Do you secretly enjoy reading about murder, betrayal, torture, infanticide, mass suicide, Patricide & Co. (to name a few!) and whimsical people making idiotic decisions that end up butchering entire nations?

Oboy, do we have something for you! Have you heard of... Ancient Greece™?

The cradle of high European culture my balls, but let the bestselling author Herodotus tell you about it! Reading about human sacrifice has never been so entertaining.

Side effects may include: death out of boredom as the author eagerly and endlessly describes manmade lakes and canals and the exact process of digging them (it is, after all, a historical account... sort of) or, at the very least, perpetual confusion as about every person that had ever lived prior to Herodotus time is mentioned in this sensational piece of work.

The hero of the English Patient carries around a beat up old copy of Herodotus and tells stories from it. there is a reason as its simply the best historical account of this period but its still timeless even today. My copy is falling apart!

Astyages had a daughter called Mandane, and he dreamed one night that she urinated in such enormous quantities that it filled his city and swamped the whole of Asia.

These Landmark editions are an amazing resource. The Father of history reveals the story of the Persian Wars and by achieving such he contextualizes with anthropological glosses on all the relevant parties. Each succession, each tradition is explored. Is there speculation and conjecture? Well, of course. The approach aspires to an objectivity, affording itself a modernity away from the paen or heroic song. Logistics becomes the order of the day, people grasp that such and not portents or divine favor are what matter. Internecine squabbling appears to be the yoke of civilization. The anecdotes which punctuate are the feats which resound.

Accordingly the Psylli took counsel among themselves, and by common consent made war upon the southwind---so at least the Libyans say, I do but repeat their words---they went forth and reached the desert; but there the south-wind rose and buried them under heaps of sand: whereupon, the Psylli being destroyed, their lands passed to the Nasamonians.

The maps which dominate the Landmark Edition are essential to grasping this sociology of war. The appendixes in the back of the tome were intriguing, particularly exploring the estimation of the sizes of the armies and the consequent impossibility of provisioning for such. I was rather familiar with these arguments, as Delbruck is adamant about the challenges of even feeding mid-sized minatory bands, much less what constitutes nations at war. Incredibly cumbersome, it has been one of the few benefits of the stay at home order: after work, there have few distractions to pull one away from Herodotus.

This Landmark edition of Herodotus' Histories deserves no less than 5 stars so that's what it gets from me. If I rated it on how much I actually enjoyed reading it, it would have to be 3 stars with parts being 5 stars and 2 stars and everywhere in-between. I went through this pretty quickly without trying to study it. I skimmed some of the parts that dealt with the minutia of particular topics that didn't have a lot of interest to me. Unless you're interested in just about every ology and ography you're going to be bored in some parts.

This edition is absolutely fantastic with lots of maps, pictures, and wonderful annotations.
I'm glad to own it so that I have it for reference when reading ancient historical works that relate to the 5th century BC. It has an awesome dated outline of the text that makes it extremely easy to find things. I lost my place a couple of times and it was no problem getting back on track with that outline.

Besides the edition getting five stars, I also give Herodotus five stars for creating such a thoughtful comprehensive work of events and ideas in his time.

Mă bucură inițiativă Editurii Humanitas „de recuperare a unor mari opere ale Antichității clasice într-o formulă grafică originală și în ediții concepute pentru cititorul de azi.”

Însă, o ediție ca și aceasta poate reprezenta câteva probleme. În primul rand, e foarte importantă subiectivitatea celui care face antologia, ori, în cazul de față, am avut o mare neplăcere să constat că un episod care poate fi ușor introdus printre „cele mai frumoase istorii”, și care de altfel e menționat de majoritatea istoricilor cand vine vorba de Războaiele Medice sau de istoria spartanilor, a fost lasat pe dinafară. Mă refer la povestirea despre fiica regelui Cleomenes si viitoarea soție a regelui Leonidas, Gorgo de doar câțiva ani pe-atunci, care, în momentul când Aristagoras încearcă să-l mituiască pe tatăl sau cu bani pentru a veni in sprijinul Revoltei Ioniei, îi spune: „Tată, dacă nu te ridici și pleci acum, străinul acesta o să te corupă!” (cuvinte aproximative, citate din memorie). In prezenta ediția, se spune „Aristagoras încearcă să-l mituiască pe Cleomenes.” și atât, sărind peste episod. Sigur, într-o antologie nu poate fi loc pentru tot, dar din punctul meu de vedere s-au păstrat unele povestiri care au mai puțină legătură (directă sau indirectă) cu Războaiele Medice, în detrimentul unora ca și aceasta.

O altă abordare care mi se pare neinspirată e felul de a adnota textul. Sunt situații unde pot apărea neclarități sau confuzii din cauza asta, pentru că se găsesc doi termeni pe același rând și persoanele mai puțin cunoscătoare poate ca nu-și vor da seama la care dintre ei se referă nota.

Mai mult, pentru cineva care are pretenția la titlul de „clasicist”, adnotările conțin cateva greșeli impardonabile:
- Confundarea lui Miltiades, tiran in Chersones, cu Miltiades, eroul de la Maraton. Primul e unchiul celui din urmă, nu unul și același om.
- Confundarea lui Polydeukes (Pollux la romani), fratele lui Castor și deci unul din Dioscuri, cu Polinice, fratele lui Eteocles. Cei doi s-au războit pentru tronul Thebei. La început am crezut că e o greșeală de transcriere/tipărire, dar am sesizat greșeala în două parți.
Ar mai fi și o altă greșeală mai mică: se adnotează că hiloții ar fi Messenieni. Intre cele două grupuri e mai degrabă o relație de incluziune, nu de egalitate. Spartanii au cucerit, pe rând, ținuturile din jurul lor (e.g., Laconia). Laconii au ajuns (și ei) hiloți. Că în urma Războaielor Messeniene majoritatea hiloților erau originari din Messenia, e altceva.
Nu am stat sa citesc toate adnotările și glosarul, dar astea mi-au sărit în vedere.

În fine, sper ca în cazul în care Editura Humanitas plănuiește o reeditare a lui Tucicide, să nu mai facă o antologie. Ar fi păcat. Nu sunt foarte de acord cu principiul „cititorul din ziua de azi”. E păcat de anumite opere să fie trunchiate doar pentru a fi făcute cât mai accesibile/atractive pentru cât mai multă lume. Am citit ediția intregrală din anii 60 a Istoriilor. Pe lângă faptul că textul întreg poate fi greoi pe-alocuri - și din punctul acesta de vedere ediția prezentă are un plus, pentru că se citește mai fluent, dar cu ce preț? - erau într-adevăr foarte multe adnotări, până la saturație, dar am învățat multe din notele respective ele, și am înțeles mult mai multe despre ce se povestea decât din ediția asta, în care se regăsesc foarte puține. În fond, adnotările sunt acolo pentru a fi citite sau nu. E la latitudinea cititorului să facă o selecție.

Cât despre textul în sine, rămâne la fel de placut ca întotdeauna, cu toate reproșurile (fondate) care i se aduc.

What I learned from this book (in no particular order):

1.tAncient Greeks are quarrelsome and love to waste each other’s city-states for the pettiest reasons.

2.tFrom all forms of government known to man, democracy is the best. Tyrants and oligarchs suck.

3.tThe Persian Empire is a mighty barbarian nation, but being cowardly, effeminate and slavish, it is eventually defeated by the quarrelsome but brave and civilized Greeks.

4.tAmong the Greeks, the Spartans are the bravest. Gerard Butler with a six-pack King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans heroically perished in the battle of Thermopylae. They also have the particularly icky custom of marrying their own nieces.

5.tThe Delphic oracles are 100% accurate, except when someone manages to corrupt the Pythoness. The Gods are, however, a jealous sort and would strike any mortal who has the presumption of calling himself happiest on earth. Therefore, one should call no man happy until he is dead.

6.tEgypt is a country of wonders, but its citizens’ customs and manners are exactly the reverse of the common practice of mankind elsewhere. For example, the women there urinate standing up, while the men sitting down. The country also abounds in strange fauna, among them the hippopotamus --- a quadruped, cloven-footed animal, with the mane and tail of a horse, huge tusks and a voice like a horse’s neigh.

7.tThe Scythians are a warlike nation that practices human sacrifice. The Scythian soldier drinks the blood of the first man that he kills in battle and cuts off all of his enemies’ heads, which he must show to the king to get his share of the war booty. They also like to saw off their enemies’ skulls, which they make into fancy gold-plated drinking cups.

8.tThe manners of the Androphagi, being cannibals, are more savage than those of any other race. Darius the Persian smote them.

9.tThe Atarantians, alone of all known nations, are destitute of names. The title of Atarantians is borne by the whole race in common, but the men have no particular names of their own. They also like to curse the sun because he burns and wastes both their country and themselves.

10.tIn the Indian desert live ants that are larger than a fox. They like to throw up sand-heaps as they burrow, which are full of gold. This is why India is so rich in gold. In Arabia, there are sheep that have long tails, so long that the shepherds have to make little trucks for their tails. Really.

BUT SERIOUSLY,

Herodotus is a consummate storyteller who had a fine eye for the fantastical, although to his credit, he always qualified his more improbable assertions by stating that they are based on hearsay or other sources that he could not wholly verify. Much of the pleasure of reading his book is found in the lush descriptions of long lost nations and their exotic customs. His 'Histories' does not concern itself solely with history in the modern sense, but it is also a book of travelogue, ethnography, zoology, geography and botany. He is an excellent raconteur, almost always entertaining, except when he drones about speculative geography. We can easily imagine him, a man of seemingly inexhaustible curiosity, interviewing Marathon veterans for firsthand battle accounts, or interrogating Egyptian temple priests about their country’s history and religion. History for him is not a dry recitation of facts and dates, but an intensely human story acted by a vast cast of monarchs, queens, warriors, tyrants, gods and ordinary citizens. Regicides and rebellions are caused by personal passions, such as in the stories of Caudales and Gyges, and Xerxes and Masistes. Dreams compel Xerxes to invade Greece. Divine intervention decides the course of epic battles.

A skein of tragedy runs through the historical drama that he narrates. The gods are so capricious and jealous that “one should not call a man happy until he is dead.” Xerxes, on beholding his massive force on the Hellespont, laments that “not one will be alive when a hundred years are gone by.” Yet while man lives his short existence he is capable of epic deeds, and Herodotus chronicled them all.

Herodotus, considered the first historian...but more than history, he either through his travels or "interviews" with others, describes topography, customs, dress, politics etc of the ancient world, along with traditional history and in this case the many battles that occur as powers rise & fall. It certainly filled in a section in my history education that was lacking especially in regards to Persian history! Yes, there are tedious parts, but also such unexpected gems that fall into your lap, or quite the joke. Lots of surprises. I probably couldn't have done it without it being a group read, well worth the effort!

What book contains a king ordering his servant to surreptitiously look at his naked wife, a poet riding a dolphin, a king declaring war on the wind, a king having the ocean whipped for being disobedient, flying snakes, ants the size of foxes, *and* an epic battle between Greece and Persia? This one. This one does.

I only wish I had read it when I lived in Turkey. A great early historical narrative of the Greco-Persian wars. I love the Landmark series and really really appreciate the maps; they helped me keep all my city-states and satraps straight.

احساس می کنم داشتم سیندرلا و هفت کوتوله می خوندم
صد رحمت به گزنفون و کتزیاس
پر از اشتباهات و غلط های تاریخی غیر قابل بخشش بود ❗
۱) اول از همه اینکه ایرانیان بربر نبودند و هیچ وقت برده داری نمی کردند برخلاف گزافه گویی های هرودوت
۲) نویسنده از همان آغاز کتاب که منابع ایرانی را دروغ و تبلیغات پنداشت و هرودوت دشمن ایران را یگانه منبع معتبر انگاشت !
۳)این کتاب از پادشاهی کمبوجيه به بعد فقط به گزافه گویی و افسانه سرایی و دروغ بافی پرداخته و از خشایارشاه چهره ای زشت آفریده

وقتی هرودوت از آمار ۵/۵ میلیون سپاه ایران سخن می گوید واضح است که خشایارشا کل جمعیت ایران رو با خودش به میدان جنگ برده بوده :)


❌
!کبوجیه گاو آپیس را نکشت و مومیایی فرعون را نسوزاند
با مردمان مصر به خوبی همچون پدر عزیزش رفتار کرد

اگر به نوشته های خصمانه هرودوت نسبت به ایرانیان چشم پوشی کنیم و به وقایع تاریخی که صحت دارند و افسانه نیستند بپردازیم متوجه می شویم که وقتی خشایارشا وارد آتن می شود به قدری با مردمان یونان به خوبی همچون پدر بزرگ عادل خویش کورش دوم رفتار می کند که مردم او را مورد ستایش قرار می دهند و جالب ترین نکته این است که خشایارشا با لباس مردم محلی یونان وارد معبد دلفی و آکروپل می شود و ادای احترام می کند به خدایان یونانی ! این کار خشایارشا بسیار برای مردم تاثیرگذار می شود که برای تشکر و قدر دانی از خشایارشا مجسمه وی را می سازند و در معبدآکروپل و دلفی قرار می دهند
و متاسفانه جفت معابد آکروپل و دلفی در جنگ های داخلی یونان و شورش های مردم مورد تخریب قرار می گیرند و به آتش کشیده می شوند. جالب اینجاست که هرودوت تاریخ نویس یونانی که از نظر اکثر مورخان وی را افسانه نویس خطاب می کنند او به دروغ در کتاب خود می نویسد که خشایارشا معبد آکروپل را سوزانید و به ناموس مردم تعدی کرد!!!!!! و همین دروغ و تحریف تاریخ هرودوت باعث می شود که اسکندر مقدونی در سال های آتی کینه معبد آکروپل را به دل بگیرد و تخت جمشید(پرسپولیس ) را به آتش و ویرانگی بکشاند ! افسوس

This book merits five stars because it truly represents the starting point of Western historical writing.

Herodotus asks all the basic questions that historians are supposed to when confronted with a source. Is the account truthful? If you think that it is not truthful do you ignore the information provided or use it and share your reserves with the reader? The best of historians will occasionally reject truthful accounts and accept lies as truthful. The point is that Herodotus is clearly adopting a critical stance towards all his sources even if he errs in places.

The modern reader is most likely to be concerned in those places where Herodotus appears to accept myths and legends as being historically accurate. In the defense of Herodotus, myths and legends have sometimes proven to contain historically accurate material. Until archaeologists discovered Troy and Mycenae in the 19th century, many had thought that these two cities existed only in legend and literature. Similarly the Norse sagas describing a Viking settlement in North America were considered to be legends or works of fiction until a Norse settlement was discovered at L'Anse aux Meduses in Newfoundland in the 1950's.

Moreover, it must be pointed out that in places Herodotus expresses a great deal of skepticism about the religious beliefs and practices of his era. He expresses a great deal of frustration about Oracles. He describes there pronouncements as typically being unintelligible. Moreover he suggests that in time, the Oracles appear to have consciously made inaccurate pronouncements. Herodotus notes that that the myths about the Olympian Gods vary considerably from city to city as do the actual names of the Gods. He points out that the geographic origins of many of the names of the deities are hard to definitively identify. Herodotus does not attack religion and superstition in the manner of the 18th Century enlightenment philosophers but he has a very critical view of the religion of his civilization.

What one gets in the Histories of Herodotus, is a well organized account of the Persian Wars written by a man trying to lay the ground rules for historical investigation as he goes. The result is a great classic of Western literature and history. Read it for its good points and do be distracted in places where it appears to fail modern standards for historical writing. All historians owe a debt to Herodotus who laid a great foundation for history which is after all an art not a science.

"When the moment finally came to declare their purpose, the Babylonians, in order to reduce the consumption of food, herded together and strangled all the women in the city - each man exempting only his mother, and one other woman whom he chose out of his household to bake his bread for him."

As the British Government bludgeons the nation with its ideologically-driven 'Austerity Budget', note that the ancients had a strategy or two for surviving straitened times themselves. And they managed to protect 'front-line' services. Who doesn't like to wake up to the smell of freshly-baked rolls? Now, how does one get one's hands on Theresa May?

"...As for Samos, the Persians took the entire population like fish in a drag-net, and presented Syloson with an empty island. Some years later, however, Otanes contracted some sort of disease of the genital organs and that, in conjunction with a dream he had, induced him to repopulate the place."

Seriously. Wtf?! I mean, who hasn't dreamed of personally repopulating an island [I know I have:], but just how fertile does a guy have to be that an std leaves him debilitated to the degree that he can only re-seed an entire race like some Zeus on the loose? I thought all these dudes preferred boys so what's with that? If I didn't know Herodotus had such a downer on hearsay I'd swear someone was pulling his leg.

"...for I have never heard of a man who after an unbroken run of luck was not finally brought to complete ruin. Now I suggest that you deal with the danger of your continual successes in the following way: think of whatever it is you value most - whatever you would most regret the loss of - and throw it away: throw it right away, so that nobody can ever see it again. If, after that, you do not find that success alternates with failure then go on using the remedy I have advised."

Harsh.

"...He was blind for ten years, after which he received an oracle from the city of Buto to the effect that the time of his punishment being now ended, he would recover his sight, if he washed his eyes with the urine of a woman who had never lain with any man except her husband.

He tried his wife first, but without success - he remained as blind as ever."

Jeez, there has to be an easier way to discover you're a cuckold.