The Argonautica of Diodorus Siculus*

summary:

The Argonautica in Book 4 of Diodorus Siculus’s Bibliotheke has long been seen as a simple abridgment of a work by the Hellenistic author Dionysius Scytobrachion. However, while Diodorus undoubtedly used Scytobrachion, he exerts a substantial measure of control over his material and should be read in his own historical context. Diodorus’s Argonautica is closely connected to the Roman penetration of the Black Sea and their wars with Mithradates. It sets up the Romans as successors to the Argonauts in their encounter with this often hostile region while validating the myths the Romans were developing about their own origins.