Life Euagon (Εὐάγων ὁ ἱστορικός) was a 4th-century BCE historian from Samos. He is known only from a reference in Plutarch’s On the Malice of Herodotus, which identifies him as one of the early critics who accused Herodotus of bias and inaccuracy [1]. No further biographical details survive.

Works He is credited with a single, now-lost historical work. Its title is unknown, and its content is attested solely through Plutarch’s testimonium, which indicates it contained direct criticism of Herodotus’s Histories [1].

Significance Euagon’s significance rests entirely on his role as an early polemicist against Herodotus. His work represents a strand of Hellenistic historiography engaged in source criticism, challenging the authority of the foundational text of Greek history. His citation by Plutarch centuries later confirms his criticisms were noted within the ancient scholarly tradition.

Sources 1. Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University): https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0080%3Asection%3D35 (Plutarch, De malignitate Herodoti, 35) 2. ToposText (Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation): https://topostext.org/people/1440 (Entry for "Euagon of Samos")