Online books about this author are available, as is a wikipedia article herodotus. Since the original internet text was not indexed, i added the paragraph index marker system which was used in the modern library edition of rawlinsons text, published under the title of the persian wars by herodotus, 1942. Book viii of herodotus histories covers the early part of the unsuccessful invasion of greece by xerxes, king of persia. Macmillan, london and ny 1890 contents start reading text zipped. In its first logos, we witness the naval engagement on the sea between aphetae and artemisium. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus by. Overview partially extracted from the grene text and prepared for a womans book discussion group to read the history herodotus only book is to seek ones roots as a member of western democratic civilization. With the dawn of the day of the battle of salamis in ch. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus. His translation of the republic is literal and doesnt gloss over anything. 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. Hopefully they represent a standard notation for referencing the text. Herodotus the great greek historian was born about 484 bce, at halicarnassus in caria, asia minor, when it was subject to the persians. Herodotus has 267 books on goodreads with 122786 ratings.
Written from the 450s to the 420s bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, the histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known around the mediterranean and western asia at that time. Hide browse bar your current position in the text is marked in blue. His aformentioned book tries to rescue it from social science, freud, and other postmodern influences by a close study of of romantic literature, shakespeare, and plato. Jan 14, 2016 27 4 so after the watch of the thessalians saw them first, they were overcome with fear, because they thought it to be a sign of sorts, and after the watch the army itself was overcome with fear in the same way, so that the phocians got possession of four thousand dead and shields. In book 1, herodotus announces his purpose to memorialize the great and marvelous deeds of the greeks and their barbarian neighbors, and, more particularly, to show why they came into conflict. Jun 18, 2007 bloom has little trouble talking about eros.
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. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. It is useful and functional, although knox introductions to the iliad and the odyssey fagles translations strike me as better at putting the work in its place. What is the best translation of herodotus the histories. The book also illuminates greek views of themselves and of peoples from the east, the problematic relationships between different greek states in the face of the invasion, and the role of the divine in history.
Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. The history of herodotus, volume 1 by herodotus full text. The introduction provides context for the translation to come. The histories of herodotus is considered one of the seminal works of history in western literature. Herodotus of halicarnassus here displays his inquiry, so that. I also recommend the excellent introduction and the translation provided by david grene. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek, tr. Im still on the fence mostly because its a very expensive albeit beautiful, book. Being the second book of the famous history of herodotus london. This region, he reports, is a sandy desert, and the sand there contains a wealth of fine gold dust.
The histories herodotus translated by george rawlinson book 1 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. Id love to hear about this translation from a student or scholar who knows greek its a beautiful book, but the translator is a businessman with no formal training who did it in his free time. Dec, 2007 this battle forms the centrepiece of book viii of herodotus histories. Histories godley translationbook 8 wikisource, the free. Feb 06, 2010 it could be that your translation was just uninviting. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. Reginald walter macan, herodotus, the seventh, eighth. Herodotus the history general index book 1 clio book 2 euterpe book 3 thalia book 4 melpomene book 5 terpsichore book 6 erato book 7 polymnia book 8 urania book 9 calliope. The battle of salamis was the first great and unexpected victory of th. Urania 1 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 140. Herodotus 1 greek and latin texts with facing vocabulary. Herodotus, who spent much of his life traveling, was one of the most erudite historians of his.
The history of herodotus by herodotus written 440 b. 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. This edition provides all the help required by a reader with little experience of greek. An unfortunate result of his more elaborately worked writing has been failure to understand his words, and hence much misplaced editorial intervention. His histories, which provide an account in nine books of the conflict between the greece and asia from the middle of the sixth century b.
David grenes translation of herodotus the history is a good version of the greek historians magnum opus. At the beginning of the histories, herodotus sets out his reasons for writing it. Godley loeb classical library edition, 4 volumes in greek and english. At the time of the shipwreck off mount pelion he had recovered for the persians a great part of what they lost. 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 parallel englishgreek english translation. 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. The history of herodotus has been divided into the following sections. Book i 299k book ii 249k book iii 221k book iv 230k book v 162k book vi 174k book vii 286k book viii 179k. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek index. He is known for having written the book the histories greek.
Herodotus says so much cool stuff, you owe it to yourself to read it in a good translation i. Greek researcher, often called the worlds first historian. 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. In this eight volume collection on the persian wars, greek historian herodotus, the father of history, gives a cultured and firsthand examination of the ancient world surrounding the rise and rule of the persian empire alongside a concise history and cultural background of scythia and egypt. Power of vast thracian nation limited by disunity 3.
Its centrepiece is the unexpected but crucial greek naval victory at salamis. Herodotus, the histories, book 8, chapter 1, section 1. 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 works2 great and marvellous, which have been produced some by hellenes and some by barbarians, may. He describes the rise of the lydian empire under croesus, who first subdued the greek settlements on the. The history of herodotus by herodotus, part of the internet classics archive. Urania the greeks engaged in the seaservice were the following.
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