Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §2.arg.0

Table of Contents: Major Topics of Asia in Book 2

Passage 100 of 406 · Greek

Summary

The table of contents for the second book of the Historical Library. It lists the main topics discussed in this book, including the deeds of King Ninus and Queen Semiramis, the construction of Babylon, the geography and customs of India and Arabia, and the islands of the southern ocean.

§2.arg.0τάδε ἔνεστιν ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ τῶν Διοδώρου βίβλων. περὶ Νίνου τοῦ πρώτου βασιλεύσαντος κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν καὶ τῶν ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ πραχθέντων.

The following are contained in the second of the books of Diodorus: Concerning Ninus, who was the first to rule over Asia, and the deeds done by him.

περὶ τῆς Σεμιράμιδος γενέσεως καὶ τῆς περὶ αὐτὴν αὐξήσεως.

Concerning the birth of Semiramis and her growth.

ὡς Νίνος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔγημε τὴν Σεμίραμιν διὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν αὐτῆς.

How King Ninus married Semiramis because of her virtue.

ὡς Σεμίραμις τελευτήσαντος Νίνου διαδεξαμένη τὴν βασιλείαν πολλὰς καὶ μεγάλας πράξεις ἐπετελέσατο.

How Semiramis, having succeeded to the kingdom after the death of Ninus, accomplished many and great deeds.

κτίσις Βαβυλῶνος καὶ τῆς κατʼ αὐτὴν κατασκευῆς.

The founding of Babylon and its construction.

περὶ τοῦ κρεμαστοῦ λεγομένου κήπου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν κατὰ τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν παραδόξων.

Concerning the so-called Hanging Garden and the other wonders of Babylonia.

στρατεία Σεμιράμιδος εἰς Αἴγυπτον καὶ Αἰθιοπίαν, ἔτι δὲ τὴν Ἰνδικήν.

The expedition of Semiramis into Egypt and Ethiopia, and furthermore into India.

περὶ τῶν ἀπογόνων ταύτης τῶν βασιλευσάντων κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν καὶ τῆς κατʼ αὐτοὺς τρυφῆς τε καὶ ῥᾳθυμίας.

Concerning her descendants who ruled over Asia, and their luxury and laziness.

ὡς ἔσχατος Σαρδανάπαλλος ὁ βασιλεὺς διὰ τρυφὴν ἀπέβαλε τὴν ἀρχὴν ὑπὸ Ἀρβάκου τοῦ Μήδου.

How the last king, Sardanapallos, lost his empire because of luxury to Arbaces the Mede.

περὶ τῶν Χαλδαίων καὶ τῆς παρατηρήσεως τῶν ἄστρων.

Concerning the Chaldeans and their observation of the stars.

περὶ τῶν βασιλέων τῶν κατὰ τὴν Μηδίαν καὶ τῆς περὶ τούτων διαφωνίας παρὰ τοῖς ἱστοριογράφοις.

Concerning the kings of Media and the disagreement about them among historians.

περὶ τοποθεσίας τῆς Ἰνδικῆς καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν χώραν φυομένων καὶ τῶν παρʼ Ἰνδοῖς νομίμων.

Concerning the geography of India and the things that grow in the country, and the laws among the Indians.

περὶ Σκυθῶν καὶ Ἀμαζόνων καὶ Ὑπερβορέων.

Concerning the Scythians, the Amazons, and the Hyperboreans.

περὶ τῆς Ἀραβίας καὶ τῶν κατʼ αὐτὴν φυομένων καὶ μυθολογουμένων.

Concerning Arabia and the things that grow in it and the myths told about it.

περὶ τῶν νήσων τῶν ἐν τῇ μεσημβρίᾳ κατὰ τὸν ὠκεανὸν εὑρεθεισῶν.

Concerning the islands discovered in the ocean in the south.

Notes

2.arg.0τελευτήσαντος Νίνου — The phrase τελευτήσαντος Νίνου is a genitive absolute expressing time ('after the death of Ninus'). It functions adverbially with its own subject, independent of the main subject Σεμίραμις.
2.arg.0κτίσις Βαβυλῶνος καὶ τῆς κατʼ αὐτὴν κατασκευῆς — Unlike most items starting with the preposition περὶ or the conjunction ὡς, this item begins with the nominative noun κτίσις. The second part, τῆς κατʼ αὐτὴν κατασκευῆς, is in the genitive, which can be interpreted either as depending on the implied preposition or as loosely coordinated with the head noun κτίσις.
2.arg.0ὡς — The conjunction ὡς, paired with the indicative verbs ἔγημε, ἐπετελέσατο, and ἀπέβαλε, introduces indirect question clauses, meaning 'how...'. It serves to introduce descriptive historical narratives within the table of contents.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §2.arg.0. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:2.arg.0

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