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. Jun 28, 1987 the first english translation of herodotus might have been the best, but we have only two of the nine books and only the initials of its elizabethan translator, b. Herodotus would have made his researches known to the larger world through oral recitations to a public crowd. The full text of herodotus is online at project gutenberg. 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. Translator tom holland argues that the father of history is not only hugely entertaining but has an amazing capacity to.
Browse the worlds largest ebookstore and start reading today on the web, tablet, phone, or ereader. Thalia the abovementioned amasis was the egyptian king against whom cambyses, son of cyrus, made his expedition. Herodotus the great greek historian was born about 484 bce, at halicarnassus in caria, asia minor, when it was subject to the persians. Only scant knowledge of his life can be gleaned from his writings and from references to him by later writings, notably the suda. Herodotus, a greek historian, wrote a history of the known world 2,440 years ago. 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.
I find myself switching between herodotus and the commentaries. Histories, by herodotus, is an ancient greek text that tells the history of the wars between greece and persia. There are strong indications that this is not the original division. 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 the next logos herodotus explains how the ionian greeks living in the achaemenid empire revolt against darius. Farrokh is unaware of this, just as he is unaware of the fact that herodotus story of cyrus being killed by the. John marincola writes in his introduction to the penguin edition of the histories that there are certain identifiable pieces in the early books of herodotus s work which could be labeled as performance pieces. On the legacy of the histories by herodotus, historian barry s. Jul 06, 2010 an account of egypt is herodotus second book in his histories, titled euterpe. On april 28, 2020 april 28, 2020 door jona lendering infactcheck, geschiedenis, jodendom, klassieken, middenoosten, oudheid, romeinse rijk 21 reacties.
Herodotus book also contains ethnographic descriptions of the peoples that the. And the commentaries at the back of the book are also well done. An account of egypt is herodotus second book in his histories, titled euterpe. An invaluable resource for the study of one of the. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
The father of history as a former adjunct history professor i wanted to learn more about the foundation of the field of history. Herodotuss histories dealt with the clash of civilisations east v west. Bryn mawr commentaries provide clear, concise, accurate, and consistent support for students making the transition from introductory and intermediate texts. As the second title indicates, the book is about ancient persia at war.
Epicurus summarizes the key doctrines from on nature of which only a few fragments have been recovered in this letter to herodotus. Herodotus, politics and athenian democracy brad martin, xavier university as is widely accepted by scholars, much of the western philosophies have roots in ancient greece. In later centuries it made its way to the jesuit college in. 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. 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. The histories was at some point divided into the nine books that appear in modern editions, conventionally named after the nine muses. Jona lendering is a dutch historian and the author of books on antiquity, dutch history and modern management. Jona lendering has 15 books on goodreads with 537 ratings. List of books and articles about herodotus online research. 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. The histories is herodotus s only known work, yet it still made herodotus one of the rare, landmark figures in the story of thought. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Herodotus was a resident of halicarnassus modern bodrum in turkey and wrote the histories of herodotus, a greek history of the persian invasion of greece in the early fifth century bce. From the editor of the widely praised the landmark thucydides, a new landmark edition of the histories by herodotus.
It is the oldest book we have where a person we would call white. At first, the initial series of stories gyges, arion, solon, atys and adrastus may seem rather random, and like set pieces, designed to entertain more than to inform us about the history of the times. Greek researcher, often called the worlds first historian. Reclamverlag, stuttgart 2019, isbn 9783150196243 auch als ebook. A commentary on herodotus books iiv hardcover david. Herodotus has 364 books on goodreads with 123378 ratings. A historian for our time thucydides may have been the more trustworthy historian, but herodotus would have been more fun to share a wineskin withand is a better guide to the godfilled. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. 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. Herodotus wrote history, but his methods and assumptions were not those of a modern historian, and his work was unjustly rejected by his successor thucydides as factually highly unreliable and full of inappropriate romance. 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.
Almasy keeps this book with him everywhere he goes, a fat volume that could explode at any moment like george costanzas wallet. David grene, one of the best known translators of the greek classics, splendidly captures the peculiar quality of herodotus, the father of history. When the work is not acting as a source of descriptive information, there are actually a few comical moments as it regards the egyptian brazenness and crude sense of honest humor. Herodotus was a very smart and learned man for his time and it is interesting to read what he thinks. Estimates of the year of his birth are based on the observation that in the histories, he does not claim to have witnessed the persian invasion that took.
An annotated herodotus reader containing passages from books iix of the histories with introductory material for all nine books of the histories, commentary and grammatical notes. The first english translation of herodotus might have been the best, but we have only two of the nine books and only the initials of its elizabethan translator, b. Follow jona lendering and explore their bibliography from s jona lendering author page. Jona lendering born 29 october 1964 in benedenleeuwen, gelderland is a dutch historian and the author of books on antiquity, dutch history and modern management.
An invaluable resource for the study of one of the greatest, and earliest, western prose writers. It contains marginal notes in both greek and latin. A commentary on herodotus books iiv david asheri, alan lloyd, and aldo corcella edited by oswyn murray and and alfonso moreno. Simultaneously, it tells the story of the growth of the persian empire. It was not a chronicle, nor was it a local history. John marincola writes in his introduction to the penguin edition of the histories that there are certain identifiable pieces in the early books of herodotuss work which could be labeled as performance pieces. Herodotus was an ancient greek historian who lived in the fifth century bc c. That in spite of this restriction of my subject i have chosen to entitle this study the history of herodotus, arises from a wish to indicate that i am here trying to do for herodotus what eduard schwartz did for another greek historian in his brilliant geschichtswerk des thukydides. By his own admission, herodotus retold the stories of other peoples without necessarily believing them all. This series of lectures was an introduction to herodotus and the histories, tracing the influences he assimilated and the new methods he used in crafting this monumental work.
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. Aug 30, 2007 buy commentary on herodotus books iiv. The passage, from book i of his histories, is interesting in the way herodotus. Herodotus description of babylon is so extraordinary that jona lendering characterises it. Among the most influential ancient greek figures is the father of history, herodotus of halicarnassus, who chronicled the history of the persian wars. This manuscript contains the first book of herodotus histories. Delineating herodotuss appropriation of homeric language and ideology, for example, is accorded just as much importance as evaluating the historical accuracy of herodotuss narrative. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. It is written on paper and dates from some time before 1449, since an ownership inscription from that year is on f. He is simply one of the greatest storytellers who ever wrote. At a time when most philosophers still endorsed what amounted to a magical worldview, epicurus squarely places himself in the atomisticmaterialistic tradition of democritus. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders over.
The history of herodotus volume 1 by herodotus free ebook. His invention earned him the title the father of history. The way herodotus strings together his narrative repays study. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus by. Often the commentaries will note that herodotus is just wrong in what he says, but sometimes hes right. Background and book 1 background herodotus 480after 430 bce halicarnassus where herodotus was from, very cosmopolitan place widely traveled, especially egypt lived in athens under pericles ruler of athens thurii helped found this place, an artificially created international city in southern italy. He has an ma in history from leiden university and an ma in mediterranean culture from the amsterdam free university, taught history at the free university, and worked as an archivist employed by the dutch government, before. Father of history, father of lies by david pipes it was in the early days of the peloponnesian war that herodotus completed his history and published it. Page xvii no other equal portion of the work of herodotus exhibits so remarkable a coherence, continuity, and freedom from digression, interruption, or asides as this the third and last volume, or. A comprehensively revised and updated guide to books iiv of herodotus. This book is a standard text for any college course in reading herodotus in greek.
It was historia researches into a major event of the past. Part of a complete english translation of herodotus. So its fitting that, through herodotus book, the english patient reveals his own history. Many authors, starting with the late fifthcentury bc.
Bc, greek historian, called the father of history, b. The histories is herodotuss only known work, yet it still made herodotus one of the rare, landmark figures in the story of thought. Our division of the histories in nine books goes back to an edition by scholars of the third century bce, working in the great library of alexandria. Herodotus has been criticized for the fact that his book includes many obvious legends and fanciful accounts. Jul 01, 2001 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. First book of herodotus histories the british library.
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