ISSN 0320-961X (Print)
ISSN - (Online)


character portrayal

Characterization in Diodorus Siculus’ Bibliotheke

The authorial assessment of individuals in Diodorus Siculus’ Library of History is discussed. Historian’s comments are the principal technique of character portrayal in the work, and most of them are brief and standardized phrases, namely repeated combinations of virtues or (less often) vices. These lists of virtues or vices, including obituaries and comparative assessments of two or three individuals, are compared with eulogies (ἐγκώμια).