PHLEGON, of Tralles in Asia Minor, a Greek writer of the 2d century, was a freedman of the emperor Hadrian. His chief work was the Olympiads (chronicles, or collection of Olympic victories and chronicles), a universal history in sixteen books, from the 1st down to thé 229th Olympiad (776 b.c. to 137 a.d.). If we may judge from the sample preserved by Photius, the work contained lists of the victors in the Olympic games together with a bare and disjointed summary of the chief historical events; it is probable, however, that Photius quoted from an epitome in eight books which we know to have existed, and which, together with another epitome in two books, is ascribed by Suidas to Phlegon himself. Portions of another work of Phlegon, On Marvels, along with parts of another On Long-lived Persons, and the opening part of his Olympiads, are extant in a Heidelberg MS. of the 10th century....
The book On Marvels contains some ridiculous stories about ghosts, prophecies, and monstrous births. The work On Long-lived Persons includes a list, extracted by Phlegon from the Roman censuses, of persons who had lived a hundred years and upwards. He mentions two men aged 136 years each, one of whom he professes to have seen. Other works ascribed to Phlegon by Suidas are a description of Sicily, a work on the Roman festivals in three books, and a topography of Rome. Aelius Spartianus tells us that a life of Hadrian was published in Phlegon’s name, but that it was written by the emperor himself. A work on W omen Wise and Brave in War has sometimes been wrongly attributed to Phlegon. From his remains Phlegon is seen to have been credulous and superstitious to absurdity, but his literary style deserves the remark of Photius that, without being pure Attic, it is not very bad. 1 he complaint of Photius, that Phlegon wearied his readers by the numerous oracles which he dragged in, is fully borne out by the remains of his works. These remains are collected by Westermann in his Scriptores rerum mirabilium Graeci (1839) and by Müller in his Fragmenta Historicorum Graeeorum, vol. iii.
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