Manetho

Manetho (măn'ithō) [key], fl. 300 B.C., Egyptian historian, a priest at Heliopolis, under Ptolemy I and Ptolemy II. His work, covering the history of Egypt from legendary times to 323 B.C., is written in Greek and is known to us only through the later works of Josephus, Sextus Julius Africanus, and Eusebius. Manetho's arrangement of 30 dynasties, in spite of limitations—some dynastic changes are not recorded; some dynasties continued through two or three of Manetho's—has proved to be a convenient device and is still in use.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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