New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars. Upset by the results of thermopylae, the greek fleet wants to retreat. Greek text with facing vocabulary and commentary, 2nd ed. Herodotus became the first person we know of to see the past in new and fresh waysnot as a distant recess shrouded in legend and rumor, but as something that lies close at hand. After a short digression on thracian customs, herodotus tells us about megabazus conquest of thrace and the ensuing submission of eastern macedonia. Oct 04, 20 herodotuss histories dealt with the clash of civilisations east v west. Herodotus was an ancient greek historian who was born in halicarnassus, caria modernday bodrum, turkey and lived in the fifth century bce c. Jul 01, 2001 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. According to these same logioi of the persians, herodotus goes on to say, it was the phoenicians who had once abducted a heroine named io from the greek city of argos and brought her to egypt 1. Herodotus was an ancient greek historian who lived in the fifth century bc c. He lived in the fifth century bc and was a contemporary of socrates. Woods, for example, in his edition of the first book published in 1873 gives a list of readings for the first and second books, in which he almost invariably prefers the authority. One of the masterworks of western civilization from the ancient greek author. Herodotus was a greek writer and geographer credited with being the first historian.
Hide browse bar your current position in the text is marked in blue. Thus although the author of the life may be guessing or using the traditional method of dating by floruit at age forty, a life span of about 485425 fits the. All search options view abbreviations home collectionstexts perseus catalog. He is known for having written the book the histories greek. Being the second book of the famous history of herodotus london. A comprehensively revised and updated guide to books iiv of herodotus. Translator tom holland argues that the father of history is not only hugely entertaining but has an amazing capacity to.
The histories was at some point divided into the nine books that appear in modern editions, conventionally named after the nine. Herodotus 1 greek and latin texts with facing vocabulary. I also recommend the excellent introduction and the translation provided by david. We are a nonprofit organization and we would rather spend the money on our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Each subsequent generation of historians has sought to use his text and to measure. List of books and articles about herodotus online research. Greek and roman historiography and related genres, edited by jakub pigon this book first published 2008 cambridge scholars publishing 12 back chapman street, newcastle upon tyne, ne6 2xx, uk british library cataloguing in publication data a catalogue record for this book is available from the british library.
This work has been summarized using the university of chicago edition transl. With lucid prose, herodotus s account of the rise of the persian empire and its dramatic war with the greek city. The history of herodotus book i the first book of the histories, called clio this is the showing forth of the inquiry of herodotus of halicarnassos, to the end that1 neither the deeds of men may be forgotten by lapse of time, nor the works2 great and marvellous, which have been produced some by hellenes and some by barbarians, may. The history of herodotus volume 1 by herodotus free ebook. Herodotuss subject in his history is the wars between greece and persia 499479 bce and their preliminaries.
Online books about this author are available, as is a wikipedia article herodotus. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. During the space of eightandtwenty years, as i have before mentioned, the. From the editor of the widely praised the landmark thucydides, a new landmark edition of the histories by herodotus cicero called herodotus the father of history, and his only work, the histories, is considered the first true piece of historical writing in western literature. In this eight volume collection on the persian wars, greek historian herodotus, the father of history, gives a cultured and firsthand examination of the ancient world surrounding the rise and rule of the persian empire alongside a concise history and cultural background of scythia and egypt. Simultaneously, it tells the story of the growth of the persian empire. Only scant knowledge of his life can be gleaned from his writings and from references to him by later writings, notably the suda.
Delineating herodotus s appropriation of homeric language and ideology, for example, is accorded just as much importance as evaluating the historical accuracy of herodotus s narrative. He has been called the father of history, as well as the father of lies. Few history books since can compare for sheer drama with herodotuss narrative of the persian invasions of greece. Herodotus books list of books by author herodotus thriftbooks. By contrast, as herodotus emphasizes, the greek version of the myth is different. Almasy keeps this book with him everywhere he goes, a fat volume that could explode at any moment like george costanzas wallet. This classic series represents the western canon not without academic controversy.
Books viix contain the history of the wars, culminating in an account of the. The earliest writings in prose had been the work of a group of. Herodotuss account of the persian wars of 481479bc takes six books out of nine or 300odd pages of robin waterfields excellent english translation even to. He traveled along the coast of asia minor to the northern islands and to the shore of the black sea. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus by. His invention earned him the title the father of history. Melpomene after the taking of babylon, an expedition was led by darius into scythia.
The histories also known as the history of herodotus is considered the founding work of history in western literature. Online books about this author are available, as is a wikipedia article. Herodotus search for documents in search only in herodotus. Mar 27, 2018 please help us cover our server costs for this year. Books iv describe the background to the grecopersian wars. The histories of herodotus, completed in the second half of the 5th century bc, is generally regarded as the first work of history and the first great masterpiece of nonfiction writing. The latest volumes of the great books include some women writers, but they are still definitely underrepresented. Herodotus, who spent much of his life traveling, was one of the most erudite historians of his time. Gregory nagy, herodotus and the logioi of the persians. But herodotus was the first not only to record the past but also to treat it as a philosophical problem, or research project, that could yield knowledge of human behavior. So its fitting that, through herodotus book, the english patient reveals his own history. We personally assess every book s quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. In order to strip the skull of its covering, he makes a cut round the head above the ears, and, laying hold of the scalp, shakes the skull out. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus.
See all books authored by herodotus, including the histories, and the histories. A commentary on herodotus books iiv hardcover david. But unlike georges wallet, which is filled with junk hell never use, almasys book is filled with keepsakes. The persian wars loeb classical library volume iii. We do not know what sources herodotus had available to him as he tried to put together a depiction of croesus and his reign. Histories, by herodotus, is an ancient greek text that tells the history of the wars between greece and persia. The introduction in addition to containing the usual accounts of herodotuss life and times, an overview of his style and techniques as an authorhistorian, a very brief reckoning of the manuscripts, and an analysis of the major themes, characters, and events of book ix also includes a concise guide to herodotuss ionic dialect, giving. In the lifetime of herodotus the writing of history, and indeed of prose of any sort, was still something of a novelty. Herodotus has a wonderful, gossipy style that makes reading these histories more fun than studying the rise of the persian empire and its clash with greecehowever, thats exactly what readers will do in this engaging history, which is full of interesting digressions and asides. Clio these are the researches of herodotus of halicarnassus, which he publishes, in the hope of thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of what men have done, and of preventing the great and wonderful actions of the greeks and the barbarians from losing their due meed of glory. The histories was at some point divided into the nine books that appear in modern editions, conventionally named after the. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Herodotus is not only the father of the art and the science of historical writing but.
Readers who are interested in herodotus from either a literary critical angle or from a historical angle will therefore both find useful material in this commentary. Herodotuss histories dealt with the clash of civilisations east v west. Herodotus, one of the earliest and greatest of western prose authors, set out in the late fifth century bc to describe the world as he knew it its peoples and their achievements, together with the causes and course of the great wars that brought the greek cities into conflict with the empires of the near east. Asia abounding in men, and vast sums flowing into the treasury, the desire seized him to exact vengeance from the scyths, who had once in days gone by invaded media, defeated those who met them in the field, and so begun the quarrel. It is in part a gripping and much revered tale of colossal confrontation between freedomloving greekspeaking peoples the athenians, spartans, and others and the seemingly unstoppable forces of the persians. After herodotus died, editors divided his histories into nine books.
I managed to get through volume one and someday may take on volume two. 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 wellconstructed and vivid narrative. Herodotus account of the grecopersian wars was the only book he ever wrote. This is a thoroghly enjoyable and entertaining book, a must read in the western canon. Written from the 450s to the 420s bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, they serve as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known around the mediterranean and western asia at that time. All search options view abbreviations home collectionstexts perseus catalog research grants open source about help. Jan 02, 2009 herodotus s account of the persian wars of 481479bc takes six books out of nine or 300odd pages of robin waterfields excellent english translation even to begin on the battle of marathon.
Numbers provided in square brackets or parentheses refer to the page numbers in this edition. Herodotus was a greek historian widely referred to as the father of history. Few history books since can compare for sheer drama with herodotus s narrative of the persian invasions of greece. Herodotus portrays the conflict as one between the forces of slavery the persians on the one hand, and freedom the athenians and the confederacy of greek citystates which united against the invaders on the other. Written in 440 bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, the histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known in western asia, northern. As it has survived, the history is divided into nine books the division is not the authors. Greek and roman arabic germanic 19thcentury american renaissance richmond times italian poetry. July 20 this link contains a free pdf copy of herodotus book i.
His accounts of the great battles of marathon and thermopylae, of salamis and plataea, retain. Herodotus, greek author of the first great narrative history produced in the ancient world, the history of the grecopersian wars. A major figure in greek history, he was the first historian known to have broken from homeric tradition to treat historical subjects as a method of investigation. A commentary on herodotus books iiv david asheri, alan lloyd, and aldo corcella edited by oswyn murray and and alfonso moreno. Bc, greek historian, called the father of history, b. The histories, which is the oldest history book in western civilization, was completed around 425 b. Gyges, ardys, sadyattes ii, alyattes and finally, his son croesus who we look at in some detail. To read the history herodotus only book is to seek ones roots as a member of western democratic civilization. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. An invaluable resource for the study of one of the greatest, and earliest, western prose writers. Herodotus counts by generations, for example the kings of the mermnads dynasty, ruling from c. Life of the greek historian herodotus of halicarnassos.