Xenagoras the Historian (Ξεναγόρας ὁ Ἱστορικός)

Life Xenagoras was a Greek historian and geographer active in the 2nd century BCE. His precise origins and biography are unrecorded. He is known only through later citations, primarily by the geographer Strabo, who identifies him as “Xenagoras the historian” [1].

Works His sole attested work is the Χρονικά (Chronica) or Ἱστορίαι (Historiae), a historical composition in at least four books. It survives in fragments preserved by authors like Strabo and the Byzantine scholar Stephanus of Byzantium [1][2]. These fragments show the work combined historical narrative with geographical details, including measurements, toponyms, and mythological foundation stories.

Significance Xenagoras exemplifies the Hellenistic integration of history and geography. His work served as a source for authoritative later geographers like Strabo, indicating its scholarly reputation [1]. The extant fragments, focusing on topics such as mountain heights and mythological genealogies tied to places, place him within the tradition of systematically cataloguing and reconciling the physical and mythical world [2].

Sources 1. Strabo, Geography (Perseus Digital Library): https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.+10.4.5&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239 2. Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica (ToposText): https://topostext.org/work/741#X.1 3. Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (Perseus Digital Library): https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Dxenagoras-bio-1