# Scymnus of Chios

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Ancient Greek geographer

**Scymnus of Chios** ([Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek_language): Σκύμνος ὁ Xῖος; fl. c. 185 BC) was a [Greek](/source/Greece) [geographer](/source/Geographer) from the island of [Chios](/source/Chios). It was thought he was the author of the *Periodos to Nicomedes*, a work on [geography](/source/Geography) written in [Classical Greek](/source/Classical_Greek). It is an account of the world (περιήγησις, *[periegesis](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/periegesis)*) in 'comic' [iambic trimeters](/source/Iambic_trimeter) which is dedicated to a King Nicomedes of [Bithynia](/source/Bithynia). This is either [Nicomedes II Epiphanes](/source/Nicomedes_II_of_Bithynia) who reigned from 149 BC for an unknown number of years or his son, [Nicomedes III Euergetes](/source/Nicomedes_III_of_Bithynia).[1]

## Attribution and publication of the Periegesis

It was first published at [Augsburg](/source/Augsburg) in 1600. Because it was found together with the *Epitomes* of [Marcianus of Heraclea](/source/Marcian_of_Heraclea) it was first published under his name. Because this was clearly a mistake [Lucas Holstenius](/source/Lucas_Holstenius) and [Isaac Vossius](/source/Isaac_Vossius) were the first to attribute it to Scymnus of Chios because he was cited more than once by late grammarians as the author of a *Periegesis*. It continued to pass under his name until 1846 when [Augustus Meineke](/source/Augustus_Meineke), in republishing the extant fragments, showed clearly that there were no grounds for ascribing them to that Scymnus. The real work of Scymnus of Chios appears to have been in [prose](/source/Prose) and the few statements cited from him have no resemblance to the *Periodos to Nicomedes*.[2] Since then work has been attributed to [Pseudo-Scymnus](/source/Pseudo-Scymnus).

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-hunter_1-0)** Hunter, Richard (2006). "The Prologue of the Periodos to Nicomedes ('Pseudo-Scymnus')". In Harder, M. A.; Regtuit, R. F.; Wakker, G. C. (eds.). *Groningen Workshops on Hellenistic Poetry: Beyond the Canon*. Hellenistica Groninga. Vol. 11. Leuven: Peters Publishers. pp. 123–140. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9789042918139](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9789042918139).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-bunbury_2-0)** [Bunbury, E. H.](/source/Edward_Bunbury) (1879). [*A History of ancient geography among the Greeks and Romans from earliest ages till the fall of the Roman Empire*](https://archive.org/details/ahistoryancient04bunbgoog). Vol. 2. London: John Murray. pp. [69](https://archive.org/details/ahistoryancient04bunbgoog/page/n8)–74.

## Further reading

- [Aubrey Diller](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aubrey_Diller&action=edit&redlink=1), *The Tradition of the Minor Greek Geographers* (1952)

## External links

- [Partial English translation](http://topostext.org/work.php?work_id=130) by [John Brady Kiesling](/source/John_Brady_Kiesling) at [ToposText](http://topostext.org)

- [Chisholm, Hugh](/source/Hugh_Chisholm), ed. (1911). ["Scymnus"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Scymnus). *[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition)*. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 519.

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