Diodorus Siculus (Greek Διόδωρος Σικελιώτης),
ca. 90 BC– ca. 27 BC, was a Greek historian, believed to have been born at Agyrium in Sicily (now called Agira).[1]
Work
Diodorus' universal history, which he named Bibliotheca historica
("Historical Library"), consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in
theme, and describe the history and culture of 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 starting with 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
Caesar's Gallic War in 45 BC. (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 labors he stopped short at 60 BC.) He selected the name "Bibliotheca" in acknowledgement that he
was assembling a composite work from many sources. The authors he drew from, who have been identified, include: Hecataeus of Abdera, Ctesias of Cnidus, Ephorus, Theopompus, Hieronymus of
Cardia, Duris of Samos, Diyllus, Philistus, Timaeus, Polybius and
Posidonius.
Chronology
Jerome writes that Diodorus flourished in 49 BC
(Chronica, s.a. Abraham 1968); this date is supported by Diodorus' own statements. The earliest date Diodorus mentions is
his visit to Egypt in the 180th Olympiad
(between 60 and 56 BC). This visit was marked by his witnessing an
angry mob demand the death of a Roman citizen who had
accidentally killed a cat, an animal sacred to the ancient Egyptians (Bibliotheca historica 1.41, 1.83). The latest event Diodorus mentions is Octavian's vengeance on the city of Tauromenium, whose refusal to help him
led to Octavian's naval defeat nearby in 36 BC (16.7). Diodorus shows no knowledge that Egypt
became a Roman province -- which transpired in 30 BC -- so presumably he published his completed
work before that event. Diodorus asserts that he devoted thirty years to the composition of his history, and that he undertook a
number of dangerous journeys through Europe and Asia in prosecution of his historical researches. Modern critics have called this
claim into question, noting several surprising mistakes that an eye-witness would not be expected to have made.
His English translator, C.H. Oldfather, remarks on the "striking coincidence" that one of only two Greek inscriptions known to
Diodorus from Agyrium (I.G. XIV, 588) is the tombstone of one "Diodorus, the son of Apollonius".
Critical reception
Diodorus' liberal use of earlier historians underlies the harsh opinion of the author of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article on Bibliotheca
historica :
- The faults of Diodorus arise partly from the nature of the undertaking, and the awkward form of annals into which he has
thrown the historical portion of his narrative. He shows none of the critical faculties of the historian, merely setting down a
number of unconnected details. His narrative contains frequent repetitions and contradictions, is without colouring, and
monotonous; and his simple diction, which stands intermediate between pure Attic and the
colloquial Greek of his time, enables us to detect in the narrative the undigested fragments of the materials which he
employed.
As damaging as this sounds other more contemporary classical scholars are likely to go even further. Diodorus has become
infamous particularly for adapting his tales ad maiorem Graecorum gloriam, leading one prominent author to refer to him as
one of the "two most accomplished liars of antiquity"[2](the other being Ctesias.)
Far more sympathetic is the estimate of C.H. Oldfather, who wrote in the introduction to his translation of Diodorus:
- While characteristics such as these exclude Diodorus from a place among the abler historians of the ancient world, there is
every reason to believe that he used the best sources and that he reproduced them faithfully. His First Book, which deals almost
exclusively with Egypt, is the fullest literary account of the history and customs of that country after Herodotus. Books II-V cover a wide range, and because of their inclusion of much mythological material are of
much less value. In the period from 480 to 301 BC, which he treats in annalistic fashion and in which his main source was the
Universal History of Ephorus, his importance varies according as he is the sole continuous source, or again as he is
paralleled by superior writers. To the fifty years from 480 to 430 BC Thucydides devotes only
a little more than thirty chapters; Diodorus covers it more fully (11.37-12.38) and his is the only consecutive literary account
for the chronology of the period. ... For the years 362-302 BC Diodorus is again the only consecutive literary account, and ...
Diodorus offers the only chronological survey of the period of Philip, and
supplements the writers mentioned and contemporary sources in many matters. For the period of the Successors to Alexander,
323-302 BC (Books XVIII-XX), he is the chief literary authority and his history of this period assumes, therefore, an importance
which it does not possess for the other years.
Diodorus is mentioned briefly in Pliny the Elder as being singular among the Greek
historians for the simple manner in which he named his work.[3]
Fragmentary nature
As indicated, Diodorus' immense work has not survived intact: we have the first five books and books 10 through 20. The rest
exists only in fragments preserved in Photius and the excerpts of
Constantine Porphyrogenitus.
The editio princeps of Diodorus was a Latin
translation of the first five books by Poggio Bracciolini at
Bologna in 1472. The first printing of the Greek original (at Basel in 1535) contained only books 16-20, and was the work of Vincentius
Opsopoeus. It was not until 1559 that all of the surviving books, and surviving fragments of books 21 to the end were
published by H. Stephanus at Geneva.
Notes
- ^ Buckley, p6
- ^ Lloyd, p 47
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Natural History, the Preface
References
- Diodorus Siculus. Library of History. Translated by Oldfather, C. H. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA. Harvard
University Press, 1935.
- Alan B. Lloyd, Herodotus Book II, Introduction, Leiden, E.J.Brill, 1975.
- Terry Buckley, Aspects of Greek History London, 1996.
External links
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