Dioscurides (Διοσκουρίδης) was a Greek historian of the 3rd century BCE. No biographical details of his origin or life are preserved; his existence is attested solely through later citations [1].

Two lost works are attributed to him. The first is a general history titled Histories or Annals (Ἱστορίαι). The second, On the Customs of the Jews (Περὶ Ἰουδαίων νομίμων), was an ethnographic treatise on Jewish laws [1].

Dioscurides is a minor but notable figure as one of the earliest Greek authors to write specifically about Jewish customs. His work on the Jews is cited by Josephus in Against Apion (1.205-212) as a fair non-Jewish account, placing Dioscurides within the Hellenistic tradition of ethnography [1].

Sources 1. Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University): http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062%3Aentry%3Ddioscurides-harpers