Timaeus

Timaeus (tīmē'us) [key], 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.

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

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