This is my seventy-second monthly teaching letter and completes my sixth year of publication. As this teaching letter is a continuation of lesson #71, you may not fully comprehend the subject matter presented herein until you do read it. The object of these lessons is to show Herodotus was an Anointed witness to the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy concerning the whereabouts of the Lost Tribes at his time. Thus, Herodotus’ witness becomes a vital factor to the awakening of the true Israelites of today. Without his witness, we might never have come to a realization of who we are, being Yahweh’s Covenant people. I then quoted quite a lengthy passage from The World Of Herodotus by Aubrey de Sélincourt, chapters 19 & 20. For other references, check The Post-Captivity Names Of Israel by Wm. Pascoe Goard, chapter 7, pages 76-80;A History Of Greece by J. B. Bury pages 228-229 and, A History of the Greek City States by Raphael Sealey page 173. (Also see the Smithsonian, March 2000, pages 88-93.)
Later in this series on Herodotus, I will show how the archaeologist’s spade is vindicating his writings! Once we have observed Herodotus’ writings and compare them with what they have found on the Scythians in archaeology, it will build our confidence to a high level of regard for them. The whole idea is to present Herodotus’ writings on the Scythians from an Israel Identity perspective rather than secular history.
REVIEW OF HERODOTUS’ WRITINGS ON THE SCYTHIANS
We might start our story about Herodotus’ writings concerning the Scythians with Cyrus II (the Great), first king of Persia. The Persians were predominately Elamites of the house of Shem. The Medes, on the other hand, were descendants of Japheth, and they eventually allied themselves with the Elamite Persians, forming the great Medo-Persian Empire. It was a Shemitic-Japhetic partnership. While Cyrus II was considered “my (Yahweh’s) shepherd” at Isaiah 44:28, nevertheless Cyrus was an empire builder. In building his empire, he had to conquer many peoples and ethnic groups. And while the Persians and Medes were both White people, the rest of the conquered peoples were not necessarily so. Cyrus was busy organizing his newly won territories into satraps. One of the peoples he tangled with were the Massagetae. In that encounter Cyrus II was killed by the Massagetae, and Cambyses, his son, recovered his body. Cyrus II, in his effort to expand his empire too far, made the fatal mistake of combating with Yahweh’s “battle ax and weapons of war” (Jeremiah 51:20). Collier’s Encyclopedia has Cyrus’ death at 530 B.C. In fact, Herodotus testifies of the Persian campaign against the Massagetae and Cyrus’ death at 1. 201-214. If you have a copy of Herodotus’ The Histories, read it for yourself. And while you are reading it, be sure to read 1. 215 also as it speaks of the “battle-axes” of the Massagetae! This is just one more significant reason that every serious Bible student should have and study his writings!
At Herodotus 1. 201 it describes Cyrus’ endeavor to conquer the Massagetae, “by many ... regarded as a Scythian race.” 1. 202 describes the Araxes River, which Rawlinson notes: “The geographical knowledge of Herodotus seems to be nowhere so much at fault as in his account of this river. He appears to have confused together the information which had reached him concerning two or three distinct streams. (Note that Herodotus is writing of events 100 years before his time in a place he never visited.) 1. 203-204: Herodotus describes the Caspian Sea, the Araxes River which empties into it from the west, and the Caucasus Mountains which bind the Caspian there. This is the land Herodotus places the Massagetae in. 1. 215: Herodotus describes the Massagetae: “In their dress and mode of living [they] resemble the Scythians” and, as he says later that the Scythians carry: “their favorite weapon is the battle-axe.”
This Araxes River, circa 530 B.C., where Cyrus II invades the Scythians, is the ancient boundary between Armenia (but this section lies in Azerbaijan today) and Media (currently Northwest Iran). Diodorus Siculus says of the Scythians at 2. 43: “But now, in turn, we shall discuss the Scythians who inhabit the country bordering upon India. This people originally possessed little territory, but later, as they gradually increased in power, they seized much territory by reason of their deeds of might and their bravery and advanced their nation to great leadership and renown. At first, then, they dwelt on the Araxes River, altogether few in number and despised because of their lack of renown; but since one of their early kings was warlike and of unusual skill as a general they acquired territory, in the mountains as far as the Caucasus, and in the steppes along the ocean and Lake Maeotis (the sea of Azov today) and the rest of that country as far as the Tanaïs River ... But some time later the descendants of these kings ... subdued much of the territory beyond the Tanaïs River as far as Thrace ... for this people increased to great strength and had notable kings; one of whom gave his name to the Sacae, another to the Massagetae, another to the Arimaspi, and several other tribes received their names in like manner ...”
So while Diodorus describes the naming of the various related Scythian tribes fancifully, he surely is accurate in the description of the origins and growth of these people, and corroborates Herodotus concerning their relationship and locations. Strabo the geographer, writing of these peoples a short time (maybe 75 years) after Diodorus, corroborates the statements of Herodotus and Diodorus with the following:
At Strabo 7. 3. 9 the Sacae are of Scythian stock. Herodotus says at 7. 64 that of the Scythians “the Persians called them Sacae, since that is the name which they give to all Scythians.”
11. 3. 3 The Iberians (of the Caucasus) are “both neighbors and kinsmen” of the Scythians and Sarmatians, with whom they assemble “whenever anything alarming occurs.” (Note that anciently there were two lands named Iberia: the one the peninsula later known as Spain, settled by Hebrew (Eber) Israelite-Phoenicians, the other adjacent to the Caucasus Mountains, settled by Hebrew Israelite-Scythians.)
11. 6. 2 Sarmatians, Scythians dwell between the Tanaïs and Caspian Sea. “... all the people towards the north were by ancient Greek historians given the general name “Scythians” or “Celtoscythians.” (Note that to Strabo, Herodotus would surely be a most ancient Greek historian.)
11. 8. 2 The Däae, Massagetae and Sacae are Scythians, and the inhabitants of Bactriana and Sogdiana, if not Scythians themselves, are ruled over by Scythians. The Asii, Tocharians and Sacarauli appear to be Scythians.
11. 8. 4 Sacasene, a district in Armenia, was so named for the Sacae who dwelt there.
So with these statements of Strabo, those of Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus all fully corroborating each other, the later historians are only clarifying and more fully expounding the earlier. Where Herodotus tells us that the Scythians conquered all of Asia, (1. 104), Strabo relates that “In ancient times Greater Armenia ruled the whole of Asia”, (11. 13. 5), yet both men are correct, for Diodorus Siculus tells us of the Scythians’ origins, in Armenia itself (2. 43). [Note that while Strabo calls the Sarmatians and Däae both “Scythian”, and while surely they are of the same Adamic stock and have similar customs, Diodorous Siculus (2. 43. 6) tells us that the Sarmatians originated as a colony of Medes along the Tanaïs, while Herodotus (1: 125) lists Daans as a nomadic Persian tribe. Speaking in strictly geographic terms, Strabo should be forgiven.]
To understand Herodotus and the Scythian connection, one must know that the first four kings of Persia were Cyrus II, Cambyses (son of Cyrus II), Smerdis (the impostor), and Darius Hystaspes. Now when Darius Hystaspes came to the Persian throne, he made the same mistake of trying to conquer the Scythians as Cyrus II had ill-conceived. While the Medes and Persians were ferocious fighters, they were no match for the Scythian-Israelites. To give a good example, at the time Cyrus II was campaigning against the Massagetae, the Massagetae had a female leader by the name of Queen Tomyris whose husband had previously died (Her. 1. 205-206). So Cyrus II (the Great) was outwitted by an Israelite-Scythian woman.
Most of Herodotus’ fourth book concerns the Scythians, and this invasion by Darius against them. This invasion was against the Scythians north of Thrace, for Darius is described as invading that land and bridging the Ister (Danube) to cross into Scythia. Herodotus actually visited and stayed among the Scythians in this region for quite some time, during which he compiled the material for his fourth book.
At Herodotus 4. 5: “According to the account which the Scythians themselves give, they are the youngest of all nations.” And while he goes on here to report a fantastic tale of their origins, this account is not in disagreement with that of Diodorus’, cited above.
4. 11: Herodotus describes these as having “warred with the Massagetae” (as Saxon tribes fought each other even throughout modern history) and “therefore quitted their homes, crossed the Araxes, and entered the land of Cimmeria, for the land which is now inhabited by the Scyths was formerly the country of the Cimmerians.” Here Rawlinson conjectures that this Araxes, surely not the former river in Armenia, may be the Volga. Either the Volga or the Don (called the Tanaïs by the Greeks) must be the river meant here, since the “country of the Cimmerians” is likely the Crimea, west of the Don and the sea of Azov which it empties into. The location of the Scythians here is corroborated by Diodorus Siculus, mentioned above, as is the Scythian presence to the north of Thrace.
4. 48: Herodotus describes the Ister (Danube) and calls all of the rivers which feed the Ister from the north “genuine Scythian rivers.”
4. 49: Herodotus surely knew the extent of the Danube, where he says “For the Ister flows through the whole extent of Europe, rising in the country of the Celts” by which he must mean the Rhineland, and calls that country “the most westerly of all the nations of Europe, excepting the Cynetians” (of the Cynetians, or Cynesians at Herodotus 2. 33, Rawlinson states: “ ... are a nation of whom nothing is known but their abode from very ancient times at the extreme S.W. of Europe”, for there Herodotus states: “The Celts live beyond the Pillars of Hercules, and border on the Cynesians, who dwell at the extreme west of Europe.”) While Herodotus calls the rest of Europe north of the Ister an “interminable wilderness” (5. 9) we must turn later to Strabo in order to find that the Germans who inhabit this area, unsettled in Herodotus’ time, are truly Celts and Scythians, that all are kinsmen, and all crossed west from Asia. While Strabo does not contradict Herodotus, he surely does expand upon the early testimony of Herodotus, and corroborates him fully. To Strabo, Celtica is all the land from the Pyrenees to the Rhine (4. 5. 1).
4. 97: Here Darius is said to have crossed the Ister from Thrace, after subduing the Getae and other inhabitants of the land, embarking upon his failed attempt to conquer the Scythians. Throughout these chapters Herodotus discusses many circumstances of the Scythians which illuminate the words of the Hebrew prophets and the destiny of the children of Israel, all of which will be discussed later.
7. 64: Herodotus discusses the Scythians who, much later under Xerxes, were part of the Persian army that invaded Greece. While it is evident from Strabo and Diodorus that these Scythians are indeed related to those of Europe and the area around the Caucasus, as can be determined from some of the passages already mentioned, among others, it is apparent that certain tribes or divisions of these eastern Scythians were under the yoke of the Persian Empire.
The Scythians listed here by Herodotus, also called Sacae and more specifically, Amyrgian Scythians (a geographical designation, as Rawlinson explains), are listed in company with the Bactrians. The Caspians are mentioned at 7. 67, and then at 7. 86 both Bactrians and Caspians are mentioned together. We have seen in Strabo (11. 8. 2) a relationship between the Scythian and Bactrian, and Caspiana is a region bordering the north bank of the Araxes River where it empties into the Caspian Sea. The north and west of Caspiana are bordered by Armenia, Iberia and Albania, all occupied by people related as told by Strabo (at his time) to the Scythians. Caspiana must be, as Dr. George Moore agrees in his The Lost Tribes And The Saxons Of The East And The Saxons Of The West, that district mentioned at Ezra 8:17, Casiphia, to which Ezra sent for Levites to come to Jerusalem after the rebuilding of the Temple. All of this, as we will see later, is instrumental in the understanding of a great portion of the Hebrew prophets!
From the sources I cited, we learn that the Scythians were a very adaptable people. While some indicate they were always on the move, living entirely off of their animals and wild life, at other times, we are told they were an “agricultural” people. We find the Scythians were both exporters and importers of great quantities of commodities. It is obvious that our people have the intuitive ability to adjust to almost any adverse situation; a built-in self-sufficient skill to survive under conditions that the other races would fail. And to survive, our people had to be the greatest fighters the world has ever known in every age. And while our people are naturally vicious fighters, on the other hand, we have the ability to be highly refined and cultured in manners and protocol. So we shouldn’t be surprised when Herodotus gives us instances which might seem to be in conflict.
We are told that Herodotus didn’t admire the Scythians, but at the same time he highly respected them for their ability of self preservation. Herodotus was fascinated at how the Scythians could defend themselves against almost any destructive or hostile force; that the Scythians were the masters of almost any situation. We should highly respect Herodotus for these observations of our people, and for his writing them down for our posterity. Herodotus himself had a more cultured environment and would have had a natural repulsiveness for the unrefined. Sélincourt notices that the Scythians had a “hatred and suspicion of foreigners.” We need some of that very same kind of thing today!
We can be thankful to Herodotus for recording the outcome of the conflict between Darius and the Scythian-Israelites for our benefit. All the while, Yahweh had his man in Herodotus writing it all down for our knowledge today. There are sundry publications quoting Herodotus on many historical subjects, but there is no other more important than the Israel Identity Message to have his records. If you don’t have a copy of Herodotus’ Histories in your library, you need to do so as soon as possible. There is no other period in history when Herodotus’ writings are more valuable and needed than at our present time!
Inasmuch as Herodotus has borne witness concerning the Scythians-Israelites, we really need to know more about him. So we then ask the question:
JUST WHO WAS HERODOTUS?
At the beginning of lesson #71, I gave an abbreviated concise description of his life. We know he was a Greek, but was he a Macedonian Greek?, an Athenian Greek?, or a Dorian Greek? It is insufficient just to call him a “Greek.” I will repeat a quote from lesson #71 from the book The World Of Herodotus by Aubrey de Sélincourt under “Biographical”, page 28: “Little is known of Herodotus’ life, his birth-place was Halicarnassus, the modern Bodrum, originally a Carian town on the south-west coast of Asia Minor; it was later occupied by Dorian emigrants from Troezene, and became in time, like the other Greek settlements on the eastern coast of the Aegean ...” This is evidence that Herodotus was a Dorian Greek. We can be quite sure of this as the Greeks lived closely with their kin. On pages 76-77 Sélincourt says:
“But their power was destined to be broken by another Greek-speaking people, the Dorians, who about the year 1100 B.C., nearly a century after the traditional date of the siege of Troy, came with their iron weapons ... in hordes and carried all before them. This was not a peaceful infiltration like that of their predecessors, but an invasion and a conquest. Unlike the Achaeans who adopted as their own much of what they found in their new home, the Dorians were destroyers. Their coming brought a period of great confusion; as they poured ... over central Greece and into the Peloponnese, tribes and communities were reduced to serfdom, or swept away. Over a course of two centuries and more there was a continuous movement of peoples before the pressure of the invaders. The Dorians were a barbarous and virile race, and it took them a long time to learn civilised ways: some of them, one is tempted to think, never did; for in the years to come the greatest of the Dorian towns was Sparta, and it is not easy to associate the idea of civilised ways with that profoundly interesting but hateful place.
“An important result of the Dorian invasion and the spreading of the Dorian tribes over a large part of the mainland of Greece, and of the shifting of peoples consequent upon it, was the colonisation by Greeks of the coast of Asia Minor and of Cyprus and the Aegean islands. The movement of colonisation had begun before the Dorian invasion, but it was now greatly accelerated. The Achaeans, with their kinsmen the Aeolian Greeks, were the first to seek new homes in the kindlier land of Asia, and in the off-shore island of Lesbos; their settlements were mainly on the Mysian coast, extending as far south as Old Smyrna, and they were followed by Ionian venturers, who settled to the southward, as far as Miletus. Lastly the Dorians themselves joined in the search for new lands, built settlements in the islands of Cos, Cnidus and Rhodes, and continued the line of Greek coastal towns to the borders of Lycia ...”
On pages 117-118 Sélincourt continues: “The Spartans were a Dorian people, and the Dorians, far back at the beginning of things, had fought their way ... into the Peloponnese, where they had wrested the land from the original inhabitants. Probably they had fighting in their blood more than the other branches of the Greek peoples, and certainly the Spartans, once they were settled as masters of the greater part of the Peloponnese, were compelled to maintain their position amongst the conquered population by force, and the threat of force. Sparta itself was a small community, little more, indeed, than a collection of villages; in it lived the true-born Spartan nobility, perhaps eight or nine thousand of them, while everyone else on the scattered farms of the fertile plain of Lacedaemon had lost even their names: they were the ‘perioeci’ – the ‘dwellers-around’; or else the helots, the Spartans’ slaves.”
Again on page 132 Sélincourt says: “Sicyon, neighbour to Corinth, was a Dorian state of great antiquity, originally founded by Dorians from Argos. After following the pattern of development common to most Greek communities she fell, about the middle of the seventh century, under the ‘tyranny’ of a certain Orthagoras, whose dynasty lasted for nearly a hundred years.”
On page 259 Sélincourt comments: “For a long time the Aeginetans, a Dorian people, had been a prosperous mercantile community; they were amongst the first of the Greeks to issue a coinage, early in the seventh century B.C. and the Aeginetan silver ‘turtles’ remained the standard coinage of the Peloponnese for two hundred years. The island traded freely with Egypt, and in the reign of Amasis (569-526) built its own shrine at Naucratis, the trading-post at the mouth of the Nile.”
You may be wondering why all of this history of the Dorian Greeks is so important. It is significant as the Dorian Greeks were the people Paul addressed in 1st & 2nd Corinthians. How many times have you read 1st & 2nd Corinthians and were never aware of that fact? I’m sure, after learning this Dorian history, you will never look at 1st & 2nd Corinthians in the same light again! Add to that, that Herodotus was very likely a Dorian Greek, and we’ll have to take an entirely fresh look at Herodotus.
LACEDAIMONIANS OF POST-DORIAN CONQUEST WERE CALLED DORIAN GREEKS
From Josephus 12:4:10-11 we read: “10. At this time, Seleucus, who was called Soter, reigned over Asia, being the son of Antiochus the Great. And [now] Hyrcanus’s father, Joseph, died. He was a good man, and of great magnanimity; and brought the Jews out of a state of poverty and meanness, to one that was more splendid. He retained the farm of the taxes of Syria, and Phœnicia, and Samaria, twenty-two years. His uncle also, Onias, died [about this time,] and left the high priesthood to his son Simon. And when he was dead, Onias his son succeeded him in that dignity. To him it was that Areus, king of the Lacedemonians, sent an embassage, with an epistle; the copy whereof here follows:
“AREUS, KING OF THE LACEDEMONIANS, TO ONIAS, SENDETH GREETING
“We have met with a certain writing, whereby we have discovered that both the Jews and the Lacedemonians are of one stock, and are derived from the kindred of Abraham.* It is but just, therefore, that you, who are our brethren, should send to us about any of your concerns as you please. We will also do the same thing, and esteem your concerns as our own, and will look upon our concerns as in common with yours. Demotoles, who brings you this letter, will bring your answer back to us. This letter is four-square; and the seal is an eagle, with a dragon in his claws. 11. And these were the contents of the epistle which was sent from the king of the Lacedemonians.”
You will notice the “seal is an eagle, with a dragon in his claws” which is the seal of Israel’s seed against the dragon’s seed. A lot of people see the “eagle” but cannot observe “the dragon in his claws.” The Lacedemonians spoken of here are Dorian Greeks of which Herodotus was akin. We don’t have to guess at this for we know that the Corinthians were Dorian Greeks, and were a part of the “lost” children of Israel! Paul indicates such with certainty at 1 Corinthians 10 ... that their fathers were with Moses in the Exodus, the equivaA History of the Greek City States class=MsoNormallent of telling them that they had descended from the 12 tribes.
*[There is a footnote here based upon the suppositions of Grotius, Clement and others, all of whom are writing in blindness as to the identification of the Israelites, imagining some other connection between the Dorians and Judaeans, rather than seeing that the Dorians themselves are sprung from an early colony of Israelites.]
From Josephus 13:5:8: “... He enjoined the same ambassadors, that, as they came back, they should go to the Spartans, and put them in mind of their friendship and kindred. So when the ambassadors came to Rome, they went in to their senate, and said what they were commanded by Jonathan their high priest to say, how he had sent them to confirm their friendship. The senate then confirmed what had been formerly decreed concerning their friendship with the Jews, and gave them letters to carry to all the kings of Asia and Europe, and to the governors of the cities, that they might safely conduct them to their own country. Accordingly, as they returned, they came to Sparta, and delivered the epistle which they had received of Jonathan to them; a copy of which here follows:– ‘Jonathan the high priest of the Jewish nation, and the senate, and body of the people of the Jews, to the ephori and senate, and body of the people of the Lacedemonians, send greeting. If you be well, and both your public and private affairs be agreeable to your mind, it is according to our wishes. We are well also. When in former times an epistle was brought to Onias, who was then our high-priest, from Areus, who at that time was your king, by Demoteles, concerning the kindred that was between us and you, a copy of which is here subjoined, we both joyfully received the epistle, and were well pleased with Demoteles and Areus, although we did not need such a demonstration, because we were well satisfied about it from the sacred writings,* yet did not we think fit first to begin the claim of this relation to you, lest we should seem too early in taking to ourselves the glory which is now given us by you. It is a long time since this relation of ours to you hath been renewed; and when we, upon holy and festival days, offer sacrifices to God, we pray to him for your preservation and victory. As to ourselves, although we have had many wars that have compassed us around, by reason of the covetousness of our neighbours, yet did not we determine to be troublesome either to you or to others that were related to us ...”
[Footnote at page 274: *“This clause is otherwise rendered in the first book of Maccabees xii. 9 : ‘For that we have the holy books of Scriptures in our hands to comfort us.’ The Hebrew [Aramaic maybe] original being lost, we cannot certainly judge which was the truest version, only the coherence favours Josephus”]
We will now put the icing on the cake concerning the Dorian Greeks by quoting from 1st Maccabees 12:17-23: “17 We commanded them also to go unto you, and to salute you, and to deliver you our letters concerning the renewing of our brotherhood. 18 Wherefore now ye shall do well to give us an answer thereto. 19 And this is the copy of the letters which Oniares sent. 20 Areus king of the Lacedemonians to Onias the high priest, greeting: 21 It is found in writing, that the Lacedemonians and Jews are brethren, and that they are of the stock of Abraham: 22 Now therefore, since this is come to our knowledge, ye shall do well to write unto us of your prosperity. 23 We do write back again to you, that your cattle and goods are our’s, and our’s are your’s. We do command therefore our ambassadors to make report unto you on this wise.”
If there was any question who Herodotus was and who the Dorian Greeks were, there should be little question now. I will continue my quest on this subject until I can present it in a proper manner. The word Lacedemonians (a district named before the Dorian conquest) can also be found at 1st Maccabees 12:2, 5, 21; 14:20, 23; 15:23 & 2nd Maccabees 5:9. All these refer to Sparta and the Dorian Greeks!
The following is from The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume. 3. page 850: “LACEDAEMONIAN ... Inhabitants of Lacedaemon, more commonly called Sparta, in southern Greece. Friendly relations between Sparta and the Jews [sic. Judeans] began early in the third cent. B.C. when Arius (309-265) was king and Onias I was high priest (320-290) in Jerusalem. In 168 B.C. Jason, the high priest, after his unsuccessful attempt to seize Jerusalem, was forced to flee, and went to Sparta ‘with the idea of finding shelter there among kinsfolk’ (2 Macc 5: 9). This implies the existence of a Jewish colony in Sparta during the 2nd cent. In about 146 B.C. Jonathan wrote to the Spartans requesting renewal of the ancient friendship (1 Macc 12:6-18) and reminding them of the earlier relations between Arius and Onias, even suggesting that the Spartans and Jews were both of the stock of Abraham and hence kinsmen. After the death of Jonathan his brother and successor, Simon, received a reply to this letter (1 Macc 14:20-22). In 1 Maccabees 15:16-22 there is a declaration of friendship between Rome and the Jews, written by the consul Lucius to Ptolemy, king of Egypt, requesting that kings and nations refrain from fighting against the Jews. The same letter was also sent to many other neighboring countries, including Sparta (v. 23). While some have doubted the authenticity of these letters in 1 Maccabees, there are many scholars who regard them as genuine. There is no doubt that during the second cent. B.C., such declarations of friendship with the Jews were made by both Rome and Sparta.”
BISHOP DIONYSIUS ADDRESSED DORIAN GREEKS AT LAKEDAIMON
Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, and the Epistles Which He Wrote.
“1 And first we must speak of Dionysius, who was appointed bishop of the church in Corinth, and communicated freely of his inspired labors not only to his own people, but also to those in foreign lands, and rendered the greatest service to all in the catholic epistles which he wrote to the churches.
“2 Among these is the one addressed to the Lacedaemonians, containing instruction in the orthodox faith and an admonition to peace and unity; the one also addressed to the Athenians, exciting them to faith and to the life prescribed by the Gospel, which he accuses them of esteeming lightly, as if they had almost apostatized from the faith since the martyrdom of their ruler Publius, which had taken place during the persecutions of those days.
“3 He mentions Quadratus also, stating that he was appointed their bishop after the martyrdom of Publius, and testifying that through his zeal they were brought together again and their faith revived. He records, moreover, that Dionysius the Areopagite, who was converted to the faith by the apostle Paul, according to the statement in the Acts of the Apostles, first obtained the episcopate of the church at Athens.” [The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Second Series vol. I., chapter 23, Eusebius]
As a double witness to this, I will quote from Eusebius, The Church History (a new translation) by Paul L. Maier, pages 158-159:
Bishop Dionysius of Corinth
“As Bishop of Corinth, Dionysius gave inspired service not only to those under him, but also those distant, especially through the general epistles he wrote for the churches. Among these, the letter to the Spartans is orthodox instruction in peace and unity, while the one to the Athenians is a call to faith and to life in accord with the Gospel – for disdaining which he censures them as all but apostates from the Word, since Publius, their bishop, was martyred in the persecution of the time. He relates that after this martyrdom Quadratus was appointed their bishop and that through his fervor they were reunited and their faith revived. He also states that Dionysius the Areopagite, who was converted by the apostle Paul, as reported in Acts [17:34], was the first to be appointed Bishop of Athens. Another extant epistle of his to the Nicomedians contests Marcion’s heresy, in defense of the truth. He also wrote to the church at Gortyna and elsewhere on Crete, congratulating Philip, their bishop, on the courage of the church there but warning him to guard against the heretics.”
You will notice how Maier translates them “Spartans” while the former writer labeled them “Lacedaemonians.” Whether they are called Dorian Greeks, Lacedaemonians or Spartans, this branch of the Greeks are all the same people. These last two lessons should give you a new and refreshing appreciation on Biblical comprehension. It should also inspire a new admiration for the Anointed of Yahweh, the historian Herodotus. Over and above that, one should begin to realize how important some of the books of the Apocrypha are! It’s simply amazing how people condemn books and people they have never studied.
