The histories, were divided into nine books, named after the nine muses. Full audio books for everyone earns money off of the above links. At the beginning of the histories, herodotus sets out his reasons for writing it. The histories herodotus translated by george rawlinson book 1 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. The biblical writers borrowed from it to create characters such as the judges samson. Candaules offers his servant gyges a chance to peep at his wife. The history of herodotus, volume 1 by herodotus full. This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. The english patient study guide chapter iv, page 2. Herodotus was a greek writer and geographer credited with being the first historian. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Greek researcher, often called the worlds first historian.
I really enjoyed this book because it is the first book of history ever written by man. Its centrepiece is the unexpected but crucial greek naval victory at salamis. Book i 299k book ii 249k book iii 221k book iv 230k book v 162k book vi 174k book vii 286k book viii 179k. Power of vast thracian nation limited by disunity 3. Herodotus s history is an account of the grecopersian wars 499479 bce and the story of the growth and organization of the persian empire.
His description of the tribes in the sahara belongs to the most reliable parts of his histories. Prior to that were the illiad and the oddyse by homer during the 700s b. Herodotus the great greek historian was born about 484 bce, at halicarnassus in caria, asia minor, when it was subject to the persians. Herodotus covers the empires geography, social structure, and history before describing the events which led to xerxes invasion of greece and the greek citystates uniting to defeat his army. The quarrel over succession by two of darius sons, artabazanes and xerxes 2. The father of history24 lectures, 30 minuteslecturecourse n. The history of herodotus, volume 2 by herodotus project gutenberg. Herodotus, the histories, book 1, chapter 1, section 0. But herodotus himself is much more interesting than the logistics that bring him to us, as im sure dr. Histiaeus goes to sardis, where artaphrenes accuses him of being the author of the ionian revolt 1.
In this stylish and insightful book, intended for both general readers and students, james romm argues that the author of the histories was both a historianin the original sense of one who inquiresand a master storyteller. In the histories, he describes the expansion of the achaemenid empire under its kings cyrus the great, cambyses, and darius i the great, culminating in xerxes expedition to greece 480 bce, which met with disaster in the naval engagement at salamis and the battles at plataea and mycale. In each of these instances of reading, the characters use books to inform their own lives and to connect to another place or. Greek soldiers from almost every city gather on the isthmus and then march to eleusis in the northeast, where they have a rendezvous with the athenian. His invention earned him the title the father of history. The first book of the histories, called clio this is the showing forth of the inquiry of herodotus of halicarnassos, to the end that 1 neither the deeds of men may be forgotten by lapse of time, nor the works 2 great and marvellous, which have been produced some by hellenes and some by barbarians, may lose their renown.
According to the suda, herodotus learned the ionian dialect as a boy living on the island of samos, to which he had fled with his family from the. 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. Consider for example his opening statement in the beginning of the book. Herodotus was an ancient greek historian who lived in the fifth century bc c. 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.
I hope i havent scared away anyone that is thinking about reading the book because of the length of time i tookit really doesnt take an entire season and then some to read it. Download and read online for free herodotus by herodotus. Being the second book of the famous history of herodotus london. The history of herodotus by herodotus, part of the internet classics archive. Contents start reading text zipped herodotus 484ca.
The greeks appointed to serve in the fleet were these. 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. The history of herodotus by herodotus written 440 b. He travelled widely in most of asia minor, egypt as far as assuan, north africa, syria, the country north of the black sea, and many parts. The histories of herodotus of halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in western literature. After the ten sacred horses came the holy chariot of jupiter, drawn by eight. Herodotus by herodotus at the best online ebook storage. Herodotus has 364 books on goodreads with 123029 ratings. To read the history herodotus only book is to seek ones roots as a. 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. To read the history herodotus only book is to seek ones roots as a member of western democratic civilization. But herodotus himself is much more interesting than the logistics that bring him to. I wanted to spend a minute on the different editions i have read. I didnt intend to spend so much time on the histories but i am glad i did.
Book 1 book 2 book 3 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8 book 9. Histiaeus flees to chios, where he is accepted after initial mistrust 2. Book viii of herodotus histories covers the early part of the unsuccessful invasion of greece by xerxes, king of persia. This edition provides all the help required by a reader with little experience of greek. In its first logos, we witness the naval engagement on the sea between aphetae and artemisium. Herodotus claims to have traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book, almost all of which covers territories of the persian empire. The statue of herodotus in his hometown of halicarnassus, modern bodrum, turkey. Online books about this author are available, as is a wikipedia article herodotus.
Histories of herodotus, book 7 iran chamber society. Selections from thucydides books 26 and herodotus books 8 and 9. Find summaries for every chapter, including a histories chapter summary chart to help you understand the book. The history of herodotus has been divided into the following sections. Herodotus, widely known as the father of history, was also described by aristotle as a mythologos, or taleteller. Herodotus wrote his histories in the ionian dialect, yet he was born in halicarnassus, which was a dorian settlement. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek index. I wont say much about the former, not having read this book in greek, other than noting that this translation read well, footnotes were helpful, and the maps at the end were mostly useful as well.
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