[1] It chronicles the journey of the eponymous character Iambulus who discovers a seemingly perfect island nation.
This presented first-person narrative describing a voyage to the Islands of the Sun, which forms part of an archipelago of seven islands equidistant to one another, all observed to be run under the same set of rules and laws, is a story which is said to have been originally authored by an ancient Greek merchant named Iambulus.
[3] Additionally, Iambulus' literary approach has been demonstrated to reflect previous scientific-narration type pieces, such as the voyage narrative, "The Voyage of Nearchus", and "The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea", which at the time exemplified the style of work which Iambulus would go on to emulate in his writings, which namely was that of more defined literature with significant incorporation of scientific information in the storyline.
[3][4] Furthermore, Iambulus' narrative specifically within Islands of the Sun is observed to still fall within parameters classic of Greek literary utopia.
Typically, the literary genre of Greek storytelling is presented in a pointed, sharply defined manner (especially with respect to futuristic/utopian thematics).
Most prominently, Iambulus is seen to conduct his writings within this genre via his implementation of utopian aesthetics (physical, architectural), human perfectionism (diseaseless, long-living societies), and style of travel-narrative within the story presented in/by Islands of the Sun.
Even though they are extremely healthy and free from disease, those who reached the age of one hundred and fifty have to kill themselves with a strange plant.
[1] The only portions of this story that can be read are located in Diodorus Siculus' Bibliotheca historica, and these are in the form of excerpts.
[5] The title of the story may also have been, The Adventures of Iambulus in the Southern Ocean, but this is unknown as no original manuscript exists.
[6] The only other references to The Islands of the Sun other than Diodorus Siculus' work, can be found in Lucian's book, True History,[7] and John Tzetzes' writings in Chiliades.
[1] Moreover, the description of Iambulus' adventures alludes to events of the Hellenistic period, hence illustrating another aspect that contributes to the authenticity of the story.
[1][6] Islands of the Sun is described in the introduction of Lucian's novel True History,[10] and inspired John Tzetzes to mention its tale in his Chiliades.