Abstract
Abstract The present article scrutinizes the text of Erythraean Sea ethnography in Book 3 of Diodorus Siculus’ Bibliotheca Historica, while comparing it with Diodorus’ original source—Agatharchides’ On the Erythraean Sea, which is preserved in Photius’ Bibliotheca. It will be argued that Diodorus, with careful modifications of his source as well as referring to, or rejecting, specific contemporary moral motifs, articulates various kinds of limitations of the Erythraean inhabitants, and therefore (re)constructs the Erythraean Sea as a static world. The different and remote world of Diodorus’ protagonists serves as a mirror to reflect on moral, geographical, social and economic forms, and thus allows Diodorus to communicate with his readers: the latter are reminded of their seemingly unlimited chances in the present, which are commonly presented in contemporary literature.
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