Monday, September 12, 2016

New book on Diodorus Sicilus

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: Diodorus and his Library. Notice of a new book: Michael, Rathmann. 2016. Diodor und seine “Bibliotheke”: Weltgeschichte aus der Provinz. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Diodorus is of interest to biblical studies chiefly for evidence of how Greek-speaking historians in the Persian and Hellenistic period understood the ancient Near Eastern empires, based on the legendary and muddled sources they had available to them. In my course on the book of Daniel I call their perspective "Greek Fantasy Babylon."