DIODORUS SICULUS
The History of Diodorus Siculus
Translated by Henry Cogan
John Macock for Giles Calvert · London · 1653
EARLY OWNERSHIP MARKS
The front endpaper preserves layers of early handwriting that reveal the copy’s history. Prominent names include Robert John Clarke, Solomon Mansfield, and Mary Gifford, along with repeated signatures and writing exercises. Biblical phrases such as “man that is born of a woman” (Job 14:1) also appear. Together, these inscriptions show traces of the people who handled and practiced writing in this copy long before it became part of the Lost Truth collection.
Reader’s Note: In the original text, the archaic long s (ſ) is used. It has been converted to the modern short s throughout to assist the reader while preserving the original wording.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — The First Generation of Men, page 1
“There be two Opinions of the first Generation of Men, amongst those Excellent and Learned persons, which have written the true Nature and History of Things. Some of them say, that the World is incorruptible, and was not made, and that mankind hath been from all times without original or beginning. Others maintain to the contrary, that it is corruptible, and was made; and that men at first were produced by Generation. For at the beginning of all things, both the Heaven and the Earth had one only Essence and Form, their natures being confounded together…”
[The account continues on p. 2.]
HUMANITY HAS A BEGINNING
Diodorus preserves an ancient account in which humanity has a beginning. Before humans appear, heaven and earth exist together in a single undivided state, from which the ordered world develops.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — The First Generation of Men, page 2
“…the figures and forms of all kind of living Creatures. Of which Creatures, they that had received most heat were made Fowls and Birds; they that had more of Earth in them became Serpents, and other such like Beasts; and they that retained the nature of Water, were reduced into their proper Element, and called Fishes.” “…Heaven and Earth were in times past mingled together; and that afterwards being separated they ingendred and produced all things, as Trees, Birds, wilde Beasts, yea and Mankind.” “Furthermore the Philosophers say, that in the beginning, Men, being so formed and produced…”
HUMANITY EMERGES FROM THE EARTH
The narrative now clearly outlines the sequence: heaven and earth separate, living creatures appear, and humanity is created as part of the first generation of life. The earliest humans then start without established society, shelter, fire, or language.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — The First Men and the Gods, page 3
“We do not find who were the first Kings on the Earth…” “For whatsoever was done in the old and first times, not only the Greeks did doubt of, but also the Barbarians, who boast themselves to be Demi-Gods…” “And because it is fabulously related, that Gods reigned first of all in Egypt…” “The Egyptians say and maintain, That at the beginning of the World the first men were created in the Land of Egypt…”
GODS BEFORE THE FIRST KINGS
Diodorus moves from humanity’s beginnings to the earliest known rule, following the Egyptian tradition that gods reigned first before human kings appear in history.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — The Deluge of Deucalion, page 4
“the Deluge, which hapned in the time of Deucalion, swallowed up and drowned only the greatest part of the creatures…”
“…others say, all living creatures perished in that Deluge…”
“…if the Earth did again ingender and produce living creatures…”
Deucalion — The Flood
Diodorus preserves two versions of Deucalion’s Flood: most living creatures were destroyed, or all perished. The second tradition requires life to be generated again from the earth after the deluge.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — The Gods Among Humanity, page 5
“The Egyptians say further, that these five Gods do run over all the World, shewing themselves to men in the form of sacred creatures, and sometimes in the form of men, or of other kind of beasts…”
“the Gods do oftentimes appear in Towns and Cities under strange forms, the better to observe the vices and virtues of men.”
“the celestial Gods… begot others, which were Mortal Gods… but of such prudence, and so beneficial to mankind, as they thereby obtained the gift of immortality…”
The Gods — Appearing Among Humanity
The Egyptian tradition describes celestial gods taking visible forms and appearing among humans. These gods also father a later generation described as mortal, some of whom eventually attain immortality.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — The Gods Rule and Instruct Humanity, page 6
“Saturn… took his own sister Rhea to wife, on whom he begot… Osiris and Isis…”
“Osiris… invented many things serving for the use and sustentation of life…”
“The Egyptians further report, that the said Isis made and established many Laws and Constitutions…”
“All Inventors likewise of Arts and Sciences, and of any other thing whatsoever profitable for humane life, were much esteemed and cherished by the said Osiris and Isis…”
The Gods — Teaching Humanity and Providing Order
The account credits Osiris and Isis with agriculture, laws, and the cultivation of arts and sciences, expanding their role into the foundations of civilized life.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — The Gods Spread Knowledge, page 7
“Mercurie… was the first that gave rules for speaking well, imposing proper names on divers things; that first of all invented letters…”
“…began to observe the course of the stars…” “He likewise instituted the Ceremonies to be observed in the worship of the Gods…”
“He likewise invented Musick, and gave rules for singing…”
“They say further, that this God invented the Olive, and not Minerva, as the Greeks maintain.”
“But Osiris… raised a very great Army therewith to travel over all the World, for to teach men the manner of planting Vines, of sowing Wheat and Barley…”
OSIRIS TRAVELS TO SPREAD KNOWLEDGE
The knowledge introduced on the preceding page becomes more specific. Writing, astronomy, religious rites, music, and agriculture are attributed to the gods, while Osiris sets out to carry this knowledge beyond Egypt.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — Osiris Becomes a Celestial God, page 9
“Finally, when he had almost compassed the whole world, he now added many good domestical fruits to the life of man…”
“Thus did he by the greatness of his benefits, obtain immortality, and the honor belonging to the celestial Gods.”
“In the end, being translated from Earth into Heaven, Isis and Mercury instituted as great honours and sacrifices unto him as to the highest of the Gods…”
Osiris — From Mortal to God In Heaven
Diodorus presents Osiris as one of the mortal gods descended from the earlier celestial gods. After living on earth, ruling, and spreading knowledge among humanity, Osiris obtains immortality and is described as being “translated from Earth into Heaven,” where he receives the honors of a celestial god.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — Isis Attains Immortality, page 10
“Isis then recovered and got together all the pieces of the said Osiris…” “…he should be honored as well by the Egyptians, as by all the people of the world…” “It is further said, how Isis… governed her Kingdom justly… and carried her self in such sort, as after her death she obtained the honour of immortality…”
Isis — From Earthly Rule to Immortality
The pattern established with Osiris now extends to Isis. She remains on earth, rules Egypt after his death, and is said to obtain immortality because of her conduct as ruler.
There’s also a fascinating handwritten inscription along the bottom margin — another trace of this copy’s early ownership/history.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — Divine Lineage and Mortal Offspring, page 11
“…this God was begotten at Thebes in Bœotia by Jupiter on Semele.”
“…Cadmus… receiving answer from the Gods… caused the image of the child to be overlaid with gold, and instituted sacrifices unto him, to the end it might be an argument that he was the son of Osiris, who he said was descended from Jupiter…”
“And this was the cause why the Greeks did easily believe, that Jupiter had begotten Osiris on Semele the daughter of Cadmus.”
Divine Lineage — Gods and Mortal Offspring
Diodorus records traditions in which divine descent crosses generations, including Jupiter fathering offspring through Semele. The passage also shows competing Egyptian and Greek genealogies being used to explain the same divine figures.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — Hercules, the Gods and the Giants, page 12
“Hercules was with the Gods in their war against the Giants…”
“…the Egyptians say, that the earth could not produce Giants at that time wherein the Greeks maintain the said Hercules lived… but rather at the beginning of the generation of mankind…”
“…this same too, as they say, was the son of Jupiter, and of an unknown mother…”
“And herewith also agrees the common fame of things which are spoken of in Greece, namely that Hercules subdued and destroyed all the monsters of the world…”
Hercules — Gods, Giants and Divine Offspring
Diodorus preserves an Egyptian tradition placing Giants near the beginning of humanity, when an early Hercules — son of Jupiter and an unnamed mother — fights alongside the gods. After his earthly deeds, Hercules is eventually ranked among the gods.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — Giants and the Earliest Gods, page 13
“They say also that she found out the way of making one immortal; for she not only resuscitated her son Orus, slain by the treachery of Titan, and found him hidden in the water, but also made him immortal…”
“…Orus seems to be the last of the Gods, that reigned after his father was translated into Heaven.”
“These Egyptians write further, that in the time of Isis there were men of huge bodies, which by the Greeks were named Giants…”
GIANTS — MEN OF ENORMOUS BODIES
Diodorus now defines the beings introduced earlier. The Egyptian tradition speaks of men of great stature, called Giants by the Greeks, from the age of Isis and the early gods.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — The Giants War Against the Gods, page 14
“There are some which have thought, that these Giants were ingendred of the earth, being yet in her first force of producing creatures…”
“Others have thought, that being mightier then other men in corporal strength, they did many great and excellent deeds, for which they were at adventure called Giants…”
“howsoever the most believe, that making war against the Gods Jupiter, and Osiris, they were all slain.”
GIANTS — WAR AGAINST THE GODS
The tradition develops further: the Giants are variously explained as beings generated by the early earth or exceptionally powerful men.
Diodorus then records the prevailing tradition that they made war against Jupiter and Osiris and were all destroyed.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — The Sacred Library and the Heavens, page 34
“Next after was the sacred Library, at the entrance whereinto this was written, The Medicine of the Mind.”
“Now the Thebans do publickly vaunt, that they are more anciently then all others, and that Philosophy and Astrology was first invented by them…”
“…for the understanding of the motion of the Stars…”
“They have so diligently sought out the defects and Eclipses of the Sun and Moon, that thereby they have first of all prognosticated things to come.”
THE SACRED LIBRARY — MEDICINE OF THE MIND
Diodorus describes an Egyptian sacred library bearing the inscription “The Medicine of the Mind.” On the same page, the Thebans claim the origin of philosophy and astronomy.
ATLANTIS AND THE PLEIADES
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — The Atlantides and the First Celestial King, page 150
“The Atlantides then… dwelt in fertile places neere to the Ocean…”
“It is commonly reported, that the Gods descended from them…”
Then Cogan identifies Cælum (Uranus) as their first ruler: “the first of all Raigned over the Atlantides was Cælum…” He gathers scattered humans into communities, builds towns, introduces agriculture, and teaches things “necessary for the common use of Mans Life.”
Then comes the strongest celestial material: “he was a diligent observer of the Starres, and foretold unto Men divers future things…”
Diodorus says he measured the year through the sun and the months through the moon. Because people did not understand the celestial order: “many… thought that this Cælum was participant of the Divine Nature…”
After his death: “they conferred on him the honour of immortality…”
The passage directly connects this to his “great knowledge of the Starres.”
THE ATLANTIDES — GODS, HUMANITY AND THE STARS
Diodorus preserves an Atlantian tradition in which the gods were said to descend from their people. Their earliest ruler, Cælum, gathers scattered humanity into settled communities and teaches the necessities of life. His exceptional knowledge of the heavens leads people to regard him as divine, and after his death he receives immortality.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — Sol and Luna Translated to the Heavens, page 151
“…her Father Cælum was translated to the Gods…”
Regina marries her brother Hyperion and has two children, Sol and Luna. After Hyperion is murdered and Sol drowned, Luna dies from grief. Regina dreams that: “…both he and his Sister by Divine Providence should be made immortall…”
And specifically: “…he that was before named the sacred fire of Heaven, should from thence forward by all Men be called the Sunne; and his Sister… should be stiled the Moon.”
Diodorus then says their names were transferred: “…to the two great Planets of Heaven…”
SOL AND LUNA — MADE IMMORTAL IN THE HEAVENS
The Atlantian genealogy continues with Sol and Luna, children of Hyperion and Regina. After their deaths, Regina receives a dream declaring that both will be made immortal; their names are then transferred to the Sun and Moon and they are worshipped as gods.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — Atlas and the Heavens, page 153
“Atlas and Saturne were the noblest.” After Cælum’s kingdom is divided, Atlas receives the regions adjoining the great sea. The people subject to him take his name, and the mountain beside the sea is likewise called after him.
Then: “This same Atlas was very expert in the Science of Astrology, and was the first amongst Men that disputed of the Spheres…”
Diodorus directly connects this celestial knowledge with the famous image of Atlas: “…therefore they feigned that he held up the Heavens with his shoulders…”
ATLAS — KNOWLEDGE OF THE HEAVENS
The Atlantian genealogy now reaches Atlas, whose people and territory take his name. Diodorus describes him as exceptionally skilled in celestial knowledge and the first among men to explain the heavenly spheres. Presenting this as the origin of the tradition that Atlas carried the heavens upon his shoulders.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — The Seven Atlantides Become the Pleiades, page 154
“King Atlas had moreover seven Daughters, named after their Father Atlantides…”
Cogan names all seven: “Maia, Electra, Taygete, Asterope, Merope, Alcyone, and Celeno…”
Then comes the divine-offspring: “…of certaine of the Gods, by whom they conceived those, who for their virtue were stiled Heroes…”
“Jupiter begot on Maia, the Eldest of them Mercury, the inventor of severall Sciences…”
Diodorus then connects their descendants with ancient peoples, rulers and cities before concluding: “…the ancient demi-gods and Princes [referred] to those Atlantides…”
And after their deaths they were: “…inrolled in the number of the Goddesses, and afterwards named Pleiades.”
THE SEVEN ATLANTIDES — THE PLEIADES
Atlas has seven daughters known collectively as the Atlantides. Diodorus says they conceived children by gods, producing heroes and ancestral lines associated with ancient peoples and rulers.
After death, the seven Atlantides were numbered among the goddesses and became known as the Pleiades.
ANOMALOUS LIGHTS AND A GOD FROM THE SEA
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — Two Lights Fall Upon Castor and Pollux, page 194
“…being overtaken with a furious tempest, whenas all the rest were out of all hope of safety, Orpheus alone… made vows unto the Gods of Samothracia for their deliverance out of the perill they were in…”
Then the event: “…whereupon two lights falling on the heads of Castor and Pollux, the storm instantly ceased.”
Diodorus continues: “…all of them being amazed, verily believed, that the Gods in contemplation of those two had saved them…”
And says the association continued afterward: “…such as afterwards were in any danger at Sea, make vows to the Gods of Samothracia, and those lights appearing, they ascribed their safety to Castor and Pollux.”
TWO LIGHTS — THE STORM INSTANTLY CEASES
Caught in a violent storm at sea, the Argonauts appear to have no hope of survival. After Orpheus appeals to the gods of Samothrace, Diodorus says two lights fall upon the heads of Castor and Pollux and the storm immediately stops. The phenomenon becomes associated with their protection of sailors at sea.
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — Glaucus Appears Beside the Argonauts, page 197
“…being in the midst of the Pontick Sea, they were taken with a furious tempest…”
“Then close by their Ship appeared the Sea-God Glaucus, who for two dayes and two nights together continually accompanied them…”
“…and foretold the acts which Hercules should perform, and his immortalitie…”
GLAUCUS — THE SEA-GOD BESIDE THE SHIP
During a violent storm, the sea-god Glaucus appears beside the Argonauts’ ship and accompanies them for two days and two nights. During the encounter, he foretells the future deeds and immortality of Hercules.
THE FLOOD OF SAMOTHRACE
DIODORUS’ ACCOUNT — The Samothracian Flood, page 249
“The Samothracians do report, that among them there was another great deluge before that of Deucalion…”
Then the mechanism: “…the Pontick sea being filled up (like a pool) by the falling in of rivers, and inundation of other waters, did so excessively disburthen it self…”
The destruction: “…a great part of Asia which lay neere the Sea was swallowed up thereby; likewise the plain Country of Samothracia was by the overflow of the waters destroyed…”
And remarkably: “…when the Cities were overwhelmed with water, the people betook themselves to the highest places in the Island…”
After the waters recede, the survivors establish the limits reached by the Flood and erect altars to the gods.
SAMOTHRACE — THE FLOOD BEFORE DEUCALION
Diodorus preserves a Samothracian tradition of a great flood said to have occurred before Deucalion. Coastal Asia was covered by water, the Samothracian plain was destroyed, and many cities were submerged. The people survived by escaping to the island’s highest ground.
