Product Description

One of the masterpieces of classical literature, the Histories describes how a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city states united to repel the might of the Persian empire. But while this epic struggle forms the core of his work, Herodotus' natural curiosity frequently gives rise to colourful digressions - a description of the natural wonders of Egypt; an account of European lake-dwellers; and far-fetched accounts of dog-headed men and gold-digging ants. With its kaleidoscopic blend of fact and legend, the Histories offers a compelling Greek view of the world of the fifth century BC.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #164681 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 784 pages

About the Author
A Greek historian, Herodotus (c.485-425 BC) left his native town of Halicarnassus, a Greek colony, to travel extensively. He collected historical, geographical, ethnological, mytholgical and archaeological material for his histories. Aubrey de Selincourt has translated Livy, Herodotus and Arrian, all for Penguin Classics. John Marincola is Associate Professor of Classics at New York University.

Customer Reviews

Amazing...
Whenever I read a history book I'm always amazed at how little human character has changed. You would expect that when reading about 6th century BC this would not be the case...you'd be wrong. Herodotus uses his own mix of practical and mystical to present a time where lies and truths were mixed in order to gain favour and further your own aims (sound familiar?).

The Histories at its core takes you on a fantastic journey covering a fairly short period of time, while constantly diverting into stories of even greater antiquity to set the scene.

A must read for anybody with an interest in ancient history or modern thrillers...

Accessible, riveting history
Herodotus, called the Father of History for inventing the term, (though in Ancient Greek it actually meant something closer to 'enquiry') takes us on a wonderful tour of the ancient Greek mind. Ostensibly his book traces the relations between the Greeks and the Persian empire, east and west, starting with the mythic beginnings of conflict such as the abduction of Io, Medea and Helen, and ending with the Persian invasion in 490-480 that made Athens the leader, temporarily, of the Greek world. In between Herodotus works through Egypt, Lydia, and Media taking in stories of Croesus, the richest man in the world, Midas, and Gyges.
The highlight for most readers today is probably the Persian invasion with the wonderful set pieces of Marathon, Salamis and, of course, Thermopylae (the original source of Pressfield's bestselling 'Gates of Fire').
Unlike most history books, this is rivetting reading as Herodotus writes like a dream and is so clearly fascinated by his story that he can't help but carry us along with him. Wonderful stuff!

Unmissable, eminently readable classic
`After the capture of Babylon, Darius invaded Scythia.' Thus commences book four of the Histories, and if these are the kind of words that set your pulse racing, your eyes going all dreamy, this book is for you.

The ancient Greek historian's famous opus has an impressive geographical and chronological spread, and this, together with its precedence over most recovered documents of its type, explains why it is regarded as so important. Herodotus relates over a century of Persian expansion, including the Egyptian and other conquests, from about 600 BC, and of Persian conflict with the Greeks, culminating in his compatriots' victories at Salamis and Platea. As it is explained in the notes and introduction, much of his account has been reaffirmed by modern historical and archaeological research, some of it over earlier condemnations, though much is also being questioned.

Indeed, intriguingly, this rings both as history as we understand it and as something else. Herodotus explicitly aims to make an objective and truthful account, unlike other chroniclers of antiquity (for example Egyptian) driven by religious, political or artistic imperatives. He traces facts to sources and steps back when sources conflict. This is familiar. But in other ways, his book is from a culture very distant from ours. Herodotus believes in oracles, in the premonitory value of dreams. It doesn't shock him that a queen might give birth to a lion, or a god strike down an army to protect a sanctuary. Hubris is always punished, and disregard for the warnings of fate, or the desecration of temples. And descriptions are inflated for effect. For example, Herodotus has five million Persian subjects crossing the Hellespont; this probably exceeded the adult male population of the Persian empire, and modern historians have the number at 100,000 to 200,000. Thus, in many ways, the Histories are myth, epic, as much as history, and they probably tell us as much about the ancient Greeks and their beliefs as about what happened in the Persian wars.