Dionysius of Halicarnassus

Dionysius of Halicarnassus (dīənĭsh`ēəs, hăl'ĭkärnăs`əs), fl. late 1st cent. B.C., Greek rhetorician and historian. He taught at Rome and was one of the most celebrated of ancient critics. Among his extant works are On the Arrangement of Words, On Imitation, On the Early Orators, On Thucydides, and On the Eloquence of Demosthenes. The Art of Rhetoric attributed to him is probably of later date. Of his longest work, Antiquities of Rome, in 20 books, approximately the first half is extant. In it the history of Rome to the 3d cent. B.C. is covered.

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Dionysius of Halicarnassus

(flourished c. 20 BC) Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric. Born in Halicarnassus, Caria (Asia Minor), Dionysius went to Rome in 30 BC. His history of Rome, from its origins to the First Punic War, is written from a pro-Roman standpoint but carefully researched. It is, with Livy's, the most valuable source for early Roman history. Its 20 books began to appear in 7 BC; the last 10 have been lost.