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Hieronymos of Kardia
ALEXANDER MEEUS
Not much is known about the life and works of
Hieronymos of Kardia (364–260 BCE?), an
important diplomat and army officer in the
early Hellenistic period, and the author of
one of the main primary histories of the
Successors. Hieronymos is usually assumed to
have been born around 364, although any date
before 340 seems possible, his first activity
being attested in 319. Since his work included
the death of Pyrrhos in 272, he lived until at
least that date. According to pseudo-Lucian
(Macrob. 22) he reached the age of 104, which
places his death somewhere between ca. 270
and 240. We first hear of Hieronymos as a
diplomat in the service of his countryman –
and perhaps relative – EUMENES OF KARDIA (Diod.
Sic. 18.42.1). He also accompanied his patron
on the battlefield (Diod. Sic. 19.44.3). After
Eumenes’ death in early 316, Hieronymos
joined the former’s enemy ANTIGONOS I MONO-
PHTHALMOS (Diod. Sic. 19.44.3). He spent the
rest of his life at the Antigonid court: after
Antigonos Monophthalmos’ death he served
DEMETRIOS I POLIORKETES and finally ANTIGONOS II
GONATAS.
Hieronymos wrote a history of the early
Hellenistic period, probably covering at least
the years 323 until 272, perhaps even until
262/1 (Primo 2006). Only 13 testimonia and
18 fragments have been preserved (FGrH 154;
P.Oxy. LXXI 4808), all of them rather brief, and
so our knowledge of the work lacks a solid
basis. What seems clear is that Hieronymos
loved descriptions and digressions about the
geography or early history of the places he
treated (F5, 13, 16, 17, 18). Further informa-
tion about Hieronymos’ work has been
extracted from Diodorus’ books 18–20, often
considered an abbreviated but reliable tran-
script. However, there is no evidence whatso-
ever that Hieronymos was Diodorus’ direct
and sole source. Obviously Diodorus’ source
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,
and Sabine R. Huebner, print pages 3214–3215.
© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah09127
was well informed about Eumenes and the
Antigonids, so that he must somehow go
back to Hieronymos at least partially (as is
clear from the brief correspondence between
F5 and Diod. Sic. 19.98.2 as well), but
other passages are clearly derived from
Ptolemaic and Seleucid traditions (Landucci
Gattinoni 2008: XII–XVIII). These passages
are sometimes adduced as evidence that
Hieronymos wrote a balanced and unbiased
work, in spite of Pausanias’ testimony that
Hieronymos wrote in favor of Antigonos
(1.9.8 and 1.13.9); even if Antigonos Gonatas
is meant, it implies positive treatment of
his royal ancestors as well. Since Pausanias
explicitly indicates that such an attitude is
excusable (1.13.9), his judgment cannot be
dismissed as gratuitous and generic criticism
against court historians. Mainly on the basis
of similarities with Diodorus’ account, all
other preserved literary sources are likewise
assumed to be (partially) based on Hiero-
nymos: the narrative of the Successors in
Justin’s Epitome of Pompeius Trogus, Arrian’s
history of the Successors, Plutarch’s biogra-
phies of Eumenes and Demetrios, Nepos’ biog-
raphy of Eumenes, Appian (Syr.; Mithr.), and
Polyaenus (see SUCCESSORS, WARS OF). Some pos-
itive evidence is available only for Appian
(Mithr. 8) and Plutarch’s Pyrrhus (17.7, 21.12,
27.8), and even they need not have used
him directly.
SEE ALSO: Diodorus of Sicily; Historiography,
Greek and Roman.
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
Asheri, D. (2006) “Hieronymus of Cardia ca.
364–? 260 BC.” In N. Wilson, ed.,
Encyclopedia of ancient Greece: 359–60.
New York.
Bosworth, A. B. (2002) The legacy of Alexander.
Politics, warfare, and propaganda under the
Successors: 169–209. Oxford.
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Hornblower, J. (1981) Hieronymus of Cardia. Oxford.
Knoepfler, D. (2001) “Trois historiens
hellénistiques: Douris de Samos, Hiéronymos de
Cardia, Philochore d’Athènes.” In J. Leclant and
F. Chamoux, eds., Histoire et historiographie dans
l’Antiquité: 25–44. Paris.
Landucci Gattinoni, F. (2008) Diodoro Siculo,
Biblioteca Storica, Libro XVIII. Commento Storico.
Milan.
Primo, A. (2006) “Il termine ultimo delle Storie
di Ieronimo di Cardia.” Athenaeum
94: 719–22.
Seibert, J. (1983) Das Zeitalter der Diadochen: 2–54.
Darmstadt.
Simonetti Agostinetti, A. (1997) “Geronimo di
Cardia: storico di parte o equilibrato narratore
della storia del suo tempo?” Miscellanea greca
e romana 21: 209–26.