The Persian War

Written by Herodotus

Narrated by Roy Marsden

In this, the first prose history in European civilization, Herodotus tells the heroic tale of the Greeks’ resistance to the vast invading force assembled by Xerxes, King of Persia, as recently retold in the feature film 300. Here are not only the great battles – Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis – but also penetrating human insight and a powerful sense of epic destiny at work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: Jun 3, 1996
• ISBN: 9789629547189

Herodotus

Often referred to as the “father of history,” Herodotus was born in what is now modern-day Turkey in 484 BCE. He travelled the world in order to collect eyewitness accounts of the Greco-Persian Wars and conduct first-hand research, and his work is amongst the earliest Greek prose to survive in its entirety. Although Herodotus’s method of collecting information was unique for the time, he, like many Greek scholars of the period, is criticized for manipulating his reporting of events and witnesses accounts in order to improve the narrative tone. The Histories is Herodotus’s only known work, and is still referred to by modern historians as providing an important perspective on life in ancient times. Recently, Herodotus’s written account of the Battle of Thermopylae was adapted into the film 300 by Zack Snyder. Herodotus is said to have died in 625 BCE at the age of 60, although this date cannot be confirmed.

Reviews for The Persian War

[Patrick Wynne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is a good thing Persians didn't gain control of the whole world, these people were barbaric. Excellent story.