Diodorus Siculus

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Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus as depicted in a 19th-century fresco
Diodorus Siculus as depicted in a 19th-century fresco
Native name
Διόδωρος Σικελιώτης
Bornc. 90 BC
Agira, Sicily
Diedc. 30 BC (aged 60)
LanguageAncient Greek
GenreHistory
Notable worksBibliotheca historica

Diodorus Siculus (/ˌdaɪəˈdɔːrəs ˈsɪkjʊləs/; Koinē Greek: Διόδωρος Σικελιώτης Diodoros Sikeliotes; fl. 1st century BC) or Diodorus of Sicily was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history Bibliotheca historica, in forty books, fifteen of which survive intact,[1] between 60 and 30 BC.

The history is arranged in three parts. The first covers mythic history up to the destruction of Troy, arranged geographically, describing regions around the world from Egypt, India and Arabia to Europe. The second covers the time from the Trojan War to the death of Alexander the Great. The third covers the period to about 60 BC. Bibliotheca, meaning 'library', acknowledges that he was drawing on the work of many other authors.

Life[]

According to his own work, he was born in Agyrium in Sicily (now called Agira).[2] With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about his life and doings beyond in his work. Only Jerome, in his Chronicon under the "year of Abraham 1968" (49 BC), writes, "Diodorus of Sicily, a writer of Greek history, became illustrious". However, his English translator, Charles Henry Oldfather, remarks on the "striking coincidence"[3] that one of only two known Greek inscriptions from Agyrium (Inscriptiones Graecae XIV, 588) is the tombstone of one "Diodorus, the son of Apollonius".[4]

Work[]

Main article: Bibliotheca historica
Bibliotheca historica, 1746

Diodorus' universal history, which he named Bibliotheca historica (Greek: Βιβλιοθήκη Ἱστορική, "Historical Library"), was immense and consisted of 40 books, of which 1–5 and 11–20 survive:[5] fragments of the lost books are preserved in Photius and the Excerpts of Constantine Porphyrogenitus.

It was divided into three sections. The first six books treated the mythic history of the non-Hellenic and Hellenic tribes to the destruction of Troy and are geographical in theme, and describe the history and culture of Ancient Egypt (book I), of Mesopotamia, India, Scythia, and Arabia (II), of North Africa (III), and of Greece and Europe (IV–VI).

In the next section (books VII–XVII), he recounts the history of the world from the Trojan War down to the death of Alexander the Great. The last section (books XVII to the end) concerns the historical events from the successors of Alexander down to either 60 BC or the beginning of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. (The end has been lost, so it is unclear whether Diodorus reached the beginning of the Gallic War as he promised at the beginning of his work or, as evidence suggests, old and tired from his labours he stopped short at 60 BC.) He selected the name "Bibliotheca" in acknowledgment that he was assembling a composite work from many sources. Identified authors on whose works he drew include Hecataeus of Abdera, Ctesias of Cnidus, Ephorus, Theopompus, Hieronymus of Cardia, Duris of Samos, Diyllus, Philistus, Timaeus, Polybius, and Posidonius.

Details[]

  • His book on Egypt, besides accounts of education, medicine, and Egyptian animal worship,[6] included the inscription of Osymandias (Ramesses II) - “If anyone wishes to know how mighty I am and where I lie, let him surpass any of my works” - which was Shelley’s inspiration for his poem Ozymandias.[7]
  • Diodorus provides a fuller account of the half-century preceding the Peloponnesian War than Thucydides, and a more extensive, and arguably less biased, account of fourth century Greece than Xenophon.[8]
  • Diodorus also provides details of Pytheas’s voyage to Britain, including data about Cornish mining, and the judgement that “The inhabitants of Britain...are simple in their habits, and far removed from the cunning and knavishness of modern man”.[9]
  • His account of gold mining in Nubia in eastern Egypt (Book III Chapters 12-14)[10] describes in vivid detail the use of slave labour in terrible working conditions, while he provides an equally sympathetic account of the slave mines in Spain.[11] Karl Marx in Das Kapital, for his account of the overworking of slave labour, wrote “Only read Diodorus Siculus”.[12]
  • Diodorus also gave an account of the Gauls: "The Gauls are terrifying in aspect and their voices are deep and altogether harsh; when they meet together they converse with few words and in riddles, hinting darkly at things for the most part and using one word when they mean another; and they like to talk in superlatives, to the end that they may extol themselves and depreciate all other men. They are also boasters and threateners and are fond of pompous language, and yet they have sharp wits and are not without cleverness at learning." (Book 5)[13]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Usher 1969, p. 235.
  2. ^ Diod. History 1.4.4.
  3. ^ Oldfather, Charles Henry (1977). "Introduction". Diodorus of Sicily In Twelve Volumes.
  4. ^ Stronk, Jan P. (2010). Ctesias' Persian History: Introduction, text, and translation by Ctesias. p. 60.
  5. ^ "Diodorus Siculus". Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 April 2018.
  6. ^ David, A R (1975). The Egyptian Kingdoms. Oxford. p. 43.
  7. ^ Macovski, M, ed. (1997). Dialogue and Critical Discourse. OUP. p. 40.
  8. ^ Usher 1969, p. 237.
  9. ^ Cary, Max (1963). The Ancient Explorers. Penguin. pp. 48–50.
  10. ^ "Diodorus Siculus — Book III Chapters 12‑14". LacusCurtius. The University of Chicago.
  11. ^ Usher 1969, p. 236.
  12. ^ Marx, Karl (2008) [1867]. Capital. OUP. p. 151.
  13. ^ "Diodorus Siculus — Book V Chapters 19‑40". LacusCurtius. The University of Chicago.

References[]

  • Ambaglio, Dino; Landucci Gattinoni, Franca; Bravi, Luigi (2008). Diodoro Siculo: Biblioteca storica: commento storico: introduzione generale. Storia. Ricerche (in Italian). Milano: V&P. pp. x, 145. ISBN 9788834315842.
  • Buckley, Terry (1996). Aspects of Greek History 750-323 BC: A Source-based Approach. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-09958-7.
  • Siculus, Diodorus (1935). Library of History: Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Oldfather, C. H. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press.
  • Siculus, Diodorus; H. Valesius; I. Rhodomannus; F. Ursinus (1814). The Historical Library of Diodorus the Sicilian in Fifteen Books to which are added the Fragments of Diodorus. Translated by G. Booth. London: J. Davis – via Google Books.
  • Siculi, Diodori (1798). Peter Wesseling; L. Rhodoman; G. Heyn; N. Eyring (eds.). Bibliothecae Historicae Libri Qui Supersunt: Nova Editio (in Ancient Greek and Latin). Argentorati: Societas Bipontina – via Internet Archive.
  • Usher, Stephen (1969). The Historians of Greece and Rome. London: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 0-2410-1527-8.

Further reading[]

  • Braithwaite-Westoby, Kara. "Diodorus and the Alleged Revolts of 374–373 BCE," Classical Philology 115, no. 2 (April 2020): 265-270.
  • Clarke, Katherine. 1999. "Universal perspectives in Historiography." In The Limits of Historiography: Genre and Narrative in Ancient Historical Texts. Edited by Christina Shuttleworth Kraus, 249–279. Mnemosyne. Supplementum 191. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
  • Hammond, Nicholas G. L. 1998. "Portents, Prophecies, and Dreams in Diodorus’ Books 14–17." Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 39.4: 407–428.
  • McQueen, Earl I. 1995. Diodorus Siculus. The Reign of Philip II: The Greek and Macedonian Narrative from Book XVI. A Companion. London: Bristol Classical Press.
  • Muntz, Charles E. 2017. Diodorus Siculus and the World of the Late Roman Republic. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
  • Pfuntner, Laura. 2015. "Reading Diodorus through Photius: The Case of the Sicilian Slave Revolts." Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 55.1: 256–272.
  • Rubincam, Catherine. 1987. "The Organization and Composition of Diodorus’ Bibliotheke." Échos du monde classique (= Classical views) 31:313–328.
  • Sacks, Kenneth S. 1990. Diodorus Siculus and the First Century. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
  • Sinclair, Robert K. 1963. "Diodorus Siculus and the Writing of History." Proceedings of the African Classical Association 6:36–45.
  • Stronk, Jan P. 2017. Semiramis’ Legacy. The History of Persia According to Diodorus of Sicily. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press.
  • Sulimani, Iris. 2008. "Diodorus’ Source-Citations: A Turn in the Attitude of Ancient Authors Towards their Predecessors?" Athenaeum 96.2: 535–567.

External links[]

Library resources about
Didorus Siculus
By Didorus Siculus

Greek original works

English translations

  • Works by Diodorus Siculus at Project Gutenberg
  • Siculus, Diodorus; C.H. Oldfather et al. (Translators). "The Library of History". LacusCurtius. pp. Books 1‑32 only. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
  • Siculus, Diodorus; C.H. Oldfather (Translator). "Library". Theoi E-Texts Library. pp. Books 4‑6 only. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  • Siculus, Diodorus; C.H. Oldfather (Translator). "Library". Perseus Digital Library. pp. Books 9‑17 only. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
  • Siculus, Diodorus; Andrew Smith (Translator). "Historical Library". Attalus.org. pp. Books 33‑40 only. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
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