Dionysius of Miletus (Διονύσιος ὁ Μιλήσιος)

Life Dionysius of Miletus was a Greek historian of the 5th century BCE, active in the period following the Greco-Persian Wars. A contemporary of Hellanicus of Lesbos and slightly older than Herodotus, his epithet identifies him with the Ionian city of Miletus, a center of early historiography [1]. No further biographical details are recorded.

Works His sole known work is the Persica (Περσικά), a history of Persia. The work is now lost and survives only in fragments and testimonia [1][2].

Significance Dionysius is significant as one of the earliest Greek logographers, or prose historians, preceding Herodotus. His Persica represents an early Greek ethnographical and historical focus on the Persian Empire, placing him within the first generation of historians and the Ionian tradition of inquiry that contributed to the development of historiography [1][2].

Sources 1. Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dionysius-of-Miletus 2. Perseus Digital Library, Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Ddionysius-bio-23