Genealogy Books - The Histories (Penguin Classics)

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Summary: One of the most entertaining history books ever written.
Comment: Herodotus' Histories have come down to us after two and a half millennia for a reason: they're
entertaining and hard to ignore. Whereas Thucydides and Polybius, among many other BCE historians,
took it upon themselves to write a specific narrative, Herodotus showed his curiosity for knowledge
of all things by writing down everything he could about the peoples he spoke of. For example, he
gives a descriptive account of the Nile and its animals when he gives a narrative of events in
Egypt, adding many things that modern historians would leave to the fields of biology, geography,
religion, or just plain superstitious rumor. He says it best himself: "My business is to record what
people say, but I am by no means bound to believe it - and that may be taken to apply to this book
as a whole."

Even if Herodotus' stories and observations are ridiculous by today's
standards, they are no less amusing and no less insightful into what the Greeks thought at his time.

The books are split up basically that Book I is the account of Cyrus the Persian king,
Books II through IV are events around the Mediterranean and the reign of King Darius of Persia, and
Books V through IX are the account of the war between Greece and Persia that will be of particular
interest to fans of the movie 300 or of Sparta/Thermopylae in general. Whether or not this is your
reason for picking up the book, though, I would recommend it for anyone with an interest in history
because this is where it all began in Europe, and it's not the least bit dry.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Clear, concise prose
Comment: I found this translation eminently readable. While I agree that the use of endnotes rather than
footnotes leads to inefficient turning of pages, the substantive content of the notes added a great
deal of context to the translation as a whole and made for an enjoyable and educational read.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Father of History
Comment: This book is required for anyone interested in historiography or history generally. I will keep my
comments brief:

1. One of the first known writing of history.
2. A comprehensive
study of the then known world (though there are errors and problems in it).
3. All scholars of
history have to read it.
4. All scholars of the ancient world have to read it.
5. Want
to study the ancient world? - You must read this book.
6. Want to study the history of Western
or world civilization? - You must read this book.

These are my opinions. Having said
the foregoing, like most any work of history, there are errors in it, and it also has a mythological
outlook (action or agency by the gods), and other flaws. See my review of Thucydides, History of
the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides corrected some of the "errors" of Herodotus' outlook on how
historical events are influenced by unseen agents (like gods). If you are studying how history was
written over time, you should start with Herodotus. I do not believe his work is excellent from an
historical-fact point of view. It is however instructive on historical methods used at the time -
at least used by him - who is known as the "father of history," and as the base starting point when
studying the evolution of how human history is written, and has improved over time. If you have to
choose between reading Herodotus and Thucydides, read Thucydides.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Unmissable, eminently readable classic
Comment: `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. 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.

Customer Rating:

Summary: His story and history - Herodotus' view on his world.
Comment: I always loved history in school, so it seems a bit strange that I'm finally coming back to read
some actual documents that were written in the time periods I'm interested in. I picked up this
version of "The Histories" at a museum, after spending the day looking at ancient Greek and Roman
artifacts. I didn't really know what to expect.

What I discovered was a grand set of
stories about different cultures in the ancient world. I wasn't expecting to delve into the folk
lore of Egypt, the kingdoms of the Scythians, or the creation of the Persian Empire. I did get more
of what I expected as well: stories of the Greek city states banding together to face the Persians,
and the causes of this epic conflict. On top of all that, I also got a bunch of mythic stories,
tales of oracles, even a bit of information about Heracles that I was never privy too. Herodotus
takes many different elements that would be outside of a modern history and weaves them all together
and in a compelling fashion. The block of history he chooses to examine is also presented in a way
to fits his thematic ideas of destiny, conflict and hubris. His stories illustrate his views and
inform at the same time.

Of course as a modern reader, I began to seriously doubt some
of his claims (even without the notes). But I soon got over the idea of reading a true history.
After all, what history written by any person could be "true"? As long as a writer has a
perspective, there will always be bias in the writing. Instead, I enjoyed the stories that were
being told.

This version of the book includes a clean and easy to read translation by
Aubrey De Selincourt. In addition there is an excellent introduction by John Marincola that
explains a bit about Herodotus and points out some of the themes of the work. There are extensive
notes at the end of the book, which will require at least two bookmarks (one for the place you are
reading and one for your spot in the notes). These notes give a bit more information either
provided by modern authors, later ancient authors, or archeological evidence. There is an
extensive list of books for additional reading, a time line of events covered in the book, a list of
the kings of key countries, a glossary, a table of monetary values and four maps. The maps are very
helpful, but not as detailed as I wish they could be. The notes often point out other books with
more detailed maps (especially of battle sites).

All in all, this was a great book for
a first time reader of ancient history by an ancient historian. I definitely recommend this edition
to anyone looking to jump into ancient Greek history. Just know going in that this is Herodotus'
version of events.

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