Naturalist, Philosopher (2nd century BC)
Agatharchides was a Peripatic (Aristotelic) philosopher, geographer, historian and natural scientist who flourished during the 2nd century BC. Even though most of his work has not survived, he is considered as one of the most influential grammarians of the 2nd century BC and his influence in the ancient world is believed to have been significant.
He was born in Cnidus at an unknown date and travelled to Alexandria, where he worked and studied. Originally he worked as a teacher until he became anagnostis and secretary of Heraclides of Lembus, one of the ambassadors of Ptolemy VII the Philometor in Syria, whom Agatharchides accompanied during negotiations and important political events. The date of his death is also not known, but what is known is that he was 75 years old in 132 BC.
Agatharchides was the first to provide the Egyptians with the real cause of the periodic flooding of river Nile and was involved with the science of ethnography. He is also the founder of Parasitology, a medical specialty focused on studying the diseases caused by parasites. He wrote treatises such as Circumnavigation of the Red Sea, On Africa and On Asia. In addition, he was the first to write a book on the history of Europe, consisting of 40 tomes and on the history of Asia, consisting of 10 books. On Asia was the book from which the Persians were taught their own history during subsequent years. These books also contained information about the strange plants and animals discovered in these continents.
Agatharchides attempted to distinguish mythology from history. He upgraded the role of ethnography and made it a part of history instead of geography. As a proponent of Aristotle, he was less interested in metaphysics and more dedicated to understanding the world based on the massive amount of data that he had compiled during his research. Epicurus was one of his inspirations. Poseidonius, Diodorus of Sicily and Photius I of Constantinople were only a few of whom he influenced.
Bibliography
- “Agatharchides”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
- Αγαθαρχίδης ο Κνίδιος. Ίδρυμα Μείζωνος Ελληνισμού, Μικρά Ασία. Asiaminor.ehw.gr. Web. Retrieved on January 7, 2017.