Herodotus: Volume 1

by Rosaria Vignolo Munson

Overview

Herodotus' Histories is a fascinating account of the interactions between the Greeks and their powerful Near-Eastern neighbours. In it he explores the long-term causes for the Persian invasions of Greece in the early fifth century BCE, a momentous event both for the development of Greek civilization and for the beginnings of historiography, and traces the rise of the Persians as rulers of a large multi-ethnic empire whose lands and cultures are vividly described. This first surviving history is a tapestry of brilliant and entertaining narratives, but it also addresses profoundly serious concerns, such as the advantages and failings of different forms of government, the role of religion and morality in public life, and encounters with different cultures.

This collection — the first of two volumes — is dedicated to the historical component of the Histories and includes important previously published essays, some translated into English for the first time, which discuss Herodotus' historical method, sources, narrative art, literary antecedents, intellectual background, and political ideology. The introduction contains an account of Herodotus' life and times, as well as a survey of recent scholarship designed as a guide for contextualizing the selected articles according to the range of approaches they represent.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199587575
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/15/2013
Series:	Oxford Readings in Classical Studies
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Rosaria Munson is Professor of Classics at Swarthmore College where she has been teaching since 1990.

Table of Contents

IntroductionAntecedents, Sources, Credibility, and iHistorie/i1. The Place of Herodotus in the History of Historiography, Arnaldo Momigliano2. Herodotus and His Contemporaries, Robert L. FowlerHerodotus and Oral Tradition3. The stories before the Histories: Folktale and Traditional Narrative in Herodotus, Nino Luraghi4. Oral Tradition in Herodotus, J. A. S. Evans5. Herodotus and Delphic Traditions about Croesus, Harriet FlowerCausation, Patterning, and the Meaning of History6. Aspects of Historical Causation in Herodotus, Henry Immerwahr7. Herodotean Historiographical Patterning: the Constitutional Debate, Donald Lateiner8. Herodotean Kings and Historical Inquiry, Matthew R. ChristNarratology9. Narratological Aspects of the Histories of Herodotus, Irene F. D. De JongThe Uses of History10. Herodotus and Periclean Athens, Hermann Strasburger11. Herodotus Perspective, Charles W. Fornara12. Herodotus and the Athenian iArche/i, Philip A. StadterLook at his End13. Protesilaos and the End of Herodotus Histories, Deborah Boedeker14. Wanton Kings, Pickled Heroes, and Gnomic Founding Fathers: Strategies of Meaning at the End of Herodotus' Histories, Carolyn DewaldBibliography of Works CitedAcknowledgementsIndex