Nicocrates the Historian (Νικοκράτης ὁ ἱστορικός) was an early Hellenistic historian active in the 4th–3rd centuries BCE. The epithet "the Historian" distinguishes him from other bearers of this common Greek name. No biographical details survive, but his period was one of prolific historical writing, often focused on local histories.

His sole known work is a history of Arcadia (Arkadika), now lost. It is preserved only in a single fragment cited by Athenaeus in the Deipnosophistae, which discusses the myth of Lycaon and human sacrifice [1].

Nicocrates is a minor, poorly attested figure. His significance lies in representing the genre of local historiography (horoi), whose now-lost works informed the broader Hellenistic historiographical tradition. His fragment’s preservation in a later scholarly compendium is typical for such authors.

Sources 1. Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University): https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2013.01.0002%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D61 (Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 8.61, citing Nicocrates' Arcadica).