Jan P. Stronk

Independent Researcher, Ancient History, Faculty Member

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I am an ancient historian and former archaeologist. I specialise in ancient Greek historiography, notably that relating Greek history to that of other cultures in the Ancient Near East. After my PhD-thesis on Xenophon on the Thracians, I published a text-edition of Ctesias' Persian History and a translation of those parts of Diodorus' Bibliotheca pertaining to the history of 'Persia' as well as several papers and reviews, most of them related to my main research areas.

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Books by Jan P. Stronk

Stronk 2010 Ctesias Persian History Part I Introduction Text and Translation Dusseldorf 2010

Ctesias' Persian History. Part 1: Introduction, Text, and Translation., 2010

Ctesias of Cnidus was a Greek physician, employed in Persian Achaemenid service, doctoring notabl... more Ctesias of Cnidus was a Greek physician, employed in Persian Achaemenid service, doctoring notably the kings' king family. Having returned to Greece, he wrote, in 23 books, a Persian History. The work itself is largely lost, but fragments of it have been preserved by various authors. In the current book, the fragments have been presented, together with a translation into English, preceded by an introduction.

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THE TROJAN HORSE The Present Debates on Troy and the Art of Fundraising 1

Talanta 34-5, 2002

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-Jan P. Stronk

In 1954 E. Lobel and C. Roberts published P. Oxy. 2330 1 , which they ascribed to Ctesias of Cnid... more In 1954 E. Lobel and C. Roberts published P. Oxy. 2330 1 , which they ascribed to Ctesias of Cnidus, an author of the 5th/4th centuries BC 2 . The identification was made possible by a reference by Demetrius, De Elocutione (= On Style), 212-4. Demetrius writes about repetition in order to make a greater impression. Subsequently he describes the situation and then quotes the relevant sentence as written by Ctesias: "'Εγὼ µὲν σὲ ἔσωσα, καὶ σὺ µὲν δι' ἐµὲ ἐσώθης…". These same words we also find on the papyrus, lines 7-8. Up to the present day, this fragment is nearly the only surviving part of Ctesias' Persica 3 . In 2003 Rosa Giannattasio Andria made a new collation, but preparing my forthcoming edition of Ctesias' Persian History (Stronk 2010), I made a collation as well (cf. www.papyrology.ox.ac.uk, online database sub authors a-z > Ctesias). P.Oxy. 2330: transcription text 1 Lobel/Roberts 1954. 2 See, i.a., Stronk 2004-05, Stronk 2007, and Stronk 2010. 3 There are also some other sentences preserved in Demetrius, On Style, 215-216.

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The Ten Thousand in Thrace. An Archeaeological and Historical Commentary on Xenophon's Anabasis, Books VI.iii-vi - VII, Amsterdam 1995

A commentary on the last books of the Anabasis. Followed the steps of Xenophon and, i.a., identif... more

Ctesias' Persian History: Part 1, Introduction, Text, and Translation, Düsseldorf: Wellem-Verlag, 2010.

In the introduction Ctesias' position in Greek historiography is determined (ch. 1), and the hist... more In the introduction Ctesias' position in Greek historiography is determined (ch. 1), and the history of his work 'Persian History' until the 9th. C. AD is followed (ch. 2). In ch. 3 the choices for the text are explained, and ch. 4 presents both the Greek (and Armenian and Latin) texts of the fragments as well as their translation on opposing pages. Completed with index locorum and general index and a concordance of fragment numbers in the most important editions of Ctesias' Persian History from 1853 onwards.

Papers by Jan P. Stronk

The Tyrrhenian Group of Black-Figure Vases. From the Athenian Kerameikos to the Tombs of South Etruria

... Research Field, Languages and Literatures. Classification, B3. Publishing Year, 2003. Number ... more

Ariston of Alexandria

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Zeno

Brill’s New Jacoby, Nov 23, 2021

Sophaenetos of Stymphalus

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Aisopos

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Semiramis’ Legacy

Edinburgh University Press eBooks, 2017

In Semiramis’ Legacy, the history of Persia (in its widest sense) is followed as it has been desc... more In Semiramis’ Legacy, the history of Persia (in its widest sense) is followed as it has been described by the Greek author Diodorus of Sicily (first century bc) as a part of his Historical Library. Diodorus starts his description with the legendary Queen Semiramis, an Assyrian queen who was said to also have ruled ancient Persia and ends it with the situation in his own days. This makes it the fullest description of ancient Persian history we have from antiquity, subsequently focusing on the vicissitudes of Assyrians (from their legendary rulers Ninus and Semiramis onward) and their direct successors, the Medes and Chaldeans, then the Achaemenid kings, Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, and the arrival of Rome in the Ancient Near East. Semiramis’ Legacy is the first complete translation of Diodorus entirely focused on the historiography of Persia (apart from the translation of his whole work in the Loeb Classical Library). Different from that edition, this book has been provided with an array of comments to give the reader the maximum of background information. As such, this study, therefore, contains as first the selected comprehensive account of ‘Ancient Persian History’, its contacts, and its context as seen by a relatively well informed Greek.

N. G. Wilson (ed.), Herodotus Historiae, Libri I-IV, Oxford Classical Texts, Oxford: OUP, 2015, xiii+471 pp., £40,00, ISBN 978-0-19-956070-7. N. G. Wilson (ed.), Herodotus Historiae, Libri V-IX, Oxford Classical Texts, Oxford: OUP, 2015, vi+440 pp., £40,0

Exemplaria classica: journal of classical philology, Nov 23, 2017

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A History of the Classical Greek World, 478-323 BC [Book Review]

Scholia: Studies in Classical Antiquity, 2006

To cite this article: Stronk, Jan P. A History of the Classical Greek World, 478-323 BC [Book Rev... more

Ctesias of Cnidus, a Reappraisal

Mnemosyne, 2007

The works of Ctesias of Cnidus have frequently been regarded as second rate at best. His reliabil... more The works of Ctesias of Cnidus have frequently been regarded as second rate at best. His reliability as a historian has been seriously questioned in particular, not only by Felix Jacoby and many historians after him, but also by authors in antiquity. Doubts were especially raised about Ctesias' Indica, but also the trustworthiness of his Persica was—and still is—considered dubious. This verdict appears to be unfair, for two reasons. The first is that hardly anything that can be attributed directly to Ctesias has survived: the overwhelming majority of material ascribed to Ctesias has been transmitted by other authors, who used their source not necessarily with proper care. The second is to be found in Demetrius' On Style: here a new perspective on Ctesias is offered. It shows that we should no longer regard Ctesias primarily as a historian, but as a forerunner of a new literary genre (culminating in the classical novel) mixing historical fact with fictitious elements. It is only because of the lack of a proper word in antiquity to describe this genre that the term 'history' was applied to his work as well. It would confuse many generations of historians and deny Ctesias his proper place in Greek literary history.

Book Review of The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in the Seleucid Empire, by Paul J. Kosmin

American Journal of Archaeology, 2016

Eudemos

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Aristippos of Cyrene

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Ergias of Rhodes

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Hippagoras

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Introduction: Diodorus’ Work and Our Sources

Edinburgh University Press eBooks, 2017

The introduction discusses what is known at present of Diodorus’ life and his work, the methods h... more The introduction discusses what is known at present of Diodorus’ life and his work, the methods he used to apply structure to his work, and the views that guided him. Furthermore, ample attention is paid to the manuscript tradition on which the several editions that present the current audience with Diodorus’ works were grounded as well as to the main editions of the work from the medieval period onwards.

Stronk 2010 Ctesias Persian History Part I Introduction Text and Translation Dusseldorf 2010

Ctesias' Persian History. Part 1: Introduction, Text, and Translation., 2010

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THE TROJAN HORSE The Present Debates on Troy and the Art of Fundraising 1

Talanta 34-5, 2002

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-Jan P. Stronk

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The Ten Thousand in Thrace. An Archeaeological and Historical Commentary on Xenophon's Anabasis, Books VI.iii-vi - VII, Amsterdam 1995

A commentary on the last books of the Anabasis. Followed the steps of Xenophon and, i.a., identif... more

Ctesias' Persian History: Part 1, Introduction, Text, and Translation, Düsseldorf: Wellem-Verlag, 2010.

The Tyrrhenian Group of Black-Figure Vases. From the Athenian Kerameikos to the Tombs of South Etruria

... Research Field, Languages and Literatures. Classification, B3. Publishing Year, 2003. Number ... more

Ariston of Alexandria

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Zeno

Brill’s New Jacoby, Nov 23, 2021

Sophaenetos of Stymphalus

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Aisopos

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Semiramis’ Legacy

Edinburgh University Press eBooks, 2017

Exemplaria classica: journal of classical philology, Nov 23, 2017

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A History of the Classical Greek World, 478-323 BC [Book Review]

Scholia: Studies in Classical Antiquity, 2006

To cite this article: Stronk, Jan P. A History of the Classical Greek World, 478-323 BC [Book Rev... more

Ctesias of Cnidus, a Reappraisal

Mnemosyne, 2007

Book Review of The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in the Seleucid Empire, by Paul J. Kosmin

American Journal of Archaeology, 2016

Eudemos

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Aristippos of Cyrene

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Ergias of Rhodes

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Hippagoras

Brill’s New Jacoby, Second Edition, Nov 23, 2021

Introduction: Diodorus’ Work and Our Sources

Edinburgh University Press eBooks, 2017

The Vicissitudes of the Diadoch Kingdoms: The Final Years of Diodorus’ Persian Account

Edinburgh University Press eBooks, 2017

This chapter falls, in fact, apart in two parts, the first discussing the events, from 310 bc onw... more This chapter falls, in fact, apart in two parts, the first discussing the events, from 310 bc onward, leading up to the Battle of Ipsus (which took place in 301 bc and where Antigonus the One-eyed was killed and Demetrius barely survived) and the battle’s aftermath, the second part discussing the period between c. 280 and c. 64 bc, when the arrival of Pompey formally ended the Seleucid empire, already weakened due to the invasion of the Parthians. In this second part, several Seleucid rulers feature prominently. The end of the Seleucid empire marked the end of Diodorus’ history of Persia. The Ptolemies survived about 30 years longer as rulers before they also formally submitted to Rome: their demise ended the Hellenist kingdoms.

Revolt and Sedition

Edinburgh University Press eBooks, 2017

The reign of six Achaemenid kings is related. Succeeding each other feature Artaxerxes I, Xerxes ... more The reign of six Achaemenid kings is related. Succeeding each other feature Artaxerxes I, Xerxes II, Sogdianus, Darius II, Artaxerxes II, and Artaxerxes III. Amongst others attention is paid to the revolt of Cyrus the Younger, supported by a Greek mercenary force, against his brother Artaxerxes II and the role Queen Atossa, the mother of both Artaxerxes II and Cyrus the Younger, played during the occurrences. The relation between the Persian rulers and several Greek poleis is another important element in the narrative. The revolt of several satraps is also discussed as well as the secession of Egypt and the efforts of Artaxerxes III to subdue the country, together with its Phoenician allies, foremost of all the city of Sidon, again.

Afterglow of Empire: Egypt from the Fall of the New Kingdom to the Saite Renaissance (Book Review)

American Journal of Archaeology, 2014

Afterglow of Empire joins Aidan Dodson's ever-growing series of books covering various periods an... more Afterglow of Empire joins Aidan Dodson's ever-growing series of books covering various periods and aspects of Egyptian history and archaeology. This volume treats the Third Intermediate Period (st to th Dynasties), with opening and concluding chapters on the last Ramesside rulers of the th Dynasty and the Egyptian 'renaissance' under the th Dynasty. Handsomely produced, the book is well bound, with proper stitching and a cover which does not curl back on itself! The paper is of good quality which, given the constraints of page size, allows the excellent reproduction of some  illustrationsmainly the author's own photographs. My only complaint about the production is the lack of running heads both with the chapters and page numbers in the endnotes section. These lapses make the book very difficult to work through, especially as the notes are so vital to the complex issues discussed. The reader should not expect any social or economic history of the period covered: for example the present reviewer has not yet found the word 'trade' anywhere in the volume or, for that matter the art historical evidence provided by coffins and other funerary equipment, on which Aidan is a specialist. Still, such is the nature of the Third Intermediate Period which, at the risk of sounding hackneyed, is a historical jigsaw puzzle. Part of its attraction to so many researchers (including the present reviewer) is that due to the myriad (often scrappy) pieces of evidence at our disposal there seem to be endless ways of reconstructing the political history of Egyptduring a period when royal power fragmented from one overall pharaoh (under the th Dynasty, conventionally th century ) to the th century  when the Assyrian conquerors of Egypt list well over  local kings ('sharru'). How rapidly this disintegration occurred, with increasing overlaps between dynasties and kingswith concomitant lowering of chronologyis a matter of acute importance not only for Egypt but far beyond. 'Dead reckoning' backwards is the method by which Egyptologists aim to calculate the span of Egyptian chronology (as defined by Kenneth Kitchen, the doyen of TIP chronology) between the well established accession date of the th-dynasty king Taharqo,  , and that of Shoshenq I, founder of the nd Dynasty. A key character in the calculations is the well attested Osorkon III. Early Egyptologists (such as Petrie and Breasted) had no problem in identifying him as the pharaoh Osorkon mentioned on the stela of the Kushite conqueror Piye (late th century ), the 'king So' of Egypt to whom Hoshea of Israel paid tribute in order for help against Assyria c.   and the Shilkanni king of Egypt who sent a present of horses to Sargon II in  . Yet later Egyptologists such as Kitchen and his acolytes have replaced Osorkon III in these roles with an Osorkon IV, who fills the over-extended chronology between Taharqo and Shoshenq I. The evidence for an Osorkon 'IV' is paltry (Morkot and James , -). Most of the objects attributed to him have now been assigned to Osorkon 'the Elder' of the  st Dynasty, as Dodson (pp. -) agrees. In  (see Dodson p. ) photos of some beautifully carved blocks from Tanis were published of a king Osorkon. His depiction and titulary are in a style which unmistakably belongs to the 'archaising' style of the late th century  (Morkot and James , ). Dodson (p. ) argues that the presence of a 'nw' at the end of the name distinguishes him from Osorkon IIIhence the reliefs finally provide evidence for the nebulous Osorkon 'IV'. Porter () showed that the 'nw' is known from Osorkon III. Still, Dodson () continues to argue against the case for Osorkon III, invoking a tiny detail involving the character used for the letter 't'. (NB, pharaohs frequently used varying orthography in different inscriptions.) It is hard to avoid the feeling that some Egyptologists are looking through a special glass with no Alice to help. The desire to cling to the idea of an Osorkon 'IV' (given an entirely imaginary - years by Kitchen) is surely due to the need to fill up the time-span back to Shoshenq I and his alleged identification with the biblical 'king Shishak'.

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Ancient History: Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Medes

Edinburgh University Press eBooks, 2017

In this chapter Diodorus himself gets the stage. The story is about the rise and decline of the A... more In this chapter Diodorus himself gets the stage. The story is about the rise and decline of the Assyrian empire, starting with the reigns of Ninus and Semiramis and the construction of subsequently Nineveh and Babylon and ending with the reign of Sardanapallus and the fall of Nineveh. Next follows an account on the rule of the Medes, in which features amongst others also Queen Zarinaea of the Scythians. Finally, attention is paid to the Chaldeans and their importance for astronomy.

de Jong, I. J. F., Nünlist, R., Bowie, A. (eds.) Narrators, Narratees, and Narratives in Ancient Greek Literature

Mnemosyne, 2008

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Pelling, Commentary on Thucydides, Books VI and VII, Cambridge's Yellow amd Greens, reviewed in Ex.Class. 2022, Reseñas / Reviews 252

ExClass 26, 2022, 252-259, 2022

Though fully aware of the reputation of both the HCT and the CoT, I would as yet – for a study of... more Though fully aware of the reputation of both the HCT and the CoT, I would
as yet – for a study of books VI and VII – at present turn first to Pelling’s
Commentaries as a companion to the text of these books. The first reason to do so is Pelling’s focus on making the Greek understandable: much less than both Gomme c.s. and Hornblower, he does take pre-existing knowledge of his audience for granted. Much more than Gomme c.s. and Hornblower, Pelling explains Thucydides’ Greek and makes the text itself accessible, albeit even now clearly some difficult passages remain.

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Archaeology of empire in Achaemenid Egypt

Stronk on Colburn, Archaeology of Empire in Achaemenid Egypt, 2020

This is a review of groundbreaking work, an attempt to position the 27th Dynasty in Egypt through... more

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Stronk on Hornblower Pelling ExClass

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Jan P. Stronk

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