Abydenus

, or Abydinus. This word, which signifies a native, or inhabitant of Abydos, is given by Eusebius, Cyril, and Syncellus, as the proper name of a Greek historian to whom some authors ascribe two works, “Assyriaca,” and “Chaldaica,” or the history of the Assyrians and Chaldeans; but it is probable that these are the titles of parts of the same work. The fragments quoted by Eusebius, in his “Praeparatio Evangelica,” St. Cyril, in his writings against Julian, and Syncellus, in his Chronography, have been collected and commented on by Scaliger, in his Thesaurus, and in his “Emendatio Temporum.” But Scipio Tettius, a Neapolitan writer of the sixteenth century, in his Catalogue of scarce Manuscripts, quoted by Labbe, in his “Biblioth. Nov. libror. Manuscr.” p. 167, informs us, that the entire work of Abydenus exists in manuscript in a library in Italy. The recovery of this would be of importance, as Abydenus appears to have taken, as the basis of his work, the Babylonish history of Berosus, of which only fragments remain, unless we admit, what is universally denied, the authenticity of the edition published by Annius of Viterbo.

The age and country of Abydenus are uncertain, the name Abydos being common to four cities. As Berosus, however, finished his work at Alexandria, under Ptolemy Philadelphia, it may be probable that our Abydenus, who followed him, was an Egyptian priest belonging to the temple of Osiris at Abydos, and that he flourished under the first Ptolemys, while the love of letters was encouraged at the court of Alexandria. Some writers have supposed that he was quoted by Suidas, because he | mentions Paloephatus-Abydenus, a historian. This person, however, whose proper name was Palsephatus, was the disciple and friend of Aristotle, and may have written the histories of Cyprus, Delos, and Athens, which Suiclas attributes to him, after Philo of Heraclea, and Theodore of Ilium; but the history of Arabia, which Suidas also attributes to him, from the nature of the' subject, must belong to the author of the history of the Assyrians and Chaldeans, or perhaps been a different title to the same work. Such is the opinion of Malte-Bruu; but Vossius has ventured on another conjecture, although without giving his authority. ¹