Diodoro Sículo

I only read the books on Philip of Macedon. Diodorus's history is chock-a-block with wars, alliances, betrayals. Philip's starts out with a massive military defeat but then, due to his indefatigable, charismatic leadership, political and military genius, and (probably) luck, turns into a long string of wins and consolidations in Macedonia. Alliances with Athens, Sparta, and other city states to the south set the stage for Alexander. Diodorus himself is a lucid, capable historian dealing with facts, not legends. This makes it all the stranger that war and turmoil take up almost the whole of his narrative. Those were evidently violent times.… (mere)

"in Antient history Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Diodorus Siculus, Cornelius Nepos, Livy, Sallust, Caesar, Tacitus form such a body as the Student would easily fill up in the after-portions of his [the Latin and Greek teacher's] life." - Thomas Jefferson to Jason Chamberlain, 1 Jul. 1814 [PTJ:RS 7:447-448]

"In all cases I prefer original author to compilers. for a course of Antient history therefore, of Greece and Rome especially, I should advise the usual suite of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Diodorus, Livy, Caesar, Suetonius, Tacitus and Dion, in their originals, if understood, and in translations if not." - Thomas Jefferson to George W. Lewis, 25 Oct. 1825… (mere)

"in Antient history Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Diodorus Siculus, Cornelius Nepos, Livy, Sallust, Caesar, Tacitus form such a body as the Student would easily fill up in the after-portions of his [the Latin and Greek teacher's] life." - Thomas Jefferson to Jason Chamberlain, 1 Jul. 1814 [PTJ:RS 7:447-448]

"In all cases I prefer original author to compilers. for a course of Antient history therefore, of Greece and Rome especially, I should advise the usual suite of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Diodorus, Livy, Caesar, Suetonius, Tacitus and Dion, in their originals, if understood, and in translations if not." - Thomas Jefferson to George W. Lewis, 25 Oct. 1825… (mere)