Dionysius
32. Of MILETUS, one of the earliest Greek historians, and according to Suidas (s. v. Ἑκαταῖος), a contemporary of Hecataeus, that is, he lived about B. C. 520; he must, however, to judge from the titles of his works, have survived B. C. 485, the year in which Dareius died.
Works
history of Dareius Hystaspis
Dionysius of Miletus wrote a history of Dareius Hystaspis in five books. Suidas further attributes to him a work entitled τὰ μετὰ Δαρεῖον in five books, and also a work Περσικά, in the Ionic dialect.
Whether they were actually three distinct works, or whether the two last were the same, and only a continuation of the first, cannot be ascertained on account of the inextricable confusion which prevails in the articles Διονύσιος of Suidas.
Confusion with Dionysius of Mytilene
As a consequence of the confusion among the articles Διονύσιος of Suidas our Dionysius has often been confounded with Dionysius of Mytilene.
Works erroneously ascribed by Suidas
Suidas ascribes to the Milesian, " Troica," in three books, "Mythica," an "Historical Cycle," in seven books, and a " Periegesis of the whole world," all of which, however, probably belong to different authors.
Further Information
Nitzsch, Hist. Homeri, i. p. 88; Bernhardy, in his edition of Dionys. Perieg. p. 498, &c., and ad Suidam, i. p. 1395; Lobeck, Aglaoph. ii. p. 990,&c.; Welcker, Der Epische Cyclus, p. 75, &c.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.