Histories

by Herodotus, James Romm, Pamela Mensch (Translator)

Overview

'No one is fool enough to choose war instead of peace – in peace sons bury fathers, but in war fathers bury sons’

One of the masterpieces of classical literature, the Histories describes how a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city states united to repel the might of the Persian empire. But while this epic struggle forms the core of his work, Herodotus’ natural curiosity frequently gives rise to colourful digressions – a description of the natural wonders of Egypt; an account of European lake-dwellers; and far-fetched accounts of dog-headed men and gold-digging ants. With its kaleidoscopic blend of fact and legend, the Histories offers a compelling Greek view of the world of the fifth century BC.

This celebrated translation of The Histories has been extensively revised and includes an updated bibliography, chronology, glossary and additional notes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781624661686
Publisher:	Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
Publication date:	03/15/2014
Series:	Hackett Classics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	584
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Few facts are known about the life of Herodotus. He was born around 490 BC in Halicarnassus, on the south-west coast of Asia Minor. He seems to have travelled widely throughout the Mediterranean world, including Egypt, Africa, the area around the Black Sea and throughout many Greek city-states, of both the mainland and the islands. A sojourn in Athens is part of the traditional biography, and there he is said to have given public readings of his work and been friends with the playwright Sophocles. He is said also to have taken part in the founding of the colony of Thurii in Italy in 443 BC. He probably died at some time between 415 and 410 BC. His reputation has varied greatly, but for the ancients and many moderns he well deserves the title (first given to him by Cicero) of ‘the Father of History’.

John Marincola was born in Philadelphia in 1954, and was educated at Swarthmore College, the University of Pennsylvania, and Brown University. He has taught at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, and at Union College in New York, and is currently an Associate Professor of Classics at New York University. From 1997 to 1999 he was Executive Director of the American Philological Association, and in 1999-2000 he was a Junior Fellow at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, DC. He is the author of Authority and Tradition in Ancient Historiography (Cambridge, 1997), Greek Historians (Greece and Rome New Surveys in the Classics 31, Oxford 2001), and of several articles on the Greek and Roman historians. He is currently at work on a book on Hellenistic historiography.

Read an Excerpt

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Table of Contents

The HistoriesPreface
Introduction
1. Herodotus' Life and Work
2. The Subject-Matter of The Histories
3. Herodotus' sources and Metho Histories
4. Structure and Themes in The Histories
5. Herodotus' Later Reputation

Further Reading
A Note on the Text
Maps

Herodotus The Histories
Book One
Book Two
Book Three
Book Four
Book Five
Book Six
Book Seven
Book Eight
Book Nine

Glossary
Structural Outline
Chronology
Abbreviations
Notes
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“De Sélincourt’s pacy, natural-sounding, rendering, as superbly revised and annotated by John Marincola…was a game-changer…still reads freshly and is a bestseller six decades after its first publication.”
—Edith Hall,  Times Literary Supplement

Editorial Reviews

De Sélincourt’s pacy, natural-sounding, rendering, as superbly revised and annotated by John Marincola…was a game-changer…still reads freshly and is a bestseller six decades after its first publication.”
—Edith Hall,  Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher

David Timson’s performance makes the Greek historian Herodotus a character, not just the narrator of his histories. He sounds like an amiable, garrulous uncle—worldly, cheerful, by turns credulous and skeptical. That character fits the audiobook and helps keep it entertaining. But Timson also shows respect for Herodotus as a historian—rather than just a tall-tale spinner—by not overacting. His reading is spirited, expressive, and well paced. He’s unfailingly skillful in getting the intonation and emphasis just right for the sense of the text. Listeners unfamiliar with the book or with ancient history may find a periodic abundance of names and places off-putting, which even Timson’s skill and talent can’t help, but his delivery of the anecdotes and history is thoroughly engaging and enjoyable. W.M. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2017 - AudioFile

★ 2014-04-08
A delightful new translation of what is widely considered the first work of history and nonfiction.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 Greece—however, that's exactly what readers will do in this engaging history, which is full of interesting digressions and asides. Holland (In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire, 2012, etc.), whose lifelong devotion to Herodotus, Thucydides and other classical writers is unquestionable, provides an engaging modern translation. As Holland writes, Herodotus' "great work is many things—the first example of nonfiction, the text that underlies the entire discipline of history, the most important source of information we have for a vital episode in human affairs—but it is above all a treasure-trove of wonders." Those just being introduced to the Father of History will agree with the translator's note that this is "the greatest shaggy-dog story ever written." Herodotus set out to explore the causes of the Greco-Persian Wars and to explore the inability of East and West to live together. This is as much a world geography and ethnic history as anything else, and Herodotus enumerates social, religious and cultural habits of the vast (known) world, right down to the three mummification options available to Egyptians. This ancient Greek historian could easily be called the father of humor, as well; he irreverently describes events, players and their countless harebrained schemes. Especially enjoyable are his descriptions of the Persians making significant decisions under the influence and then waiting to vote again when sober. The gifts Herodotus gave history are the importance of identifying multiple sources and examining differing views.A feast for students of ancient history and budding historians of any period.

Kirkus Reviews