110-575: The Creones were a people of ancient Britain , known only from a single mention of them by the geographer Ptolemy c. 150. From his general description and the approximate locations of their neighbors, their territory was along the western coast of Scotland , south of the Isle of Skye and north of the Isle of Mull . Ptolemy does not provide them with a town or principal place. Great Britain Great Britain (commonly shortened to Britain )
220-458: A Goidelic language, Manx . Northern Scotland mainly spoke Pritennic , which became Pictish , which may have been a Brythonic language. During the period of the Roman occupation of Southern Britain (AD 43 to c. 410 ), Common Brythonic borrowed a large stock of Latin words. Approximately 800 of these Latin loan-words have survived in the three modern Brythonic languages. Romano-British
330-661: A brief statement of its contents. The main focus of the book are events in mainland Greece, principally the Second Persian invasion of Greece under Xerxes (1-19, 27-39), Themistocles ' construction of the Peiraeus and Long walls and his defection to Persia (41-50, 54-59) and the Pentecontaetia (60-65, 78–84, 88). Interweaved with this is an account of events in Sicily, focussing on Gelon of Syracuse 's war with
440-589: A collective name for the British Isles. However, with the Roman conquest of Britain , the Latin term Britannia was used for the island of Great Britain, and later Roman-occupied Britain south of Caledonia . The earliest known name for Great Britain is Albion ( Greek : Ἀλβιών ) or insula Albionum , from either the Latin albus meaning "white" (possibly referring to the white cliffs of Dover ,
550-406: A common ancestral language termed Brittonic , British , Common Brythonic , Old Brythonic or Proto-Brythonic , which is thought to have developed from Proto-Celtic or early Insular Celtic by the 6th century AD. Brythonic languages were probably spoken before the Roman invasion at least in the majority of Great Britain south of the rivers Forth and Clyde , though the Isle of Man later had
660-668: A didactic purpose. The book is devoted to two parallel narratives, one describing Agathocles' ultimately unsuccessful invasion of Carthage, and the other devoted to the continued wars of the Diadochi, which are dominated by Antigonus Monophthalmus and Demetrius Poliorcetes . The only significant side narrative is the account of Cleonymus of Sparta 's wars in Italy (104-105). These books do not survive intact, but large sections were preserved by Byzantine compilers working under Constantine VII and by epitomators like Photius . They covered
770-453: A marriage between Cecily , daughter of Edward IV of England , and James , son of James III of Scotland , which described it as "this Nobill Isle, callit Gret Britanee". The Scottish philosopher and historian, John Major (Mair), published his 'History of Great Britain, both England and Scotland' ( Historia majoris Britanniae, tam Angliae quam Scotiae ) in 1521. While promoting a possible royal match in 1548, Lord Protector Somerset said that
880-583: A peninsular extension of mainland Europe until catastrophic flooding between then and 130,000 years ago resulted in the creation of the English Channel and Britain becoming an island during warm interglacial periods like the Last Interglacial/Eemian (130–115,000 years ago), though it remained connected to mainland Europe during glacial periods when sea levels were low. Archaic humans repeatedly occupied Britain before abandoning
990-558: A prologue arguing that democracy is usually overthrown by the most powerful members of society, not the weakest, and advancing Agathocles of Syracuse as a demonstration of this proposition. The narrative of the book continues the account of the Diadochi, recounting the Second and Third Wars of the Diadochi; the Babylonian War is completely unmentioned. Interwoven in this narrative is the rise to power of Agathocles of Syracuse and
1100-777: A result of this eventful geological history, the island shows a rich variety of landscapes . The oldest rocks in Great Britain are the Lewisian gneisses , metamorphic rocks found in the far north west of the island and in the Hebrides (with a few small outcrops elsewhere), which date from at least 2,700 My ago. South of the gneisses are a complex mixture of rocks forming the North West Highlands and Grampian Highlands in Scotland. These are essentially
1210-699: A similar sense to fauna, and for similar reasons, the flora consists of fewer species compared to much larger continental Europe. The flora comprises 3,354 vascular plant species, of which 2,297 are native and 1,057 have been introduced. The island has a wide variety of trees , including native species of birch , beech , ash , hawthorn , elm , oak , yew , pine , cherry and apple . Other trees have been naturalised, introduced especially from other parts of Europe (particularly Norway) and North America. Introduced trees include several varieties of pine, chestnut , maple , spruce , sycamore and fir , as well as cherry plum and pear trees . The tallest species are
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#17327728295941320-401: A very extended period of time. Changing latitude and sea levels have been important factors in the nature of sedimentary sequences, whilst successive continental collisions have affected its geological structure with major faulting and folding being a legacy of each orogeny (mountain-building period), often associated with volcanic activity and the metamorphism of existing rock sequences. As
1430-677: Is G. On the Internet, .uk is the country code top-level domain for the United Kingdom. A .gb top-level domain was used to a limited extent, but is now deprecated; although existing registrations still exist (mainly by government organizations and email providers), the domain name registrar will not take new registrations. In the Olympics, Team GB is used by the British Olympic Association to represent
1540-743: Is also more than 1000 species of bryophyte including algae and mosses across the island. The currently known species include 767 mosses, 298 liverworts and 4 hornworts . There are many species of fungi including lichen -forming species, and the mycobiota is less poorly known than in many other parts of the world. The most recent checklist of Basidiomycota (bracket fungi, jelly fungi, mushrooms and toadstools, puffballs, rusts and smuts), published in 2005, accepts over 3600 species. The most recent checklist of Ascomycota (cup fungi and their allies, including most lichen-forming fungi), published in 1985, accepts another 5100 species. These two lists did not include conidial fungi (fungi mostly with affinities in
1650-635: Is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe , consisting of the countries England , Scotland and Wales . With an area of 209,331 km (80,823 sq mi), it is the largest of the British Isles , the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world . It is dominated by a maritime climate with narrow temperature differences between seasons. The island of Ireland , with an area 40 per cent that of Great Britain,
1760-466: Is every reason to believe that he used the best sources and that he reproduced them faithfully. His First Book, which deals almost exclusively with Egypt, is the fullest literary account of the history and customs of that country after Herodotus . Books II-V cover a wide range, and because of their inclusion of much mythological material are of much less value. In the period from 480 to 301 BC, which he treats in annalistic fashion and in which his main source
1870-616: Is notable for the inclusion of the lives of Diophantus of Abae , Callon of Epidaurus , and others who transitioned between genders. The record of Callon's medical treatment is the first known account of gender-affirming surgery . Diodorus is mentioned briefly in Pliny the Elder 's Natural History as being singular among the Greek historians for the simple manner in which he named his work. Diodorus' liberal use of earlier historians underlies
1980-558: Is possible for barbarian lands and the distant past. The resulting books have affinities with the genre of geography. Books six to ten, which covered the transition from mythical times to the archaic period , are almost entirely lost. By book ten he had taken up an annalistic structure, narrating all the events throughout the world in each year before moving on to the next one. Books eleven to twenty, which are completely intact and cover events between 480 BC and 302 BC, maintain this annalistic structure. Books twenty-one to forty, which brought
2090-511: Is subject to continuing urbanisation , which have contributed towards the overall loss of species. A DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) study from 2006 suggested that 100 species have become extinct in the UK during the 20th century, about 100 times the background extinction rate . However, some species, such as the brown rat , red fox , and introduced grey squirrel , are well adapted to urban areas. Rodents make up 40% of
2200-898: Is the capital city of Scotland , and is the seat of the Scottish Government as well as the highest courts in Scotland . The Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Cardiff is the capital city of Wales , and is the seat of the Welsh Government . In the Late Bronze Age, Britain was part of a culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age , held together by maritime trading, which also included Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal. In contrast to
2310-598: Is the largest denomination in Wales . There are other non-conformist minorities, such as Baptists , Quakers , the United Reformed Church (a union of Congregationalists and English Presbyterians ), Unitarians . The first patron saint of Great Britain was Saint Alban . He was the first Christian martyr dating from the Romano-British period, condemned to death for his faith and sacrificed to
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#17327728295942420-529: Is the largest species, with roe deer and fallow deer also prominent; the latter was introduced by the Normans . Sika deer and two more species of smaller deer, muntjac and Chinese water deer , have been introduced, muntjac becoming widespread in England and parts of Wales while Chinese water deer are restricted mainly to East Anglia. Habitat loss has affected many species. Extinct large mammals include
2530-791: Is the name for the Latinised form of the language used by Roman authors. British English is spoken in the present day across the island, and developed from the Old English brought to the island by Anglo-Saxon settlers from the mid 5th century. Some 1.5 million people speak Scots —which was indigenous language of Scotland and has become closer to English over centuries. An estimated 700,000 people speak Welsh , an official language in Wales . In parts of north west Scotland, Scottish Gaelic remains widely spoken. There are various regional dialects of English, and numerous languages spoken by some immigrant populations. Christianity has been
2640-598: Is to the west – these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands and named substantial rocks , comprise the British Isles archipelago . Connected to mainland Europe until 9,000 years ago by a landbridge now known as Doggerland , Great Britain has been inhabited by modern humans for around 30,000 years. In 2011, it had a population of about 61 million , making it the world's third-most-populous island after Honshu in Japan and Java in Indonesia , and
2750-527: Is usually identified as Timaeus of Tauromenium . Diodorus explains that, given the amount of material to be covered, his prologue must be brief. This book opens with the account of the Sicilian Expedition , culminating in two very long speeches at Syracuse deliberating about how to treat the Athenian prisoners (1-33). After that the two areas again diverge, with the Greek narrative covering
2860-449: Is without colouring, and monotonous; and his simple diction, which stands intermediate between pure Attic and the colloquial Greek of his time, enables us to detect in the narrative the undigested fragments of the materials which he employed. As damaging as this sounds, other more contemporary classical scholars are likely to go even further. Diodorus has become infamous particularly for adapting his tales ad maiorem Graecorum gloriam ("to
2970-682: The Boeotian War (81-86, 91–92, 94). The Sicilian narrative focusses on Dionysios the Elder's establishment of his tyranny in Sicily (7-9, 11–16, 18), his second war with the Carthaginians (41-78, 85–91, 95-96), and his invasion of southern Italy (100-108, 111-112). Fairly brief notes mention Roman affairs year by year, including the war with Veii (93), and the Gallic Sack (113-117). Ephorus and Timaeus are assumed to have still been Diodorus' sources. Some details in his account of
3080-473: The British Olympic team . The Olympic Federation of Ireland represents the whole island of Ireland , and Northern Irish sportspeople may choose to compete for either team, most choosing to represent Ireland. Politically, Great Britain refers to the whole of England , Scotland and Wales in combination, but not Northern Ireland ; it includes islands, such as the Isle of Wight , Anglesey ,
3190-607: The Carthaginians (20-26), his successors ' prosperity and fall (51, 53, 67-68), and the Syracusans' war with Ducetius (76, 78, 88-92). Diodorus' source for his account of mainland Greece in this book is generally agreed to be Ephorus of Cyme , but some scholars argue that he supplemented this using the accounts of Herodotus , Thucydides , and others. The book's prologue muses on the mutability of fortune. Diodorus notes that bad events can have positive outcomes, like
3300-824: The Celtic languages to the island. During the Iron Age , Britain was inhabited by various different Celtic tribes . The Romans conquered most of the island (up to Hadrian's Wall in northern England) and this became the Ancient Roman province of Britannia . In the course of the 500 years after the Roman Empire fell, the Britons of the south and east of the island were assimilated or displaced by invading Germanic tribes ( Angles , Saxons , and Jutes , often referred to collectively as Anglo-Saxons ). At about
3410-613: The Decelean War down to the battles of Arginusae and Aigospotami (35-42, 45–53, 64–74, 76-79). The Sicilian narrative recounts the beginning of the Second Carthaginian War , culminating in the rise of Dionysius the Elder to the tyranny (43-44, 54–63, 75, 80–96, 108-114). Ephorus is generally agreed to have continued to be the source of the Greek narrative and Timaeus of the Sicilian narrative. The source of
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3520-957: The Douglas firs ; two specimens have been recorded measuring 65 metres or 212 feet. The Fortingall Yew in Perthshire is the oldest tree in Europe. There are at least 1,500 different species of wildflower . Some 107 species are particularly rare or vulnerable and are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 . It is illegal to uproot any wildflowers without the landowner's permission. A vote in 2002 nominated various wildflowers to represent specific counties. These include red poppies , bluebells , daisies , daffodils , rosemary , gorse , iris , ivy , mint , orchids , brambles , thistles , buttercups , primrose , thyme , tulips , violets , cowslip , heather and many more. There
3630-522: The Gregorian mission . It was the main religion for around a thousand years. There are over 5 million adherents today, 4.5 million Catholics in England and Wales and 750,000 in Scotland , although fewer than a million Catholics regularly attend mass . The Church of Scotland , a form of Protestantism with a Presbyterian system of ecclesiastical polity , is the third most numerous on
3740-477: The Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia . Judaism figured slightly more than Buddhism at the 2011 census, having 263,000 adherents (excluding Scotland's about 6000). Jews have inhabited Britain since 1070. However, those resident and open about their religion were expelled from England in 1290, replicated in some other Catholic countries of the era. Jews were permitted to re-establish settlement as of 1656, in
3850-574: The Isles of Scilly , the Hebrides and the island groups of Orkney and Shetland , that are part of England, Wales, or Scotland. It does not include the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands . The political union which joined the kingdoms of England and Scotland occurred in 1707 when the Acts of Union ratified the 1706 Treaty of Union and merged the parliaments of the two nations, forming
3960-717: The Kingdom of Great Britain , which covered the entire island. Before this, a personal union had existed between these two countries since the 1603 Union of the Crowns under James VI of Scotland and I of England . The oldest evidence for archaic humans in Britain are the Happisburgh footprints and associated stone tools found in Norfolk , dating to around 950–850,000 years ago. Prior to 450,000 years ago, Britain formed
4070-751: The Muses , Herakles , the Argonauts , Medea , the hero Theseus and the Seven against Thebes . In this book, Diodorus describes the geography of Europe . He covers the islands of Sicily , Malta , Corsica , Sardinia and the Balearic Islands . He then covers Britain, 'Basilea ', Gaul , the Iberian peninsula, and the regions of Liguria and Tyrrhenia in the Italian peninsula. Finally he describes
4180-599: The Old English Breoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten (also Breoton-lond, Breten-lond ). Britannia was used by the Romans from the 1st century BC for the British Isles taken together. It is derived from the travel writings of Pytheas around 320 BC, which described various islands in the North Atlantic as far north as Thule (probably Norway ). The peoples of these islands of Prettanike were called
4290-585: The Privy Council of England was drafting the proclamation of the new king, Charles I, a Scottish peer, Thomas Erskine, 1st Earl of Kellie , succeeded in insisting that it use the phrase "King of Great Britain", which James had preferred, rather than King of Scotland and England (or vice versa). While that title was also used by some of James's successors, England and Scotland each remained legally separate countries, each with its own parliament, until 1707, when each parliament passed an Act of Union to ratify
4400-695: The Scythians of the Eurasian steppe , including the Amazons and the Hyperboreans (chapters 43-47), and Arabia Felix (chapters 48-54). He finishes the book with an account of the traveller Iambulus ' journey to a group of islands in the Indian Ocean , which appears to be based on a Hellenistic utopian novel. In this book, Diodorus describes the geography of North Africa including Aethiopia ,
4510-481: The Social War (7, 21-22), Artaxerxes III 's reconquest of Egypt (40-52), and the expedition of Timoleon (interleaved in 65-90). The initial sources for the main narrative was probably Ephorus, but his account came to an end in 356 BC, and Diodorus' sources after that point are disputed. Possibilities include Demophilus , Diyllus , Duris of Samos and Theopompus ; contradictions in his account suggest that he
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4620-458: The Treaty of Union that had been agreed the previous year. This created a single kingdom with one parliament with effect from 1 May 1707. The Treaty of Union specified the name of the new all-island state as "Great Britain", while describing it as "One Kingdom" and "the United Kingdom". To most historians, therefore, the all-island state that existed between 1707 and 1800 is either "Great Britain" or
4730-433: The brown bear , grey wolf and wild boar ; the latter has had a limited reintroduction in recent times. There is a wealth of birdlife , with 628 species recorded, of which 258 breed on the island or remain during winter. Because of its mild winters for its latitude, Great Britain hosts important numbers of many wintering species, particularly waders , ducks , geese and swans . Other well known bird species include
4840-520: The golden eagle , grey heron , common kingfisher , common wood pigeon , house sparrow , European robin , grey partridge , and various species of crow , finch , gull , auk , grouse , owl and falcon . There are six species of reptile on the island; three snakes and three lizards including the legless slowworm . One snake, the adder , is venomous but rarely deadly. Amphibians present are frogs , toads and newts . There are also several introduced species of reptile and amphibian. In
4950-548: The mammal species . These include squirrels , mice , voles , rats and the recently reintroduced European beaver . There is also an abundance of European rabbit , European hare , shrews , European mole and several species of bat . Carnivorous mammals include the red fox , Eurasian badger , Eurasian otter , weasel , stoat and elusive Scottish wildcat . Various species of seal , whale and dolphin are found on or around British shores and coastlines. The largest land-based wild animals today are deer . The red deer
5060-525: The pagan gods . In more recent times, some have suggested the adoption of St Aidan as another patron saint of Britain. From Ireland, he worked at Iona amongst the Dál Riata and then Lindisfarne where he restored Christianity to Northumbria . The three constituent countries of the United Kingdom have patron saints: Saint George and Saint Andrew are represented in the flags of England and Scotland respectively. These two flags combined to form
5170-470: The secession of the Plebs at Rome (24-25). An account of the war between Leontini and Syracuse, culminating in the embassy of Gorgias to Athens (54-56), sets up the account of the Sicilian Expedition in book XIII. Diodorus is believed to have continued to use Ephorus, perhaps supplemented with other historians, as his source for Greek events in this book, while the source for the events in western Greece
5280-617: The skytalismos in Argos (57-58), the career of Jason of Pherae (57, 60, 80, 95), and the Great Satraps' Revolt (90-93). Diodorus' main source is generally believed to have been Ephorus , but (through him?) he also seems to have drawn on other sources, like the Hellenica Oxyrhynchia . It is disputed whether he continued using Timaeus of Tauromenium for his description of Sicilian affairs in this book or if this too
5390-716: The " Kingdom of Great Britain ". Great Britain lies on the European continental shelf, part of the Eurasian Plate and off the north-west coast of continental Europe , separated from this European mainland by the North Sea and by the English Channel , which narrows to 34 km (18 nmi; 21 mi) at the Straits of Dover . It stretches over about ten degrees of latitude on its longer, north–south axis and covers 209,331 km (80,823 sq mi), excluding
5500-439: The Angles. Germanic speakers referred to Britons as Welsh . This term came to be applied exclusively to the inhabitants of what is now Wales, but it also survives in names such as Wallace and in the second syllable of Cornwall . Cymry , a name the Britons used to describe themselves, is similarly restricted in modern Welsh to people from Wales, but also survives in English in the place name of Cumbria . The Britons living in
5610-438: The Ascomycota but known only in their asexual state) or any of the other main fungal groups (Chytridiomycota, Glomeromycota and Zygomycota). The number of fungal species known very probably exceeds 10,000. There is widespread agreement among mycologists that many others are yet to be discovered. London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom as a whole, and is the seat of the United Kingdom's government . Edinburgh
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#17327728295945720-404: The Cadmeia (8-12, 18-23), but also the Spartan defeat in the Boeotian War which resulted in the rise of the Theban Hegemony (25-35, 37–40, 62‑69, 75, 82‑88). The main side narratives are Euagoras war with the Persians in Cyprus (2‑4, 8‑9), the wars of Dionysius I against the Illyrians, Etruscans and Carthaginians and his death (13-17, 73-74), Artaxerxes II 's failed invasion of Egypt (41-43),
5830-434: The Church is the monarch of the United Kingdom, as the Supreme Governor . It has the status of established church in England. There are just over 26 million adherents to Anglicanism in Britain today, although only around one million regularly attend services. The second largest Christian practice is the Latin Church of the Catholic Church , which traces its history to the 6th century with Augustine of Canterbury and
5940-410: The English and Scots were, "like as twoo brethren of one Islande of great Britaynes again." In 1604, James VI and I styled himself "King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland". Great Britain refers geographically to the island of Great Britain. Politically, it may refer to the whole of England , Scotland and Wales , including their smaller offshore islands. It is not technically correct to use
6050-455: The London area sinking at double this partly due to the continuing compaction of the recent clay deposits. Animal diversity is modest, as a result of factors including the island's small land area, the relatively recent age of the habitats developed since the last glacial period and the island's physical separation from continental Europe , and the effects of seasonal variability. Great Britain also experienced early industrialisation and
6160-496: The Sicilian expedition is disputed - both Ephorus and Timaeus have been put forward. Sacks argues that the two speeches at the end of that account are Diodorus' own work. In the prologue, Diodorus identifies reproachful criticism ( blasphemia ) as the punishment for evil deeds which people take to heart the most and which the powerful are especially subject to. Powerful men, therefore, should avoid evil deeds in order to avoid receiving this reproach from posterity. Diodorus claims that
6270-483: The Ten Thousand may derive from a lost work of Sophaenetus . In the prologue of this book, Diodorus makes several statements that have been considered important for understanding the philosophy behind his entire work. Firstly, he announces the importance of parrhesia (free speech) for the overall moral goal of his work, insofar as he expects his frank praise of good people and criticism of bad ones will encourage his readers to behave morally. Secondly, he declares that
6380-405: The UK government yearbooks have used both Britain and United Kingdom . GB and GBR are used instead of UK in some international codes to refer to the United Kingdom, including the Universal Postal Union , international sports teams, NATO , and the International Organization for Standardization country codes ISO 3166-2 and ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 , whilst the aircraft registration prefix
6490-434: The ancient Egyptians ( Bibliotheca historica 1.41, 1.83). The latest event Diodorus mentions is Octavian 's vengeance on the city of Tauromenium , whose refusal to help him led to Octavian's naval defeat nearby in 36 BC (16.7). Diodorus shows no knowledge that Egypt became a Roman province—which transpired in 30 BC—so presumably he published his completed work before that event. Diodorus asserts that he devoted thirty years to
6600-431: The area during cooler periods. Modern humans arrived in Britain about 40,000 years ago, as evidenced by remains found in Kents Cavern in Devon, following the disappearance of Neanderthals . Prior to 9,000 years ago Britain retained a land connection to the continent, with an area of mostly low marshland ( Doggerland ) joining it to what are now Denmark and the Netherlands . During the Mesolithic period, Britain
6710-402: The areas now known as Wales, Cumbria and Cornwall were not assimilated by the Germanic tribes, a fact reflected in the survival of Celtic languages in these areas into more recent times. At the time of the Germanic invasion of southern Britain , many Britons emigrated to the area now known as Brittany , where Breton , a Celtic language closely related to Welsh and Cornish and descended from
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#17327728295946820-600: The basis of the Great Britain royal flag of 1604. Saint David is the patron saint of Wales. There are many other British saints. Some of the best known are Cuthbert , Columba , Patrick , Margaret , Edward the Confessor , Mungo , Thomas More , Petroc , Bede , and Thomas Becket . Numerous other religions are practised. The 2011 census recorded that Islam had around 2.7 million adherents (excluding Scotland with about 76,000). More than 1.4 million people (excluding Scotland's about 38,000) believe in Hinduism , Sikhism , or Buddhism —religions that developed in
6930-425: The bed of the North Sea was dry and acted as a land bridge, now known as Doggerland , to the Continent. It is generally thought that as sea levels gradually rose after the end of the last glacial period of the current ice age, Doggerland reflooded cutting off what was the British peninsula from the European mainland by around 6500 BC. Great Britain has been subject to a variety of plate tectonic processes over
7040-689: The beginning of Caesar 's Gallic War in 59 BC. (The end has been lost, so it is unclear whether Diodorus reached the beginning of the Gallic War, as he promised at the beginning of his work, or, as evidence suggests, old and tired from his labors he stopped short at 60 BC.) He selected the name "Bibliotheca" in acknowledgement that he was assembling a composite work from many sources. Of the authors he drew from, some who have been identified include: Hecataeus of Abdera , Ctesias of Cnidus , Ephorus , Theopompus , Hieronymus of Cardia , Duris of Samos , Diyllus , Philistus , Timaeus , Polybius and Posidonius . Diodorus' immense work has not survived intact; only
7150-435: The beginning of his war with Carthage . It is disputed whether this latter narrative strand is based on Callias of Syracuse , Timaeus of Tauromenium , or Duris of Samos . The prologue of this book discusses Greek historians' practice of inventing speeches for their characters to deliver. Diodorus criticises the practice as inappropriate to the genre, but acknowledges that in moderation such speeches can add variety and serve
7260-479: The book is devoted to the history of the Assyrians , focussed on the mythical conquests of Ninus and Semiramis , the fall of the dynasty under the effeminate Sardanapallus , and the origins of the Medes who overthrew them. This section is explicitly derived from the account of Ctesias of Cnidus (chapters 1-34). The rest of the book is devoted to describing the various other peoples of Asia. He first describes India, drawing on Megasthenes (chapters 35-42), then
7370-405: The book is split into two halves, the first running down to the Battle of Gaugamela (1-63) and the second part continuing until his death (64-118). Diodorus' sources for the story of Alexander are much debated. Sources of information include Aristobulus of Cassandreia , Cleitarchus , Onesicritus and Nearchus , but it is not clear that he used these directly. Several scholars have argued that
7480-437: The breaching of the Weald-Artois Anticline , a ridge that held back a large proglacial lake , now submerged under the North Sea. Around 10,000 years ago, during the Devensian glaciation with its lower sea level , Great Britain was not an island, but an upland region of continental north-western Europe, lying partially underneath the Eurasian ice sheet. The sea level was about 120 metres (390 ft) lower than today, and
7590-470: The central subjects of the book are negative examples, who demonstrate the truth of these remarks. The book is again divided into Greek and Sicilian narratives. The Greek narrative covers the thirty tyrants of Athens (3-6, 32-33), the establishment and souring of the Spartan hegemony (10-13, 17, 34–36, 38), Cyrus the Younger 's attempt to seize the Persian throne with the aid of the Ten Thousand (19-31), Agesilaus ' invasion of Persian Asia Minor (79-80),
7700-418: The composition of his history, and that he undertook a number of dangerous journeys through Europe and Asia in prosecution of his historical researches. In the Bibliotheca historica , Diodorus sets out to write a universal history, covering the entire world and all periods of time. Each book opens with a table of its contents and a preface discussing the relevance of history, issues in the writing of history or
7810-413: The entire night ... For no leniency or respite of any kind is given to any man who is sick, or maimed, or aged, or in the case of a woman for her weakness, but all without exception are compelled by blows to persevere in their labours, until through ill-treatment they die in the midst of their tortures. In this book, Diodorus describes the mythology of Greece . He narrates the myths of Dionysus, Priapus ,
7920-628: The fall of the Spartan empire , which is described in this book, was caused by their cruel treatment of their subjects. Sacks considers this idea about the fall of empires to be a core theme of Diodorus' work, motivated by his own experience as a subject of Rome. This book covers the height of the Spartan rule in Greece, including the invasion of Persia, the Olynthian War , and the occupation of
8030-532: The first five books and books 11 through 20 remain. The rest exists only in fragments preserved in Photius and the Excerpta of Constantine Porphyrogenitus . The earliest date Diodorus mentions is his visit to Egypt in the 180th Olympiad (between 60 and 56 BC). This visit was marked by his witnessing an angry mob demand the death of a Roman citizen who had accidentally killed a cat, an animal sacred to
8140-515: The first view of Britain from the continent) or the "island of the Albiones ". The oldest mention of terms related to Great Britain was by Aristotle (384–322 BC), or possibly by Pseudo-Aristotle , in his text On the Universe , Vol. III. To quote his works, "There are two very large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion and Ierne ". The first known written use of the word Britain
8250-730: The generally accepted view that Celtic originated in the context of the Hallstatt culture , since 2009, John T. Koch and others have proposed that the origins of the Celtic languages are to be sought in Bronze Age Western Europe, especially the Iberian Peninsula. Koch et al.'s proposal has failed to find wide acceptance among experts on the Celtic languages. All the modern Brythonic languages (Breton, Cornish, Welsh) are generally considered to derive from
8360-591: The gold mines of Egypt, the Persian Gulf and Libya , where he sites mythical figures including the Gorgons , Amazons , Ammon and Atlas. Based on the writings on Agatharchides , Diodorus describes gold mining in Egypt , with horrible working conditions: And those who have been condemned in this way—and they are a great multitude and are all bound in chains—work at their task unceasingly both by day and throughout
8470-475: The greater glory of the Greeks"), leading one prominent author to refer to him as one of the "two most accomplished liars of antiquity" (the other being Ctesias ). Far more sympathetic is the estimate of Charles Henry Oldfather , who wrote in the introduction to his translation of Diodorus: While characteristics such as these exclude Diodorus from a place among the abler historians of the ancient world, there
8580-453: The harsh opinion of the author of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article on Bibliotheca historica : The faults of Diodorus arise partly from the nature of the undertaking, and the awkward form of annals into which he has thrown the historical portion of his narrative. He shows none of the critical faculties of the historian, merely setting down a number of unconnected details. His narrative contains frequent repetitions and contradictions,
8690-546: The history and culture of Egypt (book I), of Mesopotamia , India , Scythia , and Arabia (II), of North Africa (III), and of Greece and Europe (IV–VI). In the next section (books VII–XVII), he recounts human history starting with the Trojan War , down to the death of Alexander the Great . The last section (books XVII to the end) concern the historical events from the successors of Alexander down to either 60 BC or
8800-595: The history of the Hellenistic kingdoms from the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, through the wars between Rome and Carthage, down to either 60 BC or the beginning of Caesar's Gallic War in 59 BC. For books 21–32, Diodorus drew on the history of Polybius , which largely survives and can be compared against Diodorus' text, though he may also have used Philinus of Agrigentum and other lost historians. Books 32 to 38 or 39 probably had Poseidonius as their source. Book XXXII
8910-548: The interregnum which was a peak of anti-Catholicism. Most Jews in Great Britain have ancestors who fled for their lives , particularly from 19th century Lithuania and the territories occupied by Nazi Germany . Bibliotheca historica Bibliotheca historica ( Ancient Greek : Βιβλιοθήκη Ἱστορική , lit. ' Historical Library ' ) is a work of universal history by Diodorus Siculus . It consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in theme, and describe
9020-550: The island group as αἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι (the Prettanic Isles). The Greco-Egyptian scientist Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain (μεγάλη Βρεττανία megale Brettania ) and to Ireland as little Britain (μικρὰ Βρεττανία mikra Brettania ) in his work Almagest (147–148 AD). In his later work, Geography ( c. 150 AD ), he gave the islands the names Alwion , Iwernia , and Mona (the Isle of Man ), suggesting these may have been
9130-404: The island of Great Britain as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern Brittany and had been settled in the fifth and sixth centuries by Celtic Briton migrants from Great Britain. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for
9240-560: The island with around 2.1 million members. Introduced in Scotland by clergyman John Knox , it has the status of national church in Scotland. The monarch of the United Kingdom is represented by a Lord High Commissioner . Methodism is the fourth largest and grew out of Anglicanism through John Wesley . It gained popularity in the old mill towns of Lancashire and Yorkshire , also amongst tin miners in Cornwall . The Presbyterian Church of Wales , which follows Calvinistic Methodism ,
9350-548: The islands of Hiera and Panchaea in the southern ocean, and the Greek islands . Books VI–X survive only in fragments, which cover events before and after the Trojan War including the stories of Bellerophon , Orpheus , Aeneas , and Romulus ; some history from cities including Rome and Cyrene; tales of kings such as Croesus and Cyrus; and mentions of philosophers such as Pythagoras and Zeno . This book has no prologue, just
9460-511: The language of the emigrants, is still spoken. In the 9th century, a series of Danish assaults on northern English kingdoms led to them coming under Danish control (an area known as the Danelaw ). In the 10th century, however, all the English kingdoms were unified under one ruler as the kingdom of England when the last constituent kingdom, Northumbria, submitted to Edgar in 959. In 1066, England
9570-541: The largest religion by number of adherents since the Early Middle Ages : it was introduced under the ancient Romans, developing as Celtic Christianity . According to tradition, Christianity arrived in the 1st or 2nd century . The most popular form is Anglicanism (known as Episcopalism in Scotland). Dating from the 16th-century Reformation , it regards itself as both Catholic and Reformed . The Head of
9680-595: The most populated island outside of Asia . The term "Great Britain" can also refer to the political territory of England , Scotland and Wales , which includes their offshore islands. This territory, together with Northern Ireland , constitutes the United Kingdom . The archipelago has been referred to by a single name for over 2000 years: the term ' British Isles ' derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. By 50 BC, Greek geographers were using equivalents of Prettanikē as
9790-496: The much smaller surrounding islands. The North Channel , Irish Sea , St George's Channel and Celtic Sea separate the island from the island of Ireland to its west. The island is since 1993 joined, via one structure, with continental Europe: the Channel Tunnel , the longest undersea rail tunnel in the world. The island is marked by low, rolling countryside in the east and south, while hills and mountains predominate in
9900-512: The names of the individual islands not known to him at the time of writing Almagest . The name Albion appears to have fallen out of use sometime after the Roman conquest of Britain , after which Britain became the more commonplace name for the island. After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a historical term only. Geoffrey of Monmouth in his pseudohistorical Historia Regum Britanniae ( c. 1136 ) refers to
10010-405: The other years. The earliest extant manuscript of Bibliotheca historica is from about 10th century. The editio princeps of Diodorus was a Latin translation of the first five books by Poggio Bracciolini at Bologna in 1472. The first printing of the Greek original (at Basel in 1535) contained only books 16–20, and was the work of Vincentius Opsopoeus . It was not until 1559 that all of
10120-674: The prosperity of Greece which (he says) resulted from the Persian Wars. Diodorus account mostly focuses on mainland Greece, covering the end of the Pentecontaetia (1-7, 22, 27-28), the first half of the Peloponnesian War (30, 31–34, 38–51, 55–63, 66-73), and conflicts during the Peace of Nicias (74-84). Most of the side narratives concern events in southern Italy, relating to the foundation of Thurii (9-21, 23, 35) and
10230-472: The remains of folded sedimentary rocks that were deposited between 1,000 My and 670 My ago over the gneiss on what was then the floor of the Iapetus Ocean . In the current era the north of the island is rising as a result of the weight of Devensian ice being lifted. Counterbalanced, the south and east is sinking, generally estimated at 1 mm ( 1 ⁄ 25 inch) per year, with
10340-636: The same time, Gaelic tribes from Ireland invaded the north-west, absorbing both the Picts and Britons of northern Britain, eventually forming the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century. The south-east of Scotland was colonised by the Angles and formed, until 1018, a part of the Kingdom of Northumbria . Ultimately, the population of south-east Britain came to be referred to as the English people , so-named after
10450-416: The significance of the events discussed in that book. These are now generally agreed to be entirely Diodorus' own work. The degree to which the text that follows is derived from earlier historical works is debated. The first five books describe the history and culture of different regions, without attempting to determine the relative chronology of events. Diodorus expresses serious doubts that such chronology
10560-479: The term to refer to the whole of the United Kingdom which includes Northern Ireland , though the Oxford English Dictionary states "...the term is also used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom." Similarly, Britain can refer to either all islands in Great Britain, the largest island, or the political grouping of countries. There is no clear distinction, even in government documents:
10670-480: The theories offered by different Greek scholars to explain the annual floods of the River Nile serves to showcase Diodorus' wide-reading. In the second half he presents the history of the country, its customs and religion, in a highly respectful tone. His main sources are believed to be Hecataeus of Abdera and Agatharchides of Cnidus . This book has only a short prologue outlining its contents. The majority of
10780-605: The unity of this account implies a single source, perhaps Cleitarchus. This book covers the years 323 BC-318 BC, describing the disputes which arose between Alexander's generals after his death and the beginning of the Wars of the Diadochoi . The account is largely based on Hieronymus of Cardia . There is no discussion of events outside the eastern Mediterranean, although cross-references at other points indicate that Diodorus intended to discuss Sicilian affairs. This book opens with
10890-452: The western and northern regions. It is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller islands and islets . The greatest distance between two points is 968.0 km ( 601 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi) (between Land's End , Cornwall and John o' Groats , Caithness ), 838 miles (1,349 km) by road. The English Channel is thought to have been created between 450,000 and 180,000 years ago by two catastrophic glacial lake outburst floods caused by
11000-418: The work down to Diodorus' own lifetime, terminating around 60 BC, are mostly lost. Book one opens with a prologue on the work as a whole, arguing for the importance of history generally and universal history in particular. The rest of the book is devoted to Egypt and is divided into two halves. In the first half he covers the origin of the world and the development of civilisation in Egypt. A long discussion of
11110-457: The work of Greek explorer Pytheas of Massalia , who travelled from his home in Hellenistic southern Gaul to Britain in the 4th century BC. The term used by Pytheas may derive from a Celtic word meaning "the painted ones" or "the tattooed folk" in reference to body decorations . According to Strabo, Pytheas referred to Britain as Bretannikē , which is treated a feminine noun. Marcian of Heraclea , in his Periplus maris exteri , described
11220-503: The years 362-302 BC Diodorus is again the only consecutive literary account, and ... Diodorus offers the only chronological survey of the period of Philip , and supplements the writers mentioned and contemporary sources in many matters. For the period of the Successors to Alexander, 323-302 BC (Books XVIII-XX), he is the chief literary authority and his history of this period assumes, therefore, an importance which it does not possess for
11330-574: The Πρεττανοί, Priteni or Pretani . Priteni is the source of the Welsh language term Prydain , Britain , which has the same source as the Goidelic term Cruithne used to refer to the early Brythonic -speaking inhabitants of Ireland. The latter were later called Picts or Caledonians by the Romans . Greek historians Diodorus of Sicily and Strabo preserved variants of Prettanike from
11440-481: Was conquered by the Normans , who introduced a Norman -speaking administration that was eventually assimilated. Wales came under Anglo-Norman control in 1282, and was officially annexed to England in the 16th century. On 20 October 1604 King James , who had succeeded separately to the two thrones of England and Scotland, proclaimed himself "King of Great Brittaine, France , and Ireland". When James died in 1625 and
11550-473: Was Albion; but at a later period, all the islands, of which we shall just now briefly make mention, were included under the name of 'Britanniæ.'" The name Britain descends from the Latin name for Britain, Britannia or Brittānia , the land of the Britons. Old French Bretaigne (whence also Modern French Bretagne ) and Middle English Bretayne , Breteyne . The French form replaced
11660-520: Was an ancient Greek transliteration of the original Proto-Celtic term in a work on the travels and discoveries of Pytheas that has not survived. The earliest existing records of the word are quotations of the periplus by later authors, such as those within Strabo's Geographica , Pliny's Natural History and Diodorus of Sicily's Bibliotheca historica . Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79) in his Natural History records of Great Britain: "Its former name
11770-491: Was based on Ephorus. The Prologue announces the importance of cohesion within narratives - a book or chapter should, if possible, narrate an entire story from start to finish. It then transitions into praise of Philip II , whose involvement in the Third Sacred War and resulting rise are the main subjects of the book. The principal side narratives are Dion of Syracuse 's overthrow of Dionysius II (5-6, 9-15),
11880-676: Was following multiple sources simultaneously and did not succeed in combining them perfectly. The Sicilian material probably draws on Timaeus and also cites Athanis [ de ] . This book covers Alexander the Great from his accession, through his campaigns in Persia, to his death in Babylon. Despite a promise in the brief prologue to discuss other contemporary events, it does not contain any side-narratives, although, unlike other accounts of Alexander, it does mention Macedonian activities in Greece during his expedition. Owing to its length,
11990-510: Was inhabited by hunter gatherers. Neolithic farmers , of Anatolian origin, arrived in Britain around 4000 BC, replacing the pre-existing hunter gatherers. Around 2000 BC, the Bronze Age Bell Beaker Culture arrived in Britain, which genetic evidence suggests was associated with another episode of nearly complete population replacement. Later significant migration to southern Britain around 1000 BC may have brought
12100-468: Was the Universal History of Ephorus, his importance varies according to whether he is the sole continuous source, or again as he is paralleled by superior writers. To the fifty years from 480 to 430 BC Thucydides devotes only a little more than thirty chapters; Diodorus covers it more fully (11.37-12.38) and his is the only consecutive literary account for the chronology of the period. ... For
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