Hieronymus of Cardia

Thesis

Chapter I. Hieronymus' Life and Writing

As the companion of Eumenes of Cardia and the first Antigonids, Hieronymus was exceptionally well placed to record the history of his times, and until the Augustan period his work was regarded as the standard authority on the period of Alexander's Successors. At this time, however, it was overtaken by the digests and epitomes which were a feature of the Graeco-Roman period, and, like the majority of Hellenistic histories, it ceased generally to be read in the original. Both Hieronymus' subject matter and his style were uncongenial to the taste of a later period: Dionysius of Halicarnassus, representing contemporary opinion, said that no one could bear to read Hieronymus through to the end; and the original work is now entirely lost.

Hieronymus' history is the ultimate source for nearly all ancient accounts of the Diadochi, but only two authors seem to have used him directly and extensively: Arrian, in a work which survives only in fragments; and Diodorus Siculus, in books XVIII-XX of his Bibliotheke Historike. We have only eighteen short fragments of Hieronymus, none of them a direct quotation (a commentary is appended to the thesis), and the basis of our knowledge is Diodorus 1 epitome.

The aim of the thesis is to evaluate Hieronymus in relation to the historical and literary background and to indicate his place in Greek historiography. Source criticism, which has been the principal concern of earlier studies, is discussed only as absolutely necessary.

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Authors: Hornblower, J

• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford