Diocles of Peparethus

Diocles of Peparethos (* probably late 4th century BC on Peparethos; † early 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek historian of the island Peparethos. He was probably the first author of the Roman foundation legend of the figures Romulus and Remus.

About Diocles little is known. He wrote a now lost Greek work of history, whose exact content is unknown. He was probably in the 3rd century BC, Quintus Fabius Pictor shortly before. According to Plutarch be marked by tragic style Fabius Pictor of work was used as the source for the version of the founding tale of Rome. This is also suggested by the similarity of Plutarch version of the founding legend to those seen in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who wants to have this verbatim from Fabius Pictor. Some researchers ( for example, Eduard Schwartz) have yet Diocles dated and assumed that Plutarch has drawn only indirectly by Fabius Pictor Diocles. In recent research it goes but the majority assume that Diocles his work first written. However, it remains open, which had knowledge about Diocles on the Roman Prehistory; Judging from the scanty fragments after his work was probably influenced mythological.

Collection of fragments

• Felix Jacoby, The fragments of Greek historians ( FGrHist ), No. 820