Life Araethus the Historian (Ἀραιθός ὁ ἱστορικός) was a Greek historian of the 4th century BCE. No biographical details survive; he is known only through citations by later authors.

Works He is credited with a single known work, Cretan Matters (Κρητικά), which is now lost. It survives only in fragmentary citations. The Suda attributes Cretan Matters and a work On Rhodes to an "Araethus," though this may conflate multiple individuals [1]. One fragment, preserved by Herodian in the Etymologicum Magnum, concerns Cretan dialect [2]. Another possible fragment in Athenaeus’s Deipnosophistae references Cretan dining customs [3].

Significance Araethus is a minor figure in Greek historiography, significant only as a representative of local history focused on Crete. His work belonged to the genre of horography or ethnography, containing details on Cretan customs and dialect. He is occasionally cited in modern scholarship on fragmentary historians of Crete, but the scant evidence precludes substantive analysis [1][2].

Sources 1. Suda Online (The Stoa Consortium): https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/alpha/3730 2. Brill's New Jacoby (Fragmentary Historians) - Entry for Araethus of Crete: https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-jacoby/araethus-of-crete-341-a341 3. Perseus Digital Library - Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2013.01.0002%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D49