Aenesidemus the son of Pataecus of Gela in Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, was made tyrant of Leontini

Lentini

Lentini , historically Leontini, Leontinoi , or Leontium, is a town and comune in the Province of Syracuse, southeast Sicily .-History:...

 in 498 BCE by Hippocrates of Gela

Hippocrates of Gela

Hippocrates was the second tyrant of Gela and ruled from 498 BC to 491 BC. He was the brother of Cleander and succeeded him to the throne after his death. With him, Gela began its expansion phase; Hippocrates aimed to conquer all of southeastern Sicily in order to build a great state with Gela as...

 after aiding the latter in his effort to conquer southeastern Sicily. Aenesidemus likely continued to hold Leontini at least until the death of Hippocrates in 491.

The inclusion of Aenesidemus as a character in the ancient Greek novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 The Wonders Beyond Thule by Antonius Diogenes

Antonius Diogenes

Antonius Diogenes was the author of a Greek romance, whom scholars have placed in the 2nd century CE. His age was unknown even to Photius, who has preserved an outline of his romance. It consisted of twenty-four books, was written in the form of a dialogue about travels, and bore the title of The...

provides the general fictive or dramatic date for that story.