Diodoros o Sikeliotis

Diodorus Siculus was born in Agyrium, Sicily, in the illustrious region of Magna Graecia, around 90 BC. We have limited information about his life, with his books being the sole source of biographical details. It is known that besides his native Greek language, he also learned Latin, as his city had extensive cultural and economic exchanges with the Romans. He frequently visited the thriving city of Rome, where he gathered valuable material—both in Greek and Latin—for his writings. According to his own account, during the 180th Olympiad (60-56 BC), he was in Athens for studies. He spent three years in Egypt, interacting with the country's priests and thoroughly studying local traditions, legends, customs, and practices. Additionally, for nearly thirty years, he traveled extensively across the most renowned cities of Europe and Asia, visiting libraries, researching archives, and collecting useful information for his work. His death is believed to have occurred between 30 and 31 BC, likely due to natural causes. Diodorus dedicated his entire life to writing a universal history in 40 books, titled "Bibliotheca Historica." His work is invaluable for its wealth of historical material, compensating for the lost works of earlier great historians. Unfortunately, only 15 of Diodorus's 40 books have survived (Books I-V and XI-XX). For the remaining books, we only have summaries and selections. The Fourth Book is dedicated to Greek mythology.