Diodorus' mythistory and the pagan mission : historiography and culture-heroes in the first pentad of the Bibliotheke / by Iris Sulimani.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sulimani, Iris.

Series:

Mnemosyne, bibliotheca classica Batava. Supplementum ; 331.

Mnemosyne supplements. Monographs on Greek and Latin language and literature, 0169-8958 ; 331

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Diodorus, Siculus. Bibliotheca historica--Book 1-5.

Diodorus.

History, Ancient--Historiography.

History, Ancient.

Mythology, Greek--Historiography.

Mythology, Greek.

Mythology, Greek, in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (425 p.)

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The traditional Diodoran scholarship has been challenged in the last decades by a revisionist approach, which concentrates on Diodorus Siculus’ contribution rather than on his lost sources. Building on that approach, this book focuses on the Bibliotheke’s first pentad, which has usually been neglected as a subject of research, and explores the author’s depictions of journeys made by gods and culture-heroes. A thorough investigation of his historiographical methods and his representation of mythical figures demonstrates that the mythological narrative is not only an essential part of his universal history, but also an important supplement to our knowledge of Hellenistic civilization, especially its mentality and historical geography.

Contents:

Part I. Originality in Diodorus' historiography

Part II. Myth and history in Diodorus' first five books.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

1-283-12056-9

9786613120564

90-04-21010-5

OCLC:

729246069

Publisher Number:

10.1163/ej.9789004194069.i-409 DOI