DIODORUS SICULUS, historian, born in Sicily, of the age of Augustus; conceived the idea of writing a universal history; spent 30 years at the work; produced what he called “The Historical Library,” which embraced the period from the earliest ages to the end of Caesar’s Gallic war, and was divided into 40 books, of which only a few survive entire, and some fragments of the rest.

DIOGENES LAERTIUS, a Greek historian, born at Laerte, in Cilicia; flourished in the 2nd century A.D.; author of “Lives of the Philosophers,” a work written in 10 books; is full of interesting information regarding the men, but is destitute of critical insight into their systems.

DIOGENES OF APOLLONIA, a Greek philosopher of the Ionic school, and an adherent of ANAXIMENES (q. v.), if of any one, being more of an eclectic than anything else; took more to physics than philosophy; contributed nothing to the philosophic movement of the time.

DIOGENES THE CYNIC, born in Sinope, in Pontus, came to Athens, was attracted to ANTISTHENES (q. v.) and became a disciple, and a sansculotte of the first water; dressed himself in the coarsest, lived on the plainest, slept in the porches of the temples, and finally took up his dwelling in a tub; stood on his naked manhood; would not have anything to do with what did not contribute to its enhancement; despised every one who sought satisfaction in anything else; went through the highways and byways of the city at noontide with a lit lantern in quest of a man; a man himself not to be laughed at or despised; visiting Corinth, he was accosted by Alexander the Great:  “I am Alexander,” said the king, and “I am Diogenes” was the prompt reply; “Can I do anything to serve you?” continued the king; “Yes, stand out of the sunlight,” rejoined the cynic; upon which Alexander turned away saying, “If I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes.”  D’Alembert declared Diogenes the greatest man of antiquity, only that he wanted decency.  “Great truly,” says Carlyle, but adds with a much more serious drawback than that (412-323 B.C.).  See “SARTOR RESARTUS,” BK.  III.  CHAP. 1.

DIOGENES THE STOIC, born in Seleucia; a successor of Zeno, and head of the school at Athens, 2nd century B.C.

DIOMEDES, king of Argos, called Tydides, from his father; was, next to Achilles, the bravest of the Greeks at the Trojan war; fought under the protection of Athene against both Hector and AEneas, and even wounded both Aphrodite and Ares; dared along with Ulysses to carry off the Palladium from Troy; was first in the chariot race in honour of Patroclus, and overcame Ajax with the spear.

DIOMEDES, king of Thrace; fed his horses with human flesh, and was killed by Hercules for his inhumanity.

DION CASSIUS, a Greek historian, born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, about A.D. 155; went to Rome, and served under a succession of emperors; wrote a “History of Rome” from AEneas to Alexander Severus in 80 books, of which only 18 survive entire; took years to prepare for and compose it; it is of great value, and often referred to.