aphysica_, [theta] 3;
Sext. Empiric., _adv. Math._ x. 85; Ritter and Preller, _Hist. philos.
Gr. et Rom._ chap. v. SS 234-236 (ed. 1869); and bibliography appended
to article MEGARIAN SCHOOL.

DIODORUS SICULUS, Greek historian, born at Agyrium in Sicily, lived in
the times of Julius Caesar and Augustus. From his own statements we
learn that he travelled in Egypt between 60-57 B.C. and that he spent
several years in Rome. The latest event mentioned by him belongs to the
year 21 B.C. He asserts that he devoted thirty years to the composition
of his history, and that he undertook frequent and dangerous journeys in
prosecution of his historical researches. These assertions, however,
find little credit with recent critics. The history, to which Diodorus
gave the name [Greek: bibliotheke historike] (_Bibliotheca historica_,
"Historical Library"), consisted of forty books, and was divided into
three parts. The first treats of the mythic history of the non-Hellenic,
and afterwards of the Hellenic tribes, to the destruction of Troy; the
second section ends with Alexander's death; and the third continues the
history as far as the beginning of Caesar's Gallic War. Of this
extensive work there are still extant only the first five books,
treating of the mythic history of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Ethiopians
and Greeks; and also the 11th to the 20th books inclusive, beginning
with the second Persian War, and ending with the history of the
successors of Alexander, previous to the partition of the Macedonian
empire (302). The rest exists only in fragments preserved in Photius and
the excerpts of Constantine Porphyrogenitus. 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. In spite of
its defects, however, the _Bibliotheca_ is of considerable value as to
some extent supplying the loss of the works of older authors, from which
it is compiled. Unfortunately, Diodorus does not always quote his
autho