Life Asius of Samos (Ἄσιος ὁ Σάμιος) was an early Greek genealogical poet from the island of Samos, active in the 6th century BCE. He is known exclusively through fragments and testimonia preserved by later authors. The primary source for his life and work is the 2nd-century CE travel writer Pausanias, who identifies him as a Samian and cites him as an authority on the genealogy of the early Samian aristocracy, particularly the ancestors of Pythagoras [1].

Works Asius is credited with genealogical poetry composed in the epic (Homeric) dialect. His known work is the Samiaca or Samiakos (Σαμιακά/Σαμιακός), a fragmentary poem on Samian history and genealogies [1]. Other genealogical fragments attributed to him are preserved by authors like Pausanias and Athenaeus [1][2].

Significance Asius is significant as a source for early Greek genealogy and local Samian traditions. His poetry represents the genre of genealogical epic that flourished in the Archaic period. Pausanias’s use of him as a credible source indicates he was considered an authority on the island’s early history and aristocratic lineages, providing glimpses into local historiography before prose [1].

Sources 1. Perseus Digital Library: Pausanias, Description of Greece 7.4.1 (quotes Asius on Samian genealogy). http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D7%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D1 2. Perseus Digital Library: Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 3.125 (cites a fragment of Asius). http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0008.tlg001.perseus-grc1:3.125