Written from the 450s to the 420s bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, they serve as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of. In the next logos, herodotus tells us about the customs of the egyptians. At the beginning of the histories, herodotus sets out his reasons for writing it. Herodotus of halicarnassus was a greek historian of the 5th century bc. Site contains many greek and latin texts, translations and related material. His plan to conquer egypt gives herodotus the opportunity to dedicate three logoi to the ancient kingdom on the. Jan 01, 2001 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Herodotus the great greek historian was born about 484 bce, at halicarnassus in caria, asia minor, when it was subject to the persians. Written from the 450s to the 420s bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, they serve as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known. Jun 11, 2016 the story of the greek resistance to persian tyranny is the story of the selfrealization and selfactualization of a people. Herodotus bilingual anthology studies herodotus in print table of contents book 1 clio book 2 euterpe book 3 thaleia book 4 melpomene book 5 terpsichore book 6 erato book 7 polymnia book 8 urania book 9 calliope. If you cant view the greek or you see boxes among the greek text, the problem is with your browser.
It presents a selection of typically anecdotal history from herodotus, and a useful introduction to the versatility and variety of his writings. This region, he reports, is a sandy desert, and the sand there contains a wealth of fine gold dust. July 20 this link contains a free pdf copy of herodotus book i. Herodotus was an ancient greek historian who was born in halicarnassus, caria modernday bodrum, turkey and lived in the fifth century bce c. Biocrawler herodotus is the author of the histories. Greek text with facing vocabulary and commentary, 2nd ed. This is a chapterbychapter summary, with occasional notes, of the histories of. Being the second book of the famous history of herodotus london. Herodotus book also contains ethnographic descriptions of the peoples that the persians have conquered, fairy tales, gossip, and legends. The monarch sent a herald into greece to demand reparation of the wrong, and the. He has been called the father of history, and was the first. Herodotus was a greek writer and geographer credited with being the first historian. The history of herodotus, parallel english greek, tr. The nine books of herodotus histories, translated by g.
Cambyses becomes king of the persian empire 530522 bc. Part of a complete english translation of herodotus. I really enjoyed this book because it is the first book of history ever written by man. Herodotuss history is an account of the grecopersian wars 499479 bce and the story of the growth and organization of the persian empire. This work was recognized as a new form of literature soon after its publication. Herodotus wanted his audience to see the wonders that xerxes accomplished in crossing his army over the hellespont on the illfated invasion of greece. To place us there, herodotus tells the story from the point of view of a local hellespontine who watches and relates the. Thalia the abovementioned amasis was the egyptian king against whom cambyses, son of cyrus, made his expedition. The history of herodotus volume 2 by herodotus free ebook. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus by. When the four elements of identity are in place, they work together synergistically to form a kind of collective body, capable of functioning as an organic whole.
This classic selection, drawn from the whole of herodotus work has been frequently set for gcse, and used as a first prose text for early greek learners. The word history meant inquiry in ancient greek, and if it acquired its present meaning it is because of herodotus, the father of history, as cicero called him. An example of this can be seen in the seventh book of the history. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek index. Book 1 book 2 book 3 book 4 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8.
Pharaoh, by boleslaw prus, incorporating the labyrinth scenes inspired by herodotus description in book ii of the histories. All search options view abbreviations home collectionstexts perseus catalog research grants open source about help. The ninth book of the histories, called calliope about the author herodotus was an ancient greek historian who was born in halicarnassus, caria modern day bodrum, turkey and lived in the fifth century bc circa 484 425 bc. Herodotus, often called the father of history, is the earliest and one of the greatest in the pantheon of ancient greek prose writers. He is supported by greek and carian mercenaries and succeeded by his son necho, who conquered gaza. An account of egypt by herodotus goodreads share book. 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 biblical writers borrowed from it to create characters such as the judges samson. Online books about this author are available, as is a wikipedia article herodotus. The history of herodotus, by herodotus project gutenberg.
Here are presented the results of the enquiry carried out by herodotus of halicarnassus. Greek text has been transliterated and marked with brackets, as in the opening. Book ii the histories also known as the history of herodotus is considered the founding work of history in western literature. The opening sentence herodotus of halicarnassus here presents to the public his researches historie, 1 so that time not erase what man has brought into being, and so that the great and marvelous deeds, manifested both by greeks and by barbarians, 2 not be without glory. 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. He wrote a history of the persian invasion of greece in the early fifth century b. Euterpe 1 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 140 150 160 170 180 book 3. Gates of fire, by stephen pressfield, has the battle of thermopylae book vii as its centrepiece. The four elements of national identity in herodotus martin. To him and to any greek of his age it was clear that the persians had been brave warriors in the days of cyrus and cambyses, but that they had succumbed to the luxuries of peace.
He has been called the father of history, and was the first historian known to collect his materials. I managed to get through volume one and someday may take on volume two. In the meantime those of the persians who had been left behind in europe by dareios, of whom megabazos was the commander, had subdued the people of perinthos first of the hellespontians, since they refused to be subject to dareios. In book 3, passages 102 to 105, herodotus reports that a species of foxsized, furry ants lives in one of the far eastern, indian provinces of the persian empire. 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 works 2 great and marvellous, which have been produced some by hellenes and some by barbarians, may. 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 of the aegean sea and the mainland of greece. But i will put it off for a bit as there is more out there of interest to me at this time. He moreover alone of all the egyptian kings had rule over ethiopia. This is the reason why no native of egypt, whether man or woman, will give a greek a kiss, or use the knife of a greek, or his spit, or his cauldron, or taste the flesh of an ox, known to be pure, if it has been cut with a greek knife. Herodotus was an ancient greek historian who lived in the fifth century bc c. At chemmis, however, which is a large city in the thebaic canton, near neapolis, there is a square enclosure sacred to perseus, son of danae. Creation, by gore vidal, interpreting many scenes from the persian viewpoint.