“ Polybius was a practical soldier and statesman, Timaeus a bookworm without military experience or personal knowledge of the places he described. The most serious charge against Timaeus is that he wilfully distorted the truth, when influenced by personal considerations: thus, he was less than fair to Dionysius and Agathocles, while loud in praise of his favourite Timoleon. On the other hand, as even Polybius admits, Timaeus consulted all available authorities and records. ”

“ TIMAEUS (c. 345-c. 250 B.C.) , [1] Greek historian, was born at Tauromenium in Sicily. Driven out by Agathocles, he migrated to Athens, where he studied rhetoric under a pupil of Isocrates and lived for fifty years. ”

“ His attitude towards the myths, which he claims to have preserved in their simple form (hence probably his nickname γραοσυλλεκτρία, “collector of old wives' tales,” though some authorities render this “old rag-woman,” in allusion to his fondness for trivial details) , is preferable to the rationalistic interpretation under which it had, become the fashion to disguise them. ”