Diodorus of Sicily earned his place in history by becoming a historian. Prolific and tireless, Diodorus meticulously recorded historical and prehistorical events in his Library of History. It's impossible to read Diodorus without appreciating his intelligence and determination.
Relying on the literary resources of Rome in the last half of the first century BCE, Diodorus compiled a remarkable body of work. This website is primarily concerned with his Greek commentaries in what has been labeled Book IV.
The characters and events chronicled by Diodorus often differ from the accounts presented by earlier authors such as Homer and Hesiod. Diodorus acknowledges the discrepancies and encourages the reader to make their own deductions and believe whatever they see as proper.
The text presented here was taken from the Loeb Classical Library translation by C. H. Oldfather. In an effort to render a compelling transcription, maps and images were added. Also, alternative spellings are offered for many of the proper nouns.
| To paraphrase Diodorus concerning the importance of recording and reading history: |
| For it is an excellent thing to be able to use the ignorant mistakes of others as warning examples for the correction of error, and, when we confront the varied vicissitudes of life, instead of having to investigate what is being done now, to be able to imitate the successes which have been achieved in the past. |
| For we must look upon it as constituting the guardian of the high achievements of illustrious men, the witness that testifies to the evil deeds of the wicked, and the benefactor of the entire human race. |
| For all men, by reason of the frailty of our nature, live but an infinitesimal portion of eternity and are dead throughout all subsequent time; and while in the case of those who in their lifetime have done nothing worthy of note, everything which has pertained to them in life also perishes when their bodies die, yet in the case of those who by their virtue have achieved fame, their deeds are remembered for evermore, since they are heralded abroad by history's voice most divine. |