The Histories Book 2: Euterpe

By Herodotus

Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who lived in the fifth century BC (c.484 - 425 BC). He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a well-constructed and vivid narrative. The Histories-his masterpiece and the only work he is known to have produced-is a record of his "inquiry", being an investigation of the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars and including a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information. The Histories, were divided into nine books, named after the nine Muses: the "Muse of History", Clio, representing the first book, then Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania and Calliope for books 2 to 9, respectively.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Start Publishing LLC
• Release date: Nov 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781625580412

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.

Book preview

The Histories

Book 2: Euterpe

By Herodotus

Start Publishing LLC

Copyright © 2012 by Start Publishing LLC

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

First Start Publishing eBook edition October 2012

Start Publishing is a registered trademark of Start Publishing LLC

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN 978-1-62558-041-2

The Histories Book 2: Euterpe

1. When Cyrus had brought his life to an end, Cambyses received the royal power in succession, being the son of Cyrus and of Cassandane the daughter of Pharnaspes, for whose death, which came about before his own, Cyrus had made great mourning himself and also had proclaimed to all those over whom he bore rule that they should make mourning for her: Cambyses, I say, being the son of this woman and of Cyrus, regarded the Ionians and Aiolians as slaves inherited from his father; and he proceeded to march an army against Egypt, taking with him as helpers not only the other nations of which he was the ruler, but also those of the Hellenes over whom he had power besides.

2. Now the Egyptians, before the time when Psammetichos became king over them, were wont to suppose that they had come into being first of all men; but since the time when Psammetichos having become king desired to know what men had come into being first, they suppose that the Phrygians came into being before themselves, but they themselves before all other men. Now Psammetichos, when he was not able by inquiry to find out any means of knowing who had come into being first of all men, contrived a device of the following kind:—Taking two new-born children belonging to persons of the common sort he gave them to a shepherd to bring up at the place where his flocks were, with a manner of bringing up such as I shall say, charging him namely that no man should utter any word in their presence, and that they should be placed by themselves in a room where none might come, and at the proper time he should bring to them she-goats, and when he had satisfied them with milk he should do for them whatever else was needed. These things Psammetichos did and gave him this charge wishing to hear what word the children would let break forth first, after they had ceased from wailings without sense. And accordingly so it came to pass; for after a space of two years had gone by, during which the shepherd went on acting so, at length, when he opened the door and entered, both the children fell before him in entreaty and uttered the word bekos, stretching forth their hands. At first when he heard this the shepherd kept silence; but since this word was often repeated, as he visited them constantly and attended to them, at last he declared the matter to his master, and at his command he brought the children before his face. Then Psammetichos having himself also heard it, began to inquire about what nation of men named anything bekos, and inquiring he found that the Phrygians had this name for bread. In this manner and guided by an indication such as this, the Egyptians were brought to allow that the Phrygians were a more ancient people than themselves.

3. That so it came to pass I heard from the priests of that Hephaistos who dwells at Memphis; but the Hellenes relate, besides many other idle tales, that Psammetichos cut out the tongues of certain women, and then caused the children to live with these women.

With regard then to the rearing of the children they related so much as I have said: and I heard also other things at Memphis when I had speech with the priests of Hephaistos. Moreover I visited both Thebes and Heliopolis for this very cause, namely because I wished to know whether the priests at these places would agree in their accounts with those at Memphis; for the men of Heliopolis are said to be the most learned in records of the Egyptians. Those of their narrations which I heard with regard to the gods I am not earnest to relate in full, but I shall name them only, because I consider that all men are equally ignorant of these matters: and whatever things of them I may record, I shall record only because I am compelled by the course of the story.

4. But as to those matters which concern men, the priests agreed with one another in saying that the Egyptians were the first of all men on earth to find out the course of the year, having divided the seasons into twelve parts to make up the whole; and this they said they found out from the stars: and they reckon to this extent more wisely than the Hellenes, as it seems to me, inasmuch as the Hellenes throw in an intercalated month every other year, to make the seasons right, whereas the Egyptians, reckoning the twelve months at thirty days each, bring in also every year five days beyond the number, and thus the circle of their seasons is completed and comes round to the same point whence it set out. They said moreover that the Egyptians were the first who brought into use appellations for the twelve gods and the Hellenes took up the use from them; and that they were the first who assigned altars and images and temples to the gods, and who engraved figures on stones; and with regard to the greater number of these things they showed me by actual facts that they had happened so. They said also that the first man who became king of Egypt was Min; and that in his time all Egypt except the district of Thebes was a swamp, and none of the regions were then above water which now lie below the lake of Moiris, to which lake it is a voyage of seven days up the river from the sea:

5, and I thought that they said well about the land; for it is manifest in truth even to a person who has not heard it beforehand but has only seen, at least if he have understanding, that the Egypt to which the Hellenes come in ships is a land which has been won by the Egyptians as an addition, and that it is a gift of the river: moreover the regions which lie above this lake also for a distance of three days’ sail, about which they did not go on to say anything of this kind, are nevertheless another instance of the same thing: for the nature of the land of Egypt is as follows:—First when you are still approaching it in a ship and are distant a day’s run from the land, if you let down a sounding-line you will bring up mud and will find yourself in eleven fathoms. This then so far shows that there is a silting forward of the land.

6. Then secondly, as to Egypt itself, the extent of it along the sea is sixty schoines, according to our definition of Egypt as extending from the Gulf of Plinthine to the Serbonian lake, along which stretches Mount Casion; from this lake then the sixty schoines are reckoned: for those of men who are poor in land have their country measured by fathoms, those who are less poor by furlongs, those who have much land by parasangs, and those who have land in very great abundance by schoines: now the parasang is equal to thirty furlongs, and each schoine, which is an Egyptian measure, is equal to sixty furlongs. So there would be an extent of three thousand six hundred furlongs for the coast-land of Egypt.

7. From thence and as far as Heliopolis inland Egypt is broad, and the land is all flat and without springs of water and formed of mud: and the road as one goes inland from the sea to Heliopolis is about the same in length as that which leads from the altar of the twelve gods at Athens to Pisa and the temple of Olympian Zeus: reckoning up you would find the difference very small by which these roads fail of being equal in length, not more indeed than fifteen furlongs; for the road from Athens to Pisa wants fifteen furlongs of being fifteen hundred, while the road to Heliopolis from the sea reaches that number completely.

8. From Heliopolis however, as you go up, Egypt is narrow; for on the one side a mountain-range belonging to Arabia stretches along by the side of it, going in a direction from North towards the midday and the South Wind, tending upwards without a break to that which is called the Erythraian Sea, in which range are the stone-quarries which were used in cutting stone for the pyramids at Memphis. On this side then the mountain ends where I have said, and then takes a turn back; and where it is widest, as I was informed, it is a journey of two months across from East to West; and the borders of it which turn towards the East are said to produce frankincense. Such then is the nature of this mountain-range; and on the side of Egypt towards Libya another range extends, rocky and enveloped in sand: in this are the pyramids, and it runs in the same direction as those parts of the Arabian mountains which go towards the midday. So then, I say, from Heliopolis the land has no longer a great extent so far as it belongs to Egypt, and for about four days’ sail up the river Egypt properly so called is narrow: and the space between the mountain-ranges which have been mentioned is plain-land, but where it is narrowest it did not seem to me to exceed two hundred furlongs from the Arabian mountains to those which are called the Libyan. After this again Egypt is broad.

9. Such is the nature of this land: and from Heliopolis to Thebes is a voyage up the river of nine days, and the distance of the journey in furlongs is four thousand eight hundred and sixty, the number of the schoines being eighty-one. If these measures of Egypt in furlongs be put together the result is as follows:—I have already before this shown that the distance along the sea amounts to three thousand six hundred furlongs, and I will now declare what the distance is inland from the sea to Thebes, namely six thousand one hundred and twenty furlongs: and again the distance from Thebes to the city called Elephantine is one thousand eight hundred furlongs.

10. Of this land then, concerning which I have spoken, it seemed to myself also, according as the priests said, that the greater part had been won as an addition by the Egyptians; for it was evident to me that the space between the aforesaid mountain-ranges, which

Reviews for The Histories Book 2

[cecrow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In the world's first history textbook (so to speak), Herodotus chronicles the wars between Persia and Greece - and so much more. As new historical figure or locales are introduced into the narrative, he frequently pauses to detail that person or place's history even when it has little bearing on the main event. The sum is a fascinating amalgam of fact and fiction: enough facts to provide an outline of the Greco-Persian Wars and the environs in which they took place, together with the people who carried it out; and enough fiction to add an aura of mythology to the undertakings, providing a challenge in prose to Homer's poetry.Inevitably the question arises of what to believe, so you'll want a good edition with footnotes or endnotes to help you parse it all. Herodotus' absurd description of a hippopotamus alone is enough to throw everything else into question, and that's just one of many examples. Whether he travelled as widely as his narrative implies, or saw with his own eyes as much as he claims, are open questions. There's also no telling how reliable his other sources were - something he gamely questions, but never enough to prevent him from sharing a good story. Expect some entertainment with your history.It's much easier reading than I'd assumed going in, and translator Aubrey de Selincourt's 1954 effort probably deserves the credit for making this such a compelling read. Even if you don't believe a word of what Herotodus says (although archeology has been able to back up quite a bit), the 'Father of History' still put together a great epic. For all that his effort is slandered, dating all the way back to ancient times, at least he gave it a shot and - most telling - none of his contemporaries ever tried to top him.

[mattries37315 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A generation had no living memory of the greatest danger that the Greeks had ever lived through, but one man decided to change all that and gift posterity with a new genre. The Histories written by Herodotus details 80 crucial years from the rise of the Persian Empire to the defeat the remnants of Xerxes expedition and the events that led to the latter.Using knowledge gleamed from extensive travel across the ancient world Herodotus begins his historical narrative by giving the ‘legendary’ encounters between the peoples of Europe and Asia before delving into the more ‘historical’ events that lead to Xerxes’ grand expedition. Herodotus details the history of the kingdom of Lydia that was the first to conquer populations of Greeks, those in western Anatolia, and how its great king Croesus lost his war to Cyrus the Great thus placing those same Greeks under the rule of Persia. The history of the Medes and their conquest by the Persians is related then the subsequent history of the Persian Empire until the Ionian revolt which led to the intervention of Athens and setting the stage for Darius expedition to Marathon. Intertwined with the rise of Persia was Herodotus relating the events within various Greek city-states, in particular Athens and Sparta, that contributed to the reasons for first Darius’ expedition and then to Xerxes’. Eventually his narrative would go back and forth between the two contending sides throughout the latter conflict as events unfolded throughout 480-479 BC.The sheer volume of material that Herodotus provides is impressive and daunting for a reader to consider. Not only does he cover the political and military events, but numerous past historical and general culture aspects as well as lot of biographies and antidotal digressions that add color to the overall piece. Given that this was the first history ever written it’s hard to really criticize Herodotus—though Thucydides apparently had no problem later—but some digressions I wish Herodotus had left out or not heard at all.The Histories by Herodotus is one of classic historical works that needs to be read by anyone who enjoys reading history. Whether or not you love the style of writing or even the topic, this book is important because it literally is the first history book.

[alexanme-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Most interesting I think if read as an originating piece of the theory of historiography, or as a divergent theory of historiography.

[samtekoa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's a classic it should be read. I'm guessing George Bush didn't read it otherwise he would have gotten in and out of Iraq faster. "Soft countries breed soft men." Cyrus

[crystallyn_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the most fascinating history books I've ever read. Herodotus tries his best at being unbiased and doesn't always succeed, which makes this history even more intriguing. That's forgivable, however, because this is really one of the world's earliest attempts at creating a book of history. Herodotus had no rules by which to write. So when he includes heresay and myth it makes the book all the more exciting.

[hhornblower_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fun, highly readable translation of a hugely historical work. It really made the world of over 2,000 years ago come alive. That being said, this isn't a book you burn through in a day or two. I'm a slow reader to begin with, but this took awhile to get through, referencing the copious notes and many pages of maps does slow one down.

[mkfs-354306 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Strangely compelling, for ancient history -- especially in this (de Selincourt) translation.

[maxernst11 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Knap historisch document.Inhoudelijk evenwichtige verdeling tussen actie en beschou?wing, maar met wel lange aanloop. In de compositie zitten soms vele, storende flashbacks en uitweidingen over allerlei details. Causaliteit: de grote mannen en hun hebzucht, eerzucht, moed en opoffering, maar ook dromen (voorspellende waarde), orakels (komen steeds uit), en ingrijpen van "God" (op 2-tal plaatsen als zeer ree?l omschreven, elders gesuggereerd). Het lot is op de achtergrond aanwezig, maar niet uitgesproken.Opmerkelijk is de licht bewonderende ondertoon bij de beschrijving van de verrichtingen van de Perzen, cfr vooral Cyrus; de Ioni?rs worden daarentegen als regelrecht uitschot omschreven, de Atheners zijn maar zo zo; over Sparta blijft Herodotus neutraal.

[lukerik-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rawlinson's translation is old fashioned, though perfectly serviceable and this edition lacks some of the critical apparatus some other editions have, but it was the way I discovred Herodotus so can't help loving it.

[thewasp_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book deserves "5 stars" for its historical importance. Unfortunately, my knowledge of this period is minimal and I often lost the thread of the narrative - this was not helped by Herodotus's fondness for digression. While some parts were a slog . ALL THOSE NAMES . Much was very interesting, although sometimes incredulous.

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

These are the reasons for the Persian invasions of Greece, in 490 and 481 -79 BCE, and the methods used to defeat them. A good deal about the Persians, not many Greeks being mentioned by name.Herodotus probably died about 429 BCE. He was a believer in setting out the evidence for a disputed point in the text, and sometimes left the reader little doubt as to which version of the facts he preferred. His account demonstrates an early stage in the development of historical methodology, and we are certainly much in his debt for his methods. I think he was the "Father of history" for his courage in placing alternatives before his readers.

[beholderess · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Herodotus paints a fascinating picture of the ancient world - full of colour and wonder. His wild (and I mean wild) inaccuracies only make him more enjoyable to read.

[fearless2012 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is often said that Herodotus is more pleasant to read than Thucydides, but I find that Herodotus is *only* pleasant compared to Thucydides. (7/10)

[sszkutak_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting and entertaining history book. For class we had to read sections regarding different ethnic groups and Herodotus does a wonderful job telling the reader about them. This was a suprisingly quicck read and kept my attention the whole way.

[floratina · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

READ IN DUTCH/GREEK

This was our final assignment in my Greek class. So I read passages in Greek, translating them in Dutch. Some of the stories of the Histories are very famous, but I'd never realised they came from Herodotus.

[paulagraph · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It took me a long time to get around to reading Herodotus (over 15 years) & a long time to read him once I did. Writing in the 5th century BC, Herodotus set the tone for much of Western history writing afterwards. Like that of the epic poets, his chronicle chiefly concerns rulers & wars. That said there are many interesting, even amusing, digressions regarding local customs, religious practices, gender relations, etc. For the lay reader (one with no particular knowledge of Western antiquity)confusion will reign in regards to names, locations & dates. Like its 20th century offspring, 100 Years of Solitude, names repeat over generations. We are talking sons of sons, etc. Sometimes Herodotus recites genealogies in a manner reminiscent of Genesis. There will be a place & a progenitor (sometimes that will be a god or human who consorts with a god). As for location, trying to pin down exactly what Greece might be is quite difficult as it seems to be a moving target depending on which city or island is in or out of the confederacy at any given time or depending on whether you are talking about Greeks as an ethnic group or as a political one. The maps included at the beginning of the Penguin Classics edition are only mildly helpful. I would have loved to be able to superimpose modern maps onto ancient ones & vice versa. Just getting a grip on what is Africa (not called such by Herodotus, but rather Egypt,Libya & Ethiopia/ Kush), what is Europe (the Bosphorus is key, although at times Europe seems to be elsewhere than Greece)& what is Asia (perhaps one of the reasons it is hard to get a grip on where Greece is is that Greeks are established also in Western Asia, in what we now call Sicily & southern Italy, as well as North Africa). In short there was a whole lot of mixing going on. A few things that I found quite remarkable in light of modern history are as follows: Herodotus never mentions race as we know it & only very rarely skin color or hair texture (& when he does it is primarily to note that the Ethiopians were considered to be the most perfect physical specimens of the human race, as well as the longest lived); Herodotus never mentions the Jews at all, whether as inhabitants of Judea or elsewhere, although Jews certainly were part of the Ancient World that he writes about-he does mention Palestine, but the Phoenicians & Assyrians seem to have been the most important players on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean ; although females are generally regarded as property throughout the world Herodotus reports on, some do have power & influence & occasionally, as in the case of the naval commander Artemesia, male positions. When women do assume gender-proscribed roles, Herodotus takes that in stride, as if it's to be expected & lauded, all the while the norm remains otherwise. Most of The Histories is taken up with the rise of the Persian Empire from Cyrus through Xerxes, along with some history of Egypt up until the defeat of Egypt by Cambyses in 525 when Egypt fell under Persian power. The book ends with the defeat of Xerxes by the Greeks (Athenians, Spartans & Allies)in 478.

[saturnloft · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Written in the 5th century BC, this is a fascinating snapshot of ancient Greek life and beliefs. Herodotus's narrative of the Persian War and the famous Spartan stand at Thermopylae are worth the price of admission alone, but where he really shines is in his many passages of sheer made up nonsense. For instance: his description of the hippopotamus - highly creative, highly wrong. Also, his ideas about the practices of other cultures are fairly ridiculous in some places, but this is what makes it so fun. He must have been a real hoot to hang out with, the kind of fellow who told fireside tales that kept listeners hanging on every improbable word."And there are these flying snakes, right?"Right, Herodotus, right.

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Knap historisch document.Inhoudelijk evenwichtige verdeling tussen actie en beschou¬wing, maar met wel lange aanloop. In de compositie zitten soms vele, storende flashbacks en uitweidingen over allerlei details. Causaliteit: de grote mannen en hun hebzucht, eerzucht, moed en opoffering, maar ook dromen (voorspellende waarde), orakels (komen steeds uit), en ingrijpen van "God" (op 2-tal plaatsen als zeer reeël omschreven, elders gesuggereerd). Het lot is op de achtergrond aanwezig, maar niet uitgesproken.Opmerkelijk is de licht bewonderende ondertoon bij de beschrijving van de verrichtingen van de Perzen, cfr vooral Cyrus; de Ioniërs worden daarentegen als regelrecht uitschot omschreven, de Atheners zijn maar zo zo; over Sparta blijft Herodotus neutraal.

[helenliz_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

 I loved this, it kept me gripped right the way through the 4 volume edition I borrowed from the library. He sets out to tell the history for the Persian wars, only he gets a bit sidetracked! Takes a whole book to describe Egypt, for example. Full of action, fine descriptions of places and tells tales. And he's so interested in anything and everything that it is full of little details, a real magpie of a mind at work. I can quite see how he comes to be called the father of history and the first writer of literature, because this doesn't actually fall into either category neatly - it is probably best described as a history embroidered with literature. It isn't all entirely factual, the men with eyes in their chests probably never existed, except in heresay, but that's how he gained his information - visit places and ask everyone about what's just over the horizon.

[booksontrial · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Herodotus was hailed as "The Father of History" by Cicero; To me, he might as well be the Father of Humanism.

I've read a few war epics, Homer's Iliad, Hugo's Les Misérables and Tolstoy's War and Peace, The Histories excels them all in terms of scope, structure, richness of content, intricacy and theatrical grandeur. The main theme / storyline is the Persian Wars, i.e., the conflicts between the Persian Empire and Greek nations, culminating in the invasion of Greece by Xerces I; the underlying theme is the struggle between tyranny and freedom, between the inexorability of fate and the triumph of the human spirit.

Like threads in a beautiful Persian tapestry, Herodotus weaves together numerous elements in his narratives, the histories and geographies of the many nations in Asia and Europe, the customs, cultures and achievements of the peoples, the remarkable characters and lives of individuals, and the oracles foreshadowing their fates, from kings to slaves, heroes and thieves, men, women and children, their words and deeds all distinct and memorable.

Some accused Herodotus of making up fanciful stories rather than recording the facts. I'm reminded of Thomas Mann's comment on War and Peace, "Seldom did art work so much like nature; its immediate, natural power is only another manifestation of nature itself; " If the best art is but a manifestation or imitation of nature, why make up stories when the facts themselves are much more wondrous and glorious?

You live many lives when you read this book. A masterpiece.

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found this interesting and amusing to read, but by the time I reached Book Six, I was finished. Not being a scholar, I feel no compulsion to finish, having read enough to know who Herodotus was, how he wrote and what he wrote about. At this point in my life, I believe I would prefer a straight forward history with lots of photographs and detailed maps.

[datrappert · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My Barnes & Noble edition read well and I soon sunk into the magic of Herodotus's history of the Persian Wars (and whatever else was on his mind!) A better read than Thucydides.

[tara714 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a really great read! I don't know if it was the translation and the way Herodotus actually wrote, but it felt like he was there having a conversation with you. A must read for anyone interested in ancient history, especially the persian conquests. Word of advice though, read the notes as you are reading the book. I didn't do that, but I wish I did. Next time I read it I will.

[thrama_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

for many years, this has been my bedside book; I could always pick it up and read a story or two at random when I woke in the night. It is full of wonderful stories. I am now using Ammianus in much the same way; his is a little more serious but with robin seager's studies on the side, Ammianus doesn't need to be read strictly in order in the usual way. At any rate, I find it more fun this way.

[riskedom · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I suppose we don't need another review of such a well known work, but since I just finished rereading it I thought I might put down some thoughts. For one, here is a book whose tangents tend to be its most redeeming qualities. Everytime Herodotus goes off storyline, my mind gets more engaged rather than less engaged. This I find to be quite a unique feature. A condensed version of Herodotus, say with only main points about the rise of the Persian Empire and the Persian War would be not nearly as interesting and possibly not worth rereading unless you were a professional historian.

[rboyechko_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Definitely a must read for anyone interested in ancient history. There is no doubt that much of the book is fiction, yet it's great for what it is.

[meditationesmartini · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Father of History? Not in the modern sense of the word, and certainly he wasn’t the first to desire to record great deeds for prosperity. “Father of Lies”? Maybe according to some lights, but how douchey to call him that. No, Herodotus’s tale-spinning is as accurate for my purposes as Thucydides’s conscientious citing of sources, because they both make history great. Which is all I’m in it for—good times. And Herodotus gives us Marathon and Thermopylae and Salamis and Plataea, and tells us a story about mighty events with bluff Greek heroes and moustache-twirling Persian villains (the degeneration of the Persian royal house from Cyrus to Xerxes is one of humanity’s great decline-and-fall narratives), and one that may occasionally self-contradict and not dot its t’s, but it doesn’t matter, because it’s powerful and plausible and we WANT it to be the way it was. Herodotus is the Father of Wonder, here deployed in the service of the narrative, so we say “Amazing! They truly were the Greatest Generation.”

And that’s not all that Herodotus gives us. When he leaves his central story behind, which is often, he becomes the father of geography, ethnography, anthropology and much more besides. And he does it with such joyful savoir faire, all of it, the true and the false and the how could you possibly say. Without him we wouldn’t have the Scythian corpse sculptures, or the great birds from whose nests the Arabs pluck cinnamon bark, which comes from parts unknown. We wouldn’t have the Androphagi, or the man who had his son served up to him at banquet, or the people who eat their compeers when they reach the ripe old age, and in general we would have no idea how totally absurdly rife with cannibalism the non-Greek world is, which would be to our disadvantage. (We also wouldn’t have a hundred instances of horrible and unnecessary death inflicted by humans on their fellows to remind us just how awful these ancients could turn at the drop of an oracular censer.) And that is just as important as the story of the seven conspirators and the rise of Darius, or of the relationship that sprung up between Cyrus and Croesus the king of Libya, the crotchety guardian angel for all his captor’s endeavours. Or the Spartans throwing the envoys in the well, or "come and get them!" or “if their arrows block out the sun, then at least we’ll be fighting in the shade!” (We certainly wouldn’t have the movie 300, is what I’m saying.) It’s a different kind of wonder that the epideictic sort of above: it’s what the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows called:

"la cuna, n. a twinge of sadness that there’s no frontier left, that as the last explorer trudged with his armies toward a blank spot on the map, he didn’t suddenly remember his daughter’s upcoming piano recital and turn for home, leaving a new continent unexplored so we could set its mists and mountains aside as a strategic reserve of mystery, if only to answer more of our children’s questions with "Nobody knows! Out there, anything is possible.'"

And so the wonder of the unexplored-becoming-explored contends with sadness; and the wonder of great deeds too contends with the sorrow of a life that always threatens to turn brutsih and short, where wonder is temporary and suffering is infinite. There is that stunning, gut-wrenching conversation between Xerxes andhis uncle Artabanus as they sit by the Hellespont watching the construction of the pontoon bridge, ready to invade Europe and inflict unthinkable horror on millions.

And Xerxes looks over his war mans in rows like waves and starts to cry. And he explains:

"I was overcome with pathos, sadness at the thought that even among all these thousands of men I behold, in one hundred years, not one will be alive."

And his wise uncle Artabanus, the only one to advise against the invasion (until some prophetic dreams scared him into error) and a model for uncles everywhere, replies:

"In one’s life we have deeper sorrows to bear than that. Short as our lives are, there is no human being either here or elsewhere so fortunate that it will not occur to him, often and not just once, to wish himself dead rather than alive. For misfortunes fall upon us and sicknesses trouble us, so that they make this life, for all its shortness, seem long."

It is to weep, non? But at least--Zeus be praised--there are those moments of Wonder; and Herodotus is their Father.

[gbill_7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's been awhile since I read it, but I absolutely loved this book at the time, and in picking it up recently I still find it fascinating. "The Histories" culminates in Xerxes invasion of Greece, but before doing so sets the stage by providing a history of Lydia, Egypt, the Persian empire under Darius, and of course Athens and Sparta. The book is absolutely chock-full of interesting events, culture, and perspectives that are either long gone ("Until their fifth year they are not allowed to come into the sight of their father, but pass their lives with the women. This is done that, if the child die young, the father may not be inflicted by its loss"), or just as true today, 2000+ years later ("No one is so foolish as to prefer war to peace, in which, instead of sons burying their fathers, fathers bury their sons.") It's hard to do the book justice in a review; as I flip through it there is just way too much to extract. The section on Egypt with accounts of the building of the pyramids and mummification was wonderful, as were the classic stories of the Persian invasions into Greece. By the way, forget the awful movie "300" which tells of Thermopylae, read Herodotus!Many have drawn attention to the fact that in some cases the "History" provided is almost certainly not factual and plays between reality and lore. Herodotus is often criticized for this but I found the book all the more interesting as a result. To those who would harp on this point, I would recall Mark Twain's comment about history and question how much else of what we read as "history" is a truly objective recounting of events. :-) I am also reminded of a coincidence that occurred as I read Herodotus for the first time: I came across an article in Time Magazine that explained the discovery of the giant gold-digging "ants" he described in modern-day Pakistan, which turned out to be marmots, and indeed burrowed in gold-bearing soil. The translation by Rawlinson is superb, as are the footnotes provided with the text. I highly recommend this particular version of the "The Histories". One quote for the road; Xerxes while watching his massive army on the move: "'There came upon me', replied he, ' a sudden pity, when I thought of the shortness of man's life, and considered that of all this host, so numerous as it is, not one will be alive when a hundred years are gone by.'"

[pickwick817 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have this in two volumes. I give the first a 5-star rating and the second a 3 to 4 star rating. The first was very interesting because it described the way of life in the parts of the world Herodotus had vistied as it was 2500 years ago and earlier. The second described Persian invasions of Greece during his lifetime. Very detailed, a little slow. Now I want to see the movie "300".

[rccarol · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Who am I to write a review of Herodotus’ The Histories? I am not a classicist, a historian, or a scholar. I wouldn’t know the difference between translations, which one is “most true” to the original, which one provides the most accurate analysis of the texts and its accuracies and inaccuracies. So, I have decided that the only way I could review this book is to express how readable it is for a non-scholar who wants to read one of the most ancient of histories, of a time and place far removed from our own, about alien cultures and beliefs, and a complicated war between the ancient Greeks and Persians. The only reason I read this version is that when I mentioned to my brother once that I had never really read any of the Greek historians, he said I had to read this one and then loaned me his copy. It took me a couple of years, but I finally got around to it. And I found that what he told me is true. The Histories is extremely readable and interesting. Herodotus spent a lot of time giving a background of the conflict, and mixes the historical with what we would call the mystical or fantastic. A lot of time is spent describing the cultures of the Egyptians, the Persians, and the various Greek city-states. If I forgot the significance of a name, I could just look him (rarely a her) in the index, where a short description could be found. If I became confused about where the Thracians were from, I could look at several helpful maps in the back.There were several times that I became overwhelmed by the details (I guess I didn’t appreciate knowing what colors and costumes each people wore during battles). I also had difficulty following from one battle to another, but I’m not sure if that was the fault of the text.I therefore recommend this for the casual, armchair historian who just wants to learn more about the ancient Greeks while reading a good story. I suspect the book would also work for the more serious scholar who wants to study the text.