The Antiquities of Egypt: A Translation, with Notes, of Book I of the Library of History of Diodorus Siculus

by Diodorus Siculus, Edwin Murphy (Translator)

Diodorus Siculus, a prolific Greek historian of the first century B.C., wrote a detailed account of ancient Egypt for his contemporaries. Even then, Egyptian civilization was ancient, stretching back to eras far more remote to him than Greek civilization is to us. Egypt was a land of mystery to the Greeks. Its pyramids were inexplicable, its writings undecipherable, its religion unfathomable. Its strange laws and stranger customs, such as mummification, were perplexing. The very land itself was mysterious: no one knew the source of the Nile or why it overflowed its banks each year with never a drop of rain. The history and mysteries of Egypt were the sole subject of the Book I of the "Library of History," Diodorus' encyclopedic attempt to gather all the historical knowledge of the world into one vast book. "The Antiquities of Egypt" is the first translation of Diodorus' treatise prepared especially for the general reader but it will appeal to a wide range of scholars and specialists as well. The only other English version in print is a literal accompaniment to the edited Greek text, published over fifty years ago. This new translation is accurate and easy to read, while the notes and appendices amplify and elucidate the text setting the narrative in historical and cultural perspective for the nonspecialist. The illustrations add a graphic support to the text. Students and teachers of ancient history, Egyptology, archeology, and anthropology will find "Antiquities of Egypt" both accessible and valuable. Specialists in literature, mythology, and comparative religion will find it absorbing and useful introduction to early source material in their fields of study. "Edwin Murphy" is an independent scholar specializing in ancient and medieval history. He is employed in the Treasury Department, Washington D.C. Murphy has also translated Book II of Diodorus' "Library of History, The Antiquities of Asia, " also published by Transaction.

225 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Diodorus Siculus (Greek: Διόδωρος Σικελιώτης [Diodoros Sikeliotes]) was a Greek historian, who wrote works of history between 60 and 30 BC. He is known for the monumental universal history Bibliotheca Historica. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily (now called Agira). With one exception, antique sources afford no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work. Only Jerome, in his Chronicon under the "year of Abraham 1968" (i.e., 49 BC), writes, "Diodorus of Sicily, a writer of Greek history, became illustrious". His English translator, Charles Henry Oldfather, remarks on the "striking coincidence" that one of only two known Greek inscriptions from Agyrium (I.G. XIV, 588) is the tombstone of one "Diodorus, the son of Apollonius".

Diodorus' universal history, which he named Bibliotheca Historica ("Historical Library"), was immense and consisted of 40 books, of which 1–5 and 11–20 survive: 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.

His account of gold mining in Nubia in eastern Egypt is one of the earliest extant texts on the topic, and describes in vivid detail the use of slave labour in terrible working conditions.

Reviews

[Suzanne Eiszele-Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great source for literary support when studying the imagery in the Old Kingdom tombs.