Aristonicus (eunuch)

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Aristonicus (Latin; Greek ἈριστόνικοςAristonikos) was a eunuch of Ptolemy V Epiphanes. He was brought up with the king from his early youth. Polybius speaks of him in terms of high praise, as a man of a generous and warlike disposition, and skilled in political transactions. In 185 BCE, when the king had to fight against some discontented Egyptians, Aristonicus went to Greece and engaged a body of mercenaries there. [1]

Eunuch castrated male human

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Ptolemy V Epiphanes fifth ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt

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Polybius Ancient Greek historian

Polybius was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period noted for his work The Histories, which covered the period of 264–146 BC in detail. The work describes the rise of the Roman Republic to the status of dominance in the ancient Mediterranean world and includes his eyewitness account of the Sack of Carthage in 146 BC.

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<i>The Histories</i> (Polybius) 40 volumes work of Polybius

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References

  1. Polybius 22.16-17.

The public domain consists of all the creative works to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable.

William Smith (lexicographer) English lexicographer

Sir William Smith was an English lexicographer. He also made advances in the teaching of Greek and Latin in schools.

<i>Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology</i> encyclopedia/biographical dictionary

The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 pages. It is a classic work of 19th-century lexicography. The work is a companion to Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities and Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.