek world, from 357 B. C. (see Diodorus, 16. 14'5) to 297 B. C. (see Diodorus, 16. 76'6). Although later writers, including Diodorus, clearly made use of his Histories, only four possible fragments survive.

[1] Athen_4. 155'a Cassander buries Philippus and Eurydice.

[2] [HARPOCRATION] Aristion: Hypereides, Against Demosthenes. He was from Samos or Plataea, as Diyllus says, and was a companion of Demosthenes from childhood. He was sent by Demosthenes to Hephaestion for negotiations, as Marsyas says in Book 5 of his History of Alexander.

[3] Plut:Mor_862'B (26) The historian Herodotus is given a large reward by the Athenians.

[4] (Dubious) Athen_13. 593'f Lampito of Samos is the mistress of Demetrius Phalereus.

154: Hieronymus of Cardia

Hieronymus wrote a history of his own time, from 323 B. C. to at least 272 B. C.

[5] [PARADOX. ] Hieronymus relates that in the country of the Nabataean Arabs there is a bitter lake, in which there are neither fish nor other aquatic creatures, but the local people gather blocks of asphalt out of it.

155: "Heidelberg Epitome"

This is an anonymous summary of events after the death of Alexander, from 323 to 316 B. C.

[1] When Alexander died, he left behind his wives and an unborn son by Roxane. His followers quarrelled about who should become king, but Alexander's half-brother Arrhidaeus, who was later called Philippus, was appointed to be king until the son of Alexander reached an appropriate age. 2 Because Arrhidaeus was dull-witted, and also epileptic, Perdiccas was appointed to be guardian and overseer of the royal government. Alexander had given his ring to Perdiccas before he died, considering him to be more trustworthy than the other generals. After due consideration, Perdiccas divided the empire into more than 24 satrapies, and gave each of the generals a satrapy to govern. 3 So they went out to the satrapies which had been allotted to each of them, but still tried to extend their power to other territories whenever possible. Then Perdiccas gathered a large force and marched against Ptolemy in Egypt, but there some of his officers plotted against him and murdered him. 4 Then Antipater took over as guardian of the kings, and he also after due consideration changed the satrapies which had been allotted by Perdiccas, giving them to others to govern, except for the satrapies of Ptolemy and Lysimachus, which he could not alter. Amongst others, he gave the satrapy of Susiana to Antigonus, and the satrapy of Babylon to Seleucus; and he appointed his own son Cassander to be chiliarch.

5 Then after a while Antipater died, and Polysperchon took over as guardian and overseer of the royal government. At that time Olympias treacherously killed Arrhidaeus and his wife Eurydice. 6 Then Cassander bribed some of the royal attendants, and treacherously killed Olympias, Roxane and Roxane's son Alexander the son of Alexander, who was heir to the whole kingdom. This happened in Macedonia [(? ) after the death] of Olympias the mother of Alexander. 7 As a result there was confusion in the satrapies. The officers plotted against each other and added other territory to their own. The more ruthless ones put together large forces and killed the weaker ones. Antigonus, who together with his son Demetrius Poliorcetes gained greater power than the others, called himself king and started to wear a diadem. Therefore the others, in order not to appear inferior to him, also wore diadems and called themselves kings. They were Ptolemy in Egypt and Syria; Lysimachus in Thrace; and Seleucus in Babylonia, who became king of all Asia after the death of Antigonus. And when they died, their sons became kings in succession.

[2] After the death of Alexander, the Macedonians carried his body from Babylon to Alexandria. They adorned the body lavishly, with great expense and fine workmanship in silver and gold. They accompanied the body with a large and abundant bodyguard. 2 Then they sent Roxane to Macedonia, along with the son whom she bore to Alexander, who was also called Alexander. They also sent over Philippus Arrhidaeus, who ruled with guardians for a total of six years and four months, until he and his wife Eurydice were cruelly killed by his stepmother Olympias. Shortly afterwards Olympias herself, along with [Alexander's] widow Roxane and her son Alexander, were cruelly killed by Cassander the son of Antipater. 3 After all these murders, Cassander married Thessalonice the stepsister of Alexander the Great, who later founded the city of Thessalonice. Her husband Cassander founded the city of Cassandreia.

[3] Eumenes, one of the cleverest of the generals and successors of Alexander, maintained a genuine devotion to Alexander even after Alexander's death. He often fought against those who were opposing the royal government, and won many great victories over some of the greatest generals of the Macedonians. 2 Then, since Antigonus was ambitiously increasing his power and wished even to take the name of king for himself, the royal family, Olympias, Philippus Arrhidaeus and Roxane, sent a royal summons asking Eumenes to come to their aid. Eumenes was moved by their request. He went off to the satrapies on the far side of Babylonia, and after collecting a large army from there he made war against Antigonus. He won two or three victories, and would perhaps have completely defeated him, if he had not been seized and handed over to Antigonus by some of his own friends, who had formed a plot against Eumenes. After this, Antigonus became extremely powerful and was completely irresistible

[4] After Ptolemy defeated Perdiccas in Egypt, as was related previously, he took over as much of Perdiccas' army as he wanted, and he also captured Perdiccas' wife, Cleopatra the stepsister of Alexander the Great, who was the daughter of Philippus, but by a different mother who was also called Cleopatra. Ptolemy married Cleopatra, and kept her with his other wives.

156: Arrianus

Some books written by Flavius Arrianus have survived (notably his history of Alexander) but his histories of the Bithynians, the Parthians and the period after the death of Alexander have all been lost, apart from a few fragments.

"Events after the death of Alexander"

[1] [PHOTIUS #92 - from tertullian website] [Arrianus] also wrote an account of what took place after Alexander's death, in ten books. He describes the sedition in the army, the proclamation of Arrhidaeus (the son of Alexander's father, Philippus, by a Thracian woman named Philinna) on condition that Roxana's child, when born, if it were a son, should share the throne with him. Arrhidaeus was then again proclaimed under the name of Philippus. 2 A quarrel broke out between the infantry and the cavalry. The chief and most influential commanders of the latter were Perdiccas the son of Orontes, Leonnatus the son of Anthes, Ptolemy the son of Lagus, Lysimachus the son of Agathocles, Aristonus the son of Pisaeus, Pithon the son of Crateuas, Seleucus the son of Antiochus, and Eumenes of Cardia. Meleager was in command of the infantry.