There are so many excellent translations of herodotus that it is hard to pick a categorical best. Written about 440 bc, the histories tell the story of the war between the persian empire and the greek citystates in the 5th century bc. I pass over all the other officers, because there is no need for me to mention them, except for. Herodotus was more of a storyteller than a historian. It is the earliest surviving work of nonfiction and a thrilling narrative account of among other things the war b. 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.
King xerxes lay encamped in trachis in malis and the hellenes in the pass. Herodotus travelled widely, even compared to contemporary travellers and he documented what he saw and heard. Divided by later editors into nine books named after the muses, the history traces. My professor was of no help responding with oh any old one will do. He even had a critical mind, not so common at those times. The annenberg cpbproject provided support for entering. The history of herodotus has been divided into the following sections. Herodotuss history, notes and translations for easy access. The histories of herodotus of halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in western literature. 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. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek index. Herodotus on the egyptians ancient history encyclopedia.
Book i 299k book ii 249k book iii 221k book iv 230k book v 162k book vi 174k book vii 286k book viii 179k. This 147page guide for histories by herodotus includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 9 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Full audio books for everyone earns money off of the above links. 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 7 beta greek and latin texts with facing. 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. 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. Site contains many greek and latin texts, translations and related material. This place is called thermopylae by most of the hellenes, but by the natives and their neighbors pylae. Sep 21, 20 herodotus traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book.
At the beginning of the histories, herodotus sets out his reasons for writing it. May 19, 2014 a delightful new translation of what is widely considered the first work of history and nonfiction. Melanchroes translated into black, and oulotriches to wooly. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Book i 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 will chime in to recommend the landmark translation for the additional materials included with the book. No other edition has so much informationanalysis as well as many maps. Previous translations of the histories were somewhat heavy to read but no so now with the advent of tom hollands translation. Book i 299k book ii 249k book iii 221k book iv 230k book v 162k book vi 174k. Biocrawler herodotus is the author of the histories. Herodotus excerpts from book vii of the histories translated and edited by a. His goal no longer is the punishment of athens, but the subjugation of europe. David grenes translation of herodotus the history is a good version of the greek historians magnum opus. For the serious first time reader, i would recommend bob strasslers translation in herodotus, mainly because the annotations, maps and supplementary material make the book far more accessible than the text alone. Fragment from histories, book viii on 2ndcentury papyrus oxyrhynchus 2099. Herodotus of halicarnassus here displays his inquiry, so that. Here are presented the results of the enquiry carried out by herodotus of halicarnassus.
Herodotus counts by generations, for example the kings of the mermnads dynasty, ruling from c. Herodotus excerpts from book vii of the histories translated. Part of a complete english translation of herodotus. The history of herodotus by herodotus written 440 b. One of western historys greatest books springs to life in tom hollands vibrant new translation herodotus of halicarnassuswho was hailed by cicero as the father of historywrote his histories around 440 bc. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Greek text with facing vocabulary and commentary under a creative commons license. Oct 04, 20 herodotuss histories dealt with the clash of civilisations east v west. Polymnia 1 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230. I am in an ancient mediterranean history class and i am looking for a good copy of the histories by herodotus. Herodotus s histories dealt with the clash of civilisations east v west. What is the best translation of herodotus the histories. The histories, herodotus the histories of herodotus is the founding work of history in western literature. Here are the relevant passages, in the godley translation.
Jun 18, 2007 for herodotus histories, i like the oxford worlds classics edition, translated by robin waterfield. 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 greecehowever, thats exactly what readers will do in this engaging history, which is full of interesting digressions and asides. The landmark herodotus can be recommended for all the additional material it contains mostly essays, the footnotes arent that good, including a lot of maps perhaps too many. Herodotus the persian wars godleybook vii wikisource, the. Herodotus histories full audiobook book 1 of 3 youtube. The first five books look into the past to try to explain the rise and fall of the. Extrapolating from these individual records, we can provide rough bc dates for the majority of events that take place in herodotus the histories. Written in 440 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 in western asia, northern africa and greece at that time.
Herodotus, the histories, book 1, chapter 1, section 0. Feb 06, 2010 generally just a lurker here, but i have been investigating the various translations for a group read later this year. Before i heard any mention of the fact from others, i had remarked it myself. The introduction provides context for the translation to come. After herodotus died, editors divided his histories into nine books. The persian wars 1920 by herodotus, translated by a. Owc also publishes waterfields translation of platos symposium, which i enjoyed reading. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus.
The history of herodotus by herodotus, part of the internet classics archive. The history of herodotus by herodotus the internet classics archive. The history of herodotus parallel englishgreek english translation. Herodotus spent his entire life working on just one project. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek, tr. Herodotus book 7 commentary beta edition 14 mb pdf aug 2012 rightclick on pc, ctrlclick on mac for option to download directly this link contains a free pdf copy of an unrevised draft of herodotus histories book 7. Ive translated parts of the histories from the greek and from what i remember, waterfield does a good job staying true to the original. Buy the histories penguin hardback classics second impression by herodotus, cartledge, paul, cartledge, paul, holland, tom isbn. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus by. Herodotus, the histories, robin waterfield translation 2008. The history of herodotus, volume 1 by herodotus full text.
Macmillan, london and ny 1890 contents start reading text zipped. Featured content includes commentary on major characters. There can be no doubt that the colchians are an egyptian race. The histories of herodotus translated by george rawlinson 185860 canon of canterbury and camden, professor of ancient history at the university of oxford. Since he offers our earliest outside account of india, herodotus is uniquely important. Oct 07, 2018 in the west, early translations of herodotuss book the histories had the word. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek index sacred texts. Aug 11, 2016 this feature is not available right now. After journeys to india and pakistan, french ethnologist michel peissel claimed to have discovered an animal species that may illuminate one of the most bizarre passages in herodotus s histories.
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