Diodorus Siculus tells us that Hecataeus visited Thebes in the times of Ptolemy I Soter and composed a history of Egypt.
Six fragments survive from his Aegyptiaca and regard Egyptian philosophy, priests, gods, sanctuaries, Moses, wine, and which makes mention of Clearchus and the gymnosophists.
[citation needed] According to Montanari, in his work, Egypt is "strongly idealised", depicted as a country "exemplary in its customs and political institutions".
Diodorus Siculus' ethnography of Egypt (Bibliotheca historica, Book I) represents by far the largest number of fragments.
[12] The work is considered spurious by some;[13] However Pucci Ben Zeev, in surveying scholarship on this matter, finds reasons to grant core elements of authenticity in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary.