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Ephorus (Ancient Greek: Ἔφορος, c. 400-330 BC), of Cyme in Aeolia, in Asia Minor, was a Greek historian.

Together with the historian Theopompus, he was a pupil of Isocrates, in whose school he attended two courses of rhetoric. But he does not seem to have made much progress in the art, and it is said to have been at the suggestion of Isocrates himself that he took up literary composition and the study of history. The fruit of his labours was a set of 29 books, the first universal history, beginning with the return of the Heraclidae to Peloponnesus, as the first well-attested historical event. The whole work was edited by his son Demophilus, who added a 30th book, containing a summary description of the Social War and ending with the taking of Perinthus (340) by Philip of Macedon. (cf. Diod. Sic. xvi. 14 with xvi. 76).

Each book was complete in itself, and had a separate title and preface. It is clear that Ephorus made critical use of the best authorities, and his work, highly praised and much read, was freely drawn upon by Diodorus Siculus and other compilers. Strabo (viii. p. 332) attaches much importance to his geographical investigations, and praises him for being the first to separate the historical from the simply geographical element. In his Geography X.4.21 (483), Strabo quotes Ephorus at length on the pederastic practices of the Cretans, the only reliable ethnographic account of the Cretan coming-of-age practices, which parallel the myth of Zeus and Ganymede. Polybius (xii. 25 g) while crediting him with a knowledge of the conditions of naval warfare, ridicules his description of the battles of Leuctra and Mantinea as showing ignorance of the nature of land operations.

He was further to be commended for drawing (though not always) a sharp line of demarcation between the mythical and historical (Strabo ix. p. 423); he even recognized that a profusion of detail, though lending corroborative force to accounts of recent events, is ground for suspicion, in reports of far-distant history. His style was high-flown and artificial, as was natural considering his early training, and he frequently sacrificed truth to rhetoric effect; but, according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, he and Theopompus were the only historical writers whose language was accurate and finished. Other works attributed to him were:
  • A Treatise on Discoveries
  • Respecting Good and Evil Things
  • On Remarkable Things in Various Countries (it is doubtful whether these were separate works, or just extracts from the Histories)
  • A Treatise on my Country, on the history and antiquities of Cyme
  • An essay On Style, his only rhetorical work, which is occasionally mentioned by the rhetorician Theon.
Nothing is known of his life, except the statement in Plutarch that he declined to visit the court of Alexander the Great.

Despite all the works he is known to have written, nothing but isolated fragments survived the end of the ancient world. His entire history has been lost.

References

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Ancient Greek refers to the second stage in the history of the Greek language[1] as it existed during the Archaic (9th–6th centuries BC) and Classical (5th–4th centuries BC) periods in Greece.
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4th century BC - 3rd century BC
430s BC  420s BC  410s BC - 400s BC - 390s BC  380s BC  370s BC 
403 BC 402 BC 401 BC - 400 BC - 399 BC 398 BC 397 BC

Politics
State leaders - Sovereign states

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4th century BC - 3rd century BC
360s BC  350s BC  340s BC - 330s BC - 320s BC  310s BC  300s BC 
333 BC 332 BC 331 BC - 330 BC - 329 BC 328 BC 327 BC

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Cyme can refer to:
  • Kymi, an ancient and modern city in Euboea.
  • Cyme (Aeolis), an ancient Greek colony on the coast of Aeolia.
  • Cyme, a type of inflorescence
  • CYME the ICAO code for Matane Airport in Quebec, Canada.

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Aeolia may mean:
  • Another name for Aeolis in Anatolia.
  • An older name for Thessaly before the Greek Dark Ages.
Both are sgsbhSHnnSXo-named because Thessaly was held to be the earlier homeland of the Aeolian people, but during the Dorian Invasion they fled across the
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This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.
You can assist by [ editing it] now. A how-to guide is available, as is general .
This article has been tagged since September 2007.
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Motto
Ελευθερία ή θάνατος
Eleftheria i thanatos  
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historian is an individual who studies history and who writes on history.[1] The person may be an authority (or expert) over history,<ref name="wordnetprinceton" /> but this is not a requirement.
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historian is an individual who studies history and who writes on history.[1] The person may be an authority (or expert) over history,<ref name="wordnetprinceton" /> but this is not a requirement.
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Theopompus, a Greek historian and rhetorician, was born at Chios about 380 BC.

In early youth he seems to have spent some time at Athens, along with his father, who had been exiled on account of his Laconian sympathies.
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Isocrates (436–338 BC), Greek rhetorician, was one of the ten Attic orators. In his time, he was probably the most influential rhetorician in Greece and made many contributions to rhetoric and education through his teaching and written works.
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    Rhetoric (from Greek ῥήτωρ, rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of oral, visual, or written language; however, this definition of rhetoric
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    History is the study of the past, focused on human activity and leading up to the present day.[1] More precisely, history is the continuous, systematic narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race [1]
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    Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography, especially the Judeo-Christian wellspring of that tradition. Simply stated, universal history is the presentation of the history of mankind as a whole, as a coherent unit.
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    The Heracleidae or Heraclids were the numerous descendants of Heracles (Hercules), especially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira (Hyllus was also sometimes thought of as a son of Melite with Heracles).
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    The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος Pelopónnisos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth.
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    Philip was the name of several Macedonian monarchs:
    • Philip I of Macedon (ruled 640–602 BC).
    • Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC), father of Alexander the Great.
    • Philip III of Macedon (c. 359–316 BC).
    • Philip IV of Macedon (died 297 BC).

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    Diodorus Siculus (Greek Διόδωρος Σικελιώτης), ca. 90 BC– ca.
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    Strabo[1] (Greek: Στράβων; 63/64 BC – ca. AD 24) was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. He is mostly famous for his 17-volume work Geographica
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    Strabo[1] (Greek: Στράβων; 63/64 BC – ca. AD 24) was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. He is mostly famous for his 17-volume work Geographica
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    Greek pederasty, as idealised by the Greeks from Archaic times onward, was a relationship and bond between an adolescent boy and an adult man outside of his immediate family, and was constructed initially as an aristocratic moral and educational institution.
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    Polybius (ca. 203–120 BC, Greek Πολύβιος) was a Greek historian of the Mediterranean world famous for his book called The Histories or The Rise of the Roman Empire,
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    Battle of Leuctra was a battle fought between the Thebans and the Spartans and their respective allies amidst the post-Corinthian War conflict. The battle took place in the neighbourhood of Leuctra, a village in Boeotia in the territory of Thespiae.
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    Battle of Mantinea was fought in 362 BC between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians and the Boeotian league against the Spartans, led by King Agesilaus II and supported by the Eleans, Athenians, and Mantineans.
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    Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Halicarnassus c. 60 BC–after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus.

    Life


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    Theopompus, a Greek historian and rhetorician, was born at Chios about 380 BC.

    In early youth he seems to have spent some time at Athens, along with his father, who had been exiled on account of his Laconian sympathies.
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    Plutarch
    Mestrius Plutarchus
    Πλούταρχο?

    Parallel Lives, Amyot translation, 1565
    Born: Circa 46 AD
    Chaeronea, Boeotia
    Died: Circa 120 AD
    Delphi, Phocis
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    Alexander III, the Great
    Basileus of Macedon, Hegemon of the Hellenic League, Shah of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt

    Alexander fighting Persian king Darius III. From Alexander Mosaic, from Pompeii, Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazionale.
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