Diodorus Siculus was a first-century BCE Greek historian. He is best known for his work Bibliotheca historica (Library of History). It is common to encounter references with only Diodorus Siculus’s name but not his work. However, to maintain consistency with other ancient references with an identifiable author, we recommend that authors list Diodorus Siculus’s name and work, using the following abbreviation:

Thus references to the work should include Diodorus Siculus’s name, an abbreviation for the work, and the specific part of the text being referenced:

(Diodorus Siculus, Bib. hist. 9.1)

Bibliotheca historica comprises forty books, although only books 1–5 and 11–20 and scattered fragments survive intact. Each book is further subdivided into chapters and sections. The example above cites chapter 1 of book 9; to cite section 3 of chapter 1, one would write: Diodorus Siculus, Bib. hist. 9.1.3.

When an English translation of the work is quoted, the translator’s name should be included in brackets (see SBLHS 2 §6.4.2):

(Diodorus Siculus, Bib. hist. 9.1 [Oldfather])

The Greek text and English translations of Bibliotheca historica are available online at the Perseus Collection (books 1–5 [Greek], books 9–17 [Greek, English], books 18–20 [Greek]) and in hardcopy through the Loeb Classical Library (Greek and English). Further information about the author and work can be found here.