Are we fair to Diodorus? The Historical Method of Diodorus Siculus and his Place in Ancient Historiography.

Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC) is a highly important author in at least three different respects. First of all, he is a crucial source for Greek and Sicilian history from 480 until 302 B.C. Secondly, given that his Bibliotheca historica is based on various, mostly lost works of predecessors, he is an indispensable source for the study of many prominent lost Greek historians. Thirdly, he is, together with Polybius, one of only two Hellenistic historians as well as one of only two Greek universal historians of whose works substantial parts have survived, so that the Bibliotheca is fundamental to our understanding of Hellenistic historiography and ancient universal historiography. Nonetheless, he has hardly ever been studied in his own right, because his work is deemed a compilation only as good as its sources. This project aims to scrutinize whether the Bibliotheca actually is a reliable reflection of its sources. It will deal with three problems. The first is the question of Diodorus self-presentation: it will be investigated whether Diodorus did indeed present himself as a mere compiler. Secondly, the project aims at analyzing Diodorus' elaboration of his sources through the study of his typical words and phrases. Diodorus' criteria for the selection of his material constitute the third problem which will be investigated.

Keywords:Hellenistic historiography, Greek historiography, Diodorus Siculus

Disciplines:History