Melanthius the Historian (Μελάνθιος ὁ Ἱστορικός) was a 4th-century BCE Greek historian. His existence is attested solely by a single citation in Athenaeus of Naucratis’s Deipnosophistae (c. 200 CE), which provides no details on his birthplace or life [1].

His only known work, now lost, was a history or a treatise concerning Dionysius I, tyrant of Syracuse (r. 405–367 BCE). Athenaeus cites it for information on the luxurious dining practices of the Syracusan court [1].

Melanthius’s significance lies entirely in his status as a lost source, representative of many minor, specialized historians whose works survive only in fragments. His citation provides a minor datum for historiographical interest in Sicilian tyrants.

Sources 1. Perseus Digital Library: Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, Book 12, 527c. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2013.01.0002%3Abook%3D12%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D527c