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The Sources
on Diodorus (Schwartz 1905). Schwartz, who considered Diodorus an unoriginal
and thoughtless compiler, believed practically the whole of Diodorus, Book
1, to be copied (sometimes in abbreviated form) from Hecataeus. He was in the
main followed by Jacoby (1912), who in his great collection of Greek historical
fragments reproduces virtually the whole of Diodorus 1.10-98 under Hecataeus'
name (Jacoby 1940), indicating passages or remarks believed to be insertions by
Diodorus himself, cf. also his discussion in the commentary volume (Jacoby
1943, 75-87).
In more recent years there has been a greater appreciation of Diodorus' own
contribution to his work, both in style and thought (see 167 for a general introduction
to Diodorus); and the theory, widely accepted earlier, of Diodorus' dependence
on Hecataeus has been questioned. The shift was introduced by Spoerri
(1959), who argued that Diodorus' cosmogony and account of the origin of
civilization and religion (chs. 7-13) reflect theories current in Diodorus' time,
and that the ascription to Hecataeus is mistaken (but his scepticism with regard
to Hecataeus' importance for Diodorus is extended also to the rest of Book 1, see
p. 205). Burton (1972) admits the possibility that Diodorus in Book 1 also has
used authors considerably later than Hecataeus and that some passages may be
his own contribution. Her views are adopted by F. Chamoux's 'Introduction
g&i&ale' in Bertrac-Vernière (1993, XXVIII f., cf. also Vernière ibid. 13 f.). Murray
(1970, 144 f., n.6), on the other hand, agrees in the main with Jacoby's conclusions.
He points to evidence that Hecataeus' book on Egypt was written between
320 and 315 BC, or before 305 at the latest (143f.), a date argued further by
Murray (1973).
In spite of these uncertainties we give the present text under Hecataeus'
name, but caution readers that the accuracy with which Hecataeus is reproduced
cannot be determined.
Hecataeus' work on Egypt belongs to the utopian or romantic genre of
ethnography and historiography popular in the Hellenistic age (Jacoby 1912,
2755); for the idealizing tendency and elements of Ptolemaic propaganda see
further ibid. 2760-65, Jacoby (1943), Murray (1970, 166 f.). For a general account
of the nature of Hellenistic ethnography see Dihle (1962).
The present text, which precedes the section on Egyptian kingship (chs. 69-
73) is from the historical account of the Egyptian kings (42-68). Both these sections
are marked by an ethical tendency which Murray (1970) believed to be
Hecataeus' own contribution. In addition to Egyptian priestly sources Hecataeus
probably also used earlier Greek accounts, notably Herodotus (Murray ibid.), in
the historical section.
Our text is based on the edition of Bertrac-Vernière (1993).
Text
60 [1] Metå tal-STON/ TOV pacylx.oc auxvdt tdiv Staöccg.t,vow åpviv
brpaav dwaypaqril noUcii; S' iiatepov yeveoit
517