Skip to main content

Secondary sourceBook1814

The Historical Library

Diodorus Siculus · 1814

An 1814 English translation of the ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, including his account of an Egyptian king often identified with Ramesses II.

Diodorus's ancient account describes a king often identified with Ramesses II, shaping his later legendary reputation.

Ask Ramses II (Ramses the Great) about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Full text (Internet Archive)

About this source

What it is

This is an 1814 printed edition of The Historical Library by the ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, translated into English by G. Booth. It is a later copy of an ancient text, not an original manuscript.

Why it matters

Diodorus wrote centuries after Ramesses II lived, describing a king called Sesoosis who many scholars connect to him. This shows how later writers in the ancient world remembered and sometimes exaggerated the deeds of Egyptian pharaohs, long after their reigns ended.

Look closer

  • Why might a Greek historian writing long after Ramesses II be less reliable than an inscription from his own time?
  • What does it tell us that his fame lasted for centuries after his death?
  • How might translation and re-printing change a text over time?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ramses II (Ramses the Great) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Ramses II (Ramses the Great) sources

Meet the AI Ramses II (Ramses the Great) →
Two clay cuneiform tablets on a clear acrylic stand against a red background. The larger tablet is broken into several fragments, covered in dense wedge-shaped writing. A smaller tablet fragment sits at lower right, also inscribed.Document

Primary source

Egyptian–Hittite Peace Treaty

c. 1258 BCE

Sepia photograph of the facade of the Abu Simbel temple in Egypt, with four seated colossal statues of Ramesses II carved into the rock. A small standing man at lower left shows scale. A doorway lies between the middle statues, and hieroglyphs are carved across the upper wall.Photograph

Secondary source

Abu Simbel Temple Colossi

Pascal Sébah · 1875

Facade of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel carved into a sandstone cliff under a clear blue sky. Four seated colossal statues of a pharaoh flank the central doorway, with a sand-covered walkway leading up to the entrance.Artifact

Primary source

Abu Simbel

Ramesses II · c. 1273 BCE

Sepia photograph of the Abu Simbel temple facade in Egypt. A colossal seated stone statue of a pharaoh with a striped headdress dominates the right. Beside it stands a statue of a falcon-headed god wearing a sun disk. Relief carvings and hieroglyphs cover the wall, and a small seated man at the bottom gives scale. Caption reads Abou Simbel, Gd Temple, Le dieu Soleil Ra et Rhamses II, P. Sébah.Photograph

Secondary source

Facade Detail of Abu Simbel Showing Ramesses II and Ra

Pascal Sébah · 1875

Sepia photograph of the ruined Ramesseum temple at Luxor, Egypt. Four fallen-headed colossal seated statues stand before a sandstone gateway with carved hieroglyphs on its lintel. A broken statue lies in the foreground, and a small figure sits near the base of the statues. Desert and a column are visible on the left.Photograph

Secondary source

Ramesseum Colossi in Ruins

Pascal Sébah · c. 1875

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Ramses II (Ramses the Great) now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions