Onesicritus facts for kids
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Onesicritus (born around 360 BC – died around 290 BC) was a Greek writer and Cynic philosopher. He traveled with Alexander the Great during his amazing journeys across Asia. Onesicritus said he was the commander of Alexander's fleet, but he was actually the chief pilot. Other writers like Arrian often pointed out his mistakes. When he returned home, he wrote a history book about Alexander's travels. Later authors often mentioned his work, but they also criticized him for not always being accurate.
Life of Onesicritus
Onesicritus was born on the island of Astypalaia. Being from an island probably helped him become very good with ships. He was a student of Diogenes of Sinope, a famous Cynic philosopher. Some stories say Onesicritus came to Athens because his two grown sons were interested in Diogenes' ideas. If this is true, he would have been quite old when he joined Alexander's journey.
We don't know exactly how Onesicritus came to join Alexander's army in Asia. But during the trip to India, Alexander sent him to meet with Indian philosophers, called Gymnosophists. Onesicritus was the first person Alexander sent to invite a wise man named Dandamis to his court. When Onesicritus came back without Dandamis, Alexander went to visit him himself.
When Alexander built his fleet of ships on the Hydaspes River, he gave Onesicritus an important job. He made him the chief pilot of the king's own ship, and later, the main pilot for the whole fleet. Onesicritus kept this job for the long and dangerous journey down the Indus River and all the way to the Persian Gulf. Alexander was very happy with his work. When they arrived at Susa, Onesicritus received a gold crown as a reward, just like Nearchus. However, the writer Arrian sometimes said Onesicritus made poor decisions. Arrian even wrote that the fleet was saved because Nearchus ignored Onesicritus's advice.
We don't know much about what happened to Onesicritus after this. But a story from Plutarch suggests he might have worked for Lysimachus, one of Alexander's generals. He might have written his history book while working for Lysimachus. Another writer, Lucian, suggests he might have started writing it even while Alexander was still alive.
Onesicritus's Writings
Onesicritus wrote a book about Alexander called How Alexander was Educated. He tried to write in a style similar to the famous historian Xenophon, but he wasn't quite as good. His book is often mentioned for its details about Alexander's campaigns in Asia. It also described the different countries Alexander visited.
Even though Onesicritus saw many of the things he wrote about, it seems he mixed in many made-up stories and untrue details. Because of this, people quickly stopped trusting his work completely. The writer Strabo was especially harsh about him. Plutarch mentioned that Onesicritus was one of the writers who told the famous story of the Amazons visiting Alexander. For this, he was even laughed at by Lysimachus. Arrian also accused him of falsely claiming to be the fleet commander when he was only the pilot.
Despite these criticisms, Onesicritus's work was still important. Even though some of his stories were exaggerated, his book likely contained valuable information. It described faraway lands that Alexander's expedition explored for the first time. For example, he was the first writer to mention the island of Taprobane, which we know today as Sri Lanka.
