ABSTRACT
Hecataeus of Miletus, presumably born shortly before Anaximander’s death, took up the task where he had laid it down, wonderfully improving the map of his predecessor. If Hecataeus merely followed one family after another, one might almost as easily construct one’s own chronology as search in the several parts of a running narrative for the required data. The thread of Persian history, already used by Dionysius of Miletus, a perhaps younger contemporary of Hecataeus, sufficed for him. If the history of Egypt, even in outline, goes back to Hecataeus, the clear recognition that a new period—the historical period-begins with Psammetichus, is of considerable importance. Hecataeus combined these interests; for he not only improved the map of his predecessor but also wrote a geographical treatise and an “historical” work of considerable length.
