Callisthenes

Callisthenes (kulis'thunēz) [key], c.360–c.327 B.C., Greek historian of Olynthus; nephew of Aristotle. He accompanied Alexander the Great into Asia as the historian of the expedition. At first he compared Alexander to a god, but later he became one of the principal critics of the Eastern manners of the court. He was suspected of complicity in a conspiracy against Alexander and put to death; this turned the Peripatetics, Aristotle's followers, against Alexander. Callisthenes' histories of contemporary affairs in Greece are lost. In medieval times he was believed to be the author of the standard biography of Alexander, a work that actually was written much later than Callisthenes' lifetime.

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

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