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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §3.1.1-3.1.3

Summary of Previous Books and Plan for Ethiopians

Passage 162 of 406 · Greek

Summary

After briefly summarizing the contents of the previous two books on Egypt and Asia, the author states that the third book will continue the history by treating the Ethiopians, Libyans, and Atlantians.

§3.1.1τῶν πρὸ ταύτης βίβλων δυοῖν οὐσῶν ἡ μὲν πρώτη περιέχει τὰς κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον πράξεις τῶν ἀρχαίων βασιλέων καὶ τὰ μυθολογούμενα περὶ τῶν παρʼ Αἰγυπτίοις θεῶν, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις περὶ τοῦ Νείλου καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ φυομένων καρπῶν τε καὶ παντοδαπῶν ζῴων, περί τε τῆς τοποθεσίας τῆς Αἰγύπτου καὶ τῶν νομίμων τῶν παρὰ τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις καὶ τῶν δικαστηρίων, §3.1.2ἡ δὲ δευτέρα τὰς κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν ἐν τοῖς ἀρχαίοις συντελεσθείσας πράξεις ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων, ἐν αἷς ἐστιν ἥ τε Σεμιράμιδος γένεσις καὶ αὔξησις, καθʼ ἣν ἔκτισε μὲν Βαβυλῶνα καὶ πολλὰς ἄλλας πόλεις, ἐστράτευσε δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰνδικὴν μεγάλαις δυνάμεσιν· ἑξῆς δὲ περὶ τῶν Χαλδαίων καὶ τῆς παρʼ αὐτοῖς τῶν ἄστρων παρατηρήσεως, καὶ περὶ τῆς Ἀραβίας καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ παραδόξων, περί τε τῆς Σκυθῶν βασιλείας, καὶ περὶ Ἀμαζόνων, καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον περὶ τῶν Ὑπερβορέων.
While the books prior to this one are two, the first indeed contains the deeds of the ancient kings in Egypt and the myths told about the gods among the Egyptians, and in addition to these, about the Nile and the crops and all kinds of animals that grow and live in it [i.e., Egypt], and about the topography of Egypt, the customs of the inhabitants, and the courts of justice, and the second contains the deeds accomplished in Asia in ancient times by the Assyrians, among which is the birth and rise of Semiramis, in the course of which [rise] she founded Babylon and many other cities, and made an expedition against India with great forces; and next, about the Chaldeans and their observation of the stars, and about Arabia and the marvels in it, and about the kingdom of the Scythians, and about the Amazons, and finally about the Hyperboreans.
§3.1.3ἐν δὲ ταύτῃ τὰ συνεχῆ τοῖς προϊστορημένοις προστιθέντες διέξιμεν περὶ Αἰθιόπων καὶ τῶν Λιβύων καὶ τῶν ὀνομαζομένων Ἀτλαντίων.
And in this book, adding the events continuous with those previously narrated, we shall treat in detail of the Ethiopians, the Libyans, and the so-called Atlantians.

Notes

  1. §3.1.1τῶν πρὸ ταύτης βίβλων δυοῖν οὐσῶν — A genitive absolute construction with the participle οὐσῶν. It sets up the factual background of the two preceding books, preparation for the subsequent partitive-like division into ἡ μὲν πρώτη (the first) and ἡ δὲ δευτέρα (the second).
  2. §3.1.1τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ φυομένων καρπῶν — The personal pronoun αὐτῇ is feminine singular dative and refers back to Egypt (Αἴγυπτον), which is feminine, rather than the immediately preceding Nile (Νείλου), which is masculine.
  3. §3.1.2καθʼ ἣν — The relative pronoun ἣν is feminine singular accusative (elided to καθʼ with the preposition κατά), referring back to the feminine singular noun αὔξησις (or the combined concept of γένεσις καὶ αὔξησις), meaning 'during/in the course of which [rise]'.
  4. §3.1.2ἡ δὲ δευτέρα — The verb περιέχει (contains) from the first sentence (§3.1.1) is ellipsis-understood here with the subject ἡ δὲ δευτέρα (the second book). The subsequent prepositional phrases ἑξῆς δὲ περὶ... (and next, about...) are also governed by this implied verb of containing or narrating.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §3.1.1-3.1.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc5:3.1.1-3.1.3

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