Eudoxos of Kuzikos (120 – 110 BCE)
Greek navigator whose adventures and discoveries were documented by P
A (On the Ocean, F 49 E–K), later transmitted and denounced by S (2.3.4–5).
According to these reports, Eudoxos was a sacred ambassador and peace herald at the
festival of Persephone. Coming to Egypt under Ptolemy VIII Euerge ̄te ̄s II (145– 116 BCE),
he formed an association with the king and his ministers regarding voyages up the Nile. An
Indian sailor, found alone and half dead on his stranded ship at the Arabian Gulf, and
brought before the king, declared that he had come from India; whereupon Ptolemy sent an
expedition including Eudoxos to explore the route.
Kleopatra III, Ptolemy’s wife and successor, sent Eudoxos to sail the same route. Return-
ing to Egypt, he drifted to southern “Ethiopia” where he contacted the inhabitants and
found a horse-shaped wooden prow of a ship from Gade ̄s that had sailed beyond the Lixos
river (in Morocco) but had not returned. Eudoxos concluded that it was possible to sail
around Africa, and set sail from Kuzikos with all his property and a large entourage. But the
ship sank.
Eudoxos built another ship and set sail again. Arriving in Maurousia (Mauretania) he
traveled on foot to the court of Bogos whose advisors opposed the exposure of their country
to foreigners. Eudoxos, fleeing to Roman territory, crossed over to Iberia where he built two
ships, one for sailing along the coast and the other for the open sea. He equipped the ships
with supplies and carpenters and set sail once again, but never returned.
Eudoxos’ achievements reflect two maritime routes: from Egypt to India, and around
Africa from west to east. Both journeys occurred around 120– 110 BCE. Eudoxos’ journeys
were probably not along the coast (periploi), but followed the monsoon sailing with the
monsoon winds across the open sea between Egypt and India. In the second route, around
Africa, Eudoxos’ failures were probably due to E’ misconception of the size
and shape of Africa as a right angled triangle, the right angle being in Egypt.
J.H. Thiel, Eudoxus of Cyzicus, A chapter in the History of the Sea-route round the Cape in ancient times (1966):
Strabo ̄n’s text with commentary.
Daniela Dueck
Eudoxos of Rhodes (ca 275 – 200 BCE)
Historian (D L 8.90), who incorporated periploi into his Histories; the
fragments suggest paradoxography. He described birds larger than oxen beyond the Pillars
of He ̄rakle ̄s (F3 = A, HA 17.14) and how the Galatians charmed birds to vanquish
locust swarms (F4 = HA 17.19). He noted a lack of sunlight in Celtic climes (F2).
FGrHist 79; OCD3 566, anon.
GLIM
Euelpide ̄s (15 – 35 CE)
Greek ophthalmologist contemporary with C (6.6.8A) who preserves several of
Euelpide ̄s’ recipes for eye pathologies, all containing poppy juice and minerals, in gum; all
but one contain saffron. The trygodes, resembling wine lees (trux), he compounded from
calamine, antimony, lukion, myrrh, etc. (6.6.8A [2.196.12–19 Spencer]); the memigmenon
salve he “mixed” from white peppercorn, roasted copper, etc., without saffron (6.6.17
[2.210.3–6 Spencer]); the pyrrona, red from roasted copper, contained also myrrh and white
EUDOXOS OF KUZIKOS