Demetrius of Callatis (Δημήτριος ὁ Καλλατιανός) was a Greek historian from the city of Callatis, a Dorian colony on the western coast of the Black Sea (modern Mangalia, Romania) [1]. He is generally placed in the late 3rd and early 2nd centuries BCE, as his historical work covered events at least up to 214/13 BCE [1][2].

He is known for a single, now lost, historical work spanning at least twenty books. It treated events in the Hellenistic world, including the history of Alexander’s successors and the Celtic invasion of Asia Minor [1][2]. A key fragment preserved by Strabo notes the history extended to the capture of the Scythian king Scyles in 214/13 BCE [1][2].

Demetrius represents the prolific local historiography of the Hellenistic period. His work was used as a source by later historians and geographers, including Polybius, Strabo, and Pompeius Trogus [1][2]. His fragments provide valuable evidence for historical and ethnographic details of the Black Sea region and the early Hellenistic age.

Sources 1. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics: https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-2107 2. ToposText: https://topostext.org/people/1440