Myrsilus of Methymna (Μύρσιλος ὁ Μηθυμναῖος) was a Greek historian from the city of Methymna on Lesbos, active in the 3rd century BCE during the Hellenistic period [1]. No further biographical details concerning his life or education are preserved.

He is known for a single, now fragmentary, work titled Lesbiaca (Λεσβιακά), a history of the island of Lesbos [1]. The work is lost and survives only through quotations in later authors.

Myrsilus is significant as a representative of Hellenistic local history (horography). His Lesbiaca was consulted by later writers like Athenaeus and Stephanus of Byzantium as a source for the island’s history, myths, and customs [1]. His fragments contribute to the study of regional historical writing in the Greek world.

Sources 1. Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Myrsilus-of-Methymna