Timaeus

Timaeus, Greek historian

Timaeus (tīmē`əs), c.356–c.260 B.C., Greek historian of Tauromenium (now Taormina), Sicily. Son of the tyrant of the city, he was banished by Agathocles either in 317 or 312 B.C. and lived for 50 years in Athens, where he wrote a history of his native land. This history, now lost except for fragments which have survived as quotations in other works, covered the period from earliest times to the events of his own lifetime. The work, though severely criticized by Polybius, was important in that it standardized the various accounts of Sicilian history.

Bibliography

See study by T. S. Brown (1958).

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Timaeus, in the Bible

Timaeus (tĭmē`əs), in the Bible, father of Bartimaeus.

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Timaeus 

Born circa 356 B.C.; died circa 260 B.C. Greek historian.

Timaeus wrote several works, the most important of which, the Histories, consisted of either 38 or 43 books. The work recorded the history of Sicily, Timaeus’ birthplace, from the earliest period to the death of Pyrrhus in 273 B.C. and included information on Italy and northern Africa (Carthage). Timaeus was the first, beginning in 264 B.C, to reckon time according to Olympiads. Minor fragments of his writings are preserved in the works of subsequent classical authors.

REFERENCE

Müller. C. Fragmenta historicorum graecorum, vol. 1. Paris, 1841.