For citation:
Osipova O. V. Characterization in Diodorus Siculus’ Bibliotheke. Ancient World and Archaeology, 2021, vol. 20, iss. 20, pp. 35-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18500/0320-961X-2021-20-35-43, EDN: WOXNZN
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). It is concluded, that, according to the requirements of the Hellenistic rhetoric, Diodorus Siculus includes his assessments of individuals into the narrative in order to accomplish proportionality of composition (συμμετρία), and is guided by considerations of the appropriateness of such comments in the given context.
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