section_path: Hellenistic literature/Hecataeus
section_name: Hecataeus
paragraph_text: Hecataeus
  
  The earliest existing reference to Moses in Greek literature occurs in the Egyptian history of Hecataeus of Abdera (4th century BCE). All that remains of his description of Moses are two references made by Diodorus Siculus, wherein, writes historian Arthur Droge, he "describes Moses as a wise and courageous leader who left Egypt and colonized Judaea ". Among the many accomplishments described by Hecataeus, Moses had founded cities, established a temple and religious cult, and issued laws:
  
  After the establishment of settled life in Egypt in early times, which took place, according to the mythical account, in the period of the gods and heroes, the first... to persuade the multitudes to use written laws was Mneves, a man not only great of soul but also in his life the most public-spirited of all lawgivers whose names are recorded.
  
  Droge also points out that this statement by Hecataeus was similar to statements made subsequently by Eupolemus.