Herodotus

Average customer rating:

not for me
Extremely readable
Great Book
The Histories Revealed
What can be added?

The Histories (Penguin Classics)
Herodotus
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Medieval | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The History of the Peloponnesian War: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)
Plutarch's Lives Volume 1 (Modern Library Classics)
Aeschylus I: Oresteia (The Complete Greek Tragedies)
The Odyssey of Homer
Livy: The Early History of Rome, Books I-V (Penguin Classics)

ASIN: 0140449086
Release Date: 2003-04-29

Book Description

Translated by Aubrey de S&eacutelincourt with an introduction and Notes by John M. Marincola.

Customer Reviews:

not for me.......2007-06-07

This is a long, rambling, unfocused book. I guess the other reviewers are interested in everything covered here, but I wasn't. I tried this book after reading Thucydides. Thucydides has focus. Herodotus does not. Herodotus seems like the ancient equivalent of soap operas. I couldn't get through it.

Extremely readable.......2007-04-09

I picked a copy of the Histories mostly because i had just seen 300 and wanted to learn a bit more about the larger war. now, even though i'm quite interested in history, i was pretty apprehensive about reading a book like this one--besides the obvious length, it's dense, with many names and locations i've never seen before and that are rather obscure. however, i was very surprised by just how readable this translation is. you can tell that Selincourt spent a good deal of time making sure that the translation wasn't a direct, word for word port of the original text. the text, though still distinctly scholarly, is written in a manner not unlike any other mondern history book. beyond that, the account itself is very interesting to anyone with an interest in ancient history. this translation is highly recommended.

Great Book.......2007-03-20

This book really brings together all the essential knowledge on the subject. I have a class history book that takes excerts from books of Plutarch, Thucydides and Herodotus and i have go to say that going straight to the source made a big difference in class discussions. A definite must read for you history buffs out there.

The Histories Revealed.......2007-02-14

This history brings the ancient times to life in our modern age.

What can be added?.......2006-12-17

What more could be said above "father of history?" I will therefore limit my comment to this particular volume, the Penquin Classic. The writing is flowing and clear, and though I am not a greek scholar, it seems to convey the "feel" of what one would imagine from Herodotus. The notes at the end along with the additional material such as the structural and chronological outlines are very helpful in keeping track of the dates and the people in context. The only addition I would make is a few more detailed maps which would help with geographical context of the events and places. What I like about this and other Penguin Classics though is that the maps are consolidated into one place where they can easily be referred to throughout the reading. The maps do at least include the general maps of the Greek and Persian empires. All in all, a wonderful and afordable volume that will server as a great resource for enjoyment reading, research, and reference.

Average customer rating:

Fun book
Not beneficial!!!
Magnificent text, great translation, helpful notes, misguided organization
Joy to read!
Excellent edition

The Histories (Oxford World's Classics)
Herodotus
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Greece | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Medieval | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War
The History of the Peloponnesian War: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)
The Peloponnesian War
Aeschylus I: Oresteia (The Complete Greek Tragedies)
Greek Lives

ASIN: 0192824252

Book Description

Herodotus is not only known as the `father of history', as Cicero called him, but also the father of ethnography; as well as charting the historical background to the Persian Wars, his curiosity also prompts frequent digression on the cultures of the peoples he introduces. While much of the information he gives has proved to be astonishingly accurate, he also entertains us with delightful tales of one-eyed men and gold-digging ants. This readable new translation is supplemented with expansive notes that provide readers the background that they need to appreciate the book in depth. * Introduction * Textual Note *Bibliography * Chronology * Appendices * Glossary * Maps * Explanatory Notes * Textual Notes * Index of Proper Names

Customer Reviews:

Fun book.......2007-05-28

This is great, fun book to read. This is a book you can read for enjoyment. I was reluctant to read it because I assumed it would be difficult because it was written around 425 BC. I assumed because it was ancient it would be difficult to read. That was wrong. It's a very entertaining read. It's also extremely interesting. Herodotus was a very smart and learned man for his time and it is interesting to read what he thinks. And the commentaries at the back of the book are also well done. Often the commentaries will note that Herodotus is just wrong in what he says, but sometimes he's right. I find myself switching between Herodotus and the commentaries. If you're at all interested in ancient history, you will not regret buying and reading this.

Not beneficial!!! .......2007-03-21

Too intellectual! Too narrow! So cumbersome! Additionally, the translation, from Greek to English, is definitely not accurate. There exists ACCURATE translations of this wonderful work of Herodotus. These intellectuals seems to have written this book to astound their fellow literati; not to expound the truth.

Magnificent text, great translation, helpful notes, misguided organization.......2007-03-03

Herodotus's Histories are a treasure trove of wisdom, anecdotes and sheer joy. In the words of Robert D. Kaplan, "Thucydides may have been the more trustworthy historian, but Herodotus would have been more fun to share a wineskin with--and is a better guide to the god-filled geopolitics of the current era." (Kaplan's remarkable article on Herodotus, titled "A Historian for our Time", is available at [...]

I fully agree with other reviewers about the beauty of this translation, which results in a fluent and pleasant text. I am also overwhelmed at the abundance of notes and commentaries about perhaps most paragraphs in the book.

The problem is, while the translation increases our reading pleasure, the organization of this edition does not help the reader: the use of endnotes rather than footnotes means that readers have to keep moving to and fro between the text and the end of the book. Worse still, there is no footnote numbering, so readers must turn at virtually every paragraph to the end of the book, so as not to miss possible clarification. Eventually, I decided to check before reading each of the nine chapters ("Books") and mark the endnoted paragraphs myself.

Perhaps Oxford's intention was, as another reviewer put it, to ensure that notes were "unobtrusive" and the reader would have the clean text before his eyes. I beg to differ: few modern readers could do without the additional explanations provided in the notes. And, if they felt they could, or so wished, they would have a wealth of translations to choose from, much poorer in notes than this one.

I think no other edition of the "Histories" has so many maps. These are necessary and helpful. But they could have been clearer. In some of them, it is hard to tell land from sea, for example.

I do look forward to a "Landmark Herodotus" similar to the magnificent "Landmark Thucydides", with notes AND maps exactly where they are needed, so the reader never has to leave the page he is reading. This may sound shallow, but it greatly facilitates concentration. And this, after all, is supposed to be one of the main benefits of a fluent and pleasant text in the first place.

Joy to read!.......2007-02-12

Growing up in Turkey, every student had to study world history including the events covered in this book. However, our history lessons consisted of memorizing dates and names of what was in the state approved text books. The contrast of that approach, to learning history by reading the original works is huge. What a joy it is to read Herodotus' book! The book is about the Persian Empire which was huge extending from India and Central Asia to the Danube in Europe. I loved the diversions from the main events and all the stories and myths. Besides the well known Persian/Greek wars there were so many other lesser known but just as exciting events. One of them was Darius's expedition into Southern Russia to attack the nomadic Scythians. I didn't realize that Darius attacked them from the West crossing the Danube. The building of the bridge over Danube and the hardships in crossing rivers in old times was eye opening. I also loved the maps and read all the 200 pages! of historical notes and a section on ancient weights, units, and money.

If you enjoyed this book you might also enjoy the "Peloponnesian War" by Donald Kagan. Although written by a contemporary historian, it reads as if you are watching the events in person. Fantastic reading for history lovers.

Excellent edition.......2006-09-21

I'm not going to review the book itself, just point out that this is, if not the best, one of the best editions of Herodotus' Histories available in the English language. You can't go wrong with this one.

Herodotus is extremely readable no matter what translation you choose, but Robin Waterfield's translation is a delight to read and flows better than any other I've tried. The translation is not the only reason to buy this edition, though. Oxford also included lots of supplementary information. Carolyn Dewald provides us with a great introduction, going over Herodotus' style, narrative habits, themes, and the importance of the Histories as history. Dewald has also written short commentaries on each of the books, which are followed by very informative paragraph-by-paragraph notes. These notes alone make this edition worth the investment.

Short glossaries of greek and foreign terms used by Herodotus are also included, as well as 10 very useful maps, and notes on greek clothing, weights, measures, money and distances.

Average customer rating:

A Must Read!
Herodotus: The Father of History
The Time Machine
The father of History is also a good historian
The Father of History

The Histories (Everyman's Library)
Herodotus
Manufacturer: Everyman's Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Greece | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Modern Library Classics)
The Oresteia: Agamemnon, Choephoroe, Eumenides (Everyman's Library)
The Aeneid (Everyman's Library)
The Iliad
The History of the Peloponnesian War: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)

ASIN: 0375400613
Release Date: 1997-03-25

Amazon.com

Since the release of the film version of Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient, there has been renewed interest in the Histories of Herodotus--the book the dying patient treasures so much.

The writings of Herodotus are the ground zero of Western history. He lived during the fifth century B.C.E, and his Histories chronicle the events of the Persian Wars, which were within living memory when he wrote. He was the first writer to examine real, rather than mythical history, and although his work lacks the rigor of later histories, it has a breathtaking scope. Herodotus is a wonderful storyteller, and in recalling the wars with Persian invaders, he ranges across the ancient world, mixing politics with natural history and anthropology. These are traveler's tales, and a great deal of their appeal to a modern audience lies in the way Herodotus describes the cultures that influence his story. The societies of Scythians, Arabs, and Egyptians are depicted in detail, from their political structures to their dining habits. Herodotus created a sense of history for his people, and he gives us a picture of a distant past that reminds us of the vast continuum of civilization.

Book Description

Herodotus is not only the father of the art and the science of historical writing but also one of the Western tradition's most compelling storytellers. In tales such as that of Gyges—who murders Candaules, the king of Lydia, and unsurps his throne and his marriage bed, thereby bringing on, generations later, war with the Persians—he laid bare the intricate human entanglements at the core of great historical events. In his love for the stranger, more marvelous facts of the world, he infused his magnificent history with a continuous awareness of the mythic and the wonderful. For more than a hundred generations, his supple, lucid prose has drawn readers into his panoramic vision of the war between the Greek city-states and the great empire to the east. And in the generosity of his spirit, in the instinctive empiricism that took him searching over much of the known world for information, in the care he took with sources and historical evidence, in his freedom from intolerance and prejudice, he virtually defined the rational, humane spirit that is the enduring legacy of Greek civilization.

Customer Reviews:

A Must Read!.......2007-06-09

A great book! For any history buff out there, this is a must read! Herodotus clearly is the, "Father of History."

Herodotus: The Father of History.......2007-02-09

A must have for any history buff. Not only is this book facinating but it teaches important lessons about human nature. Through Solon and Croesus' conversations one can learn what it truly means to be "happy". Or, through the actions of the 300 Spartans one can learn what bravery realy is. This is a very important work and it is my opinion that everyone should read it at some point in their life.

The Time Machine.......2006-07-14

The nine books of History by Herodotus try to be a history of the Persian Empire and its wars with the Greeks, but by telling both peoples' story, the author ends up by narrating the history of the whole world known to him. Although Herodotus is the first known "serious" historian, he is not the first "scientific" one (that would be Thucydides), due to the fact that Herodotus still believes in gods and their direct intervention in human affairs. Nevertheless, in an interesting sort of transition to "modern" history, he has doubts about the stories and legends he picks up, and then he tries to give rationalized explanations of the events he relates. Even so, with inexactitudes and mixing fact with fiction, he renders a most vivid portrait of the Ancient World, so like ours in substance and so different in form. Something to remark is how much we have inherited and preserved from the Greeks, our most influential cultural ancestors.

In Book I, H. talks about the mythical precedents of clashes between Greek peoples and Asian "barbarians". Then he tells the story of the richest man in the world, Croesus, the king of Lydia, the first man to attack and conquer the Ionians, Greek peoples inhabiting the Eastern coast of the Aegean sea. Croesus then consults an oracle asking if he should attack the powerful Persians, to which the oracle answers: "do it and you will destroy a great empire", as he does: he destroys his own empire. Thus begins the expansionist policy of the Persians. H. then goes on to tell the ancient history of the Medes, the predecessors of the Persians, and how king Cyrus takes power. Cyrus proceeds to attack practically all his neighbors, increasing his empire before dying.

In Book II, Cambises inherits the Persian throne and decides to invade Egypt, which is the subject of the whole book. Herodotus, always and thankfully the king of digression, tells us the whole story of myths, geography, habits and "recent" history of Egypt, in one of the most fascinating parts of his work. Book III tells the story of Cambises's rule, the rebellion of the Magicians, the plot of the Seven and the ascension of Darius, whose kingdom is described in the last part. Book IV relates Darius's (failed) campaign against the Scythes, peoples from the Nothern coast of the Black Sea, truly exotic, primitive and savage guys. He elaborates on the habits and strange life they live. Book V includes the Thracian and Macedonian invasions, as well as the Ionian revolt. Book VI brings us to the First Median War's first part, the expedition of Mardonius which finishes in the massive shipwreck of the Persian fleet in Mount Athos. Then comes a digression (a fascinating one) on the history of Sparta, and then the second expedition, which ends up in disaster in the battle of Marathon. In Book VII we see the start of the Second Median War. It includes preparations and the beginning of the invasion, as well as the naval battles of Magnesia and the battle of Thermopylae. Book VIII tells the end of the operations of year 480-479 B.C.: the naval battle of Arthemisius, the Persian advance through Central Greece, the evacuation and sack of Athens, the battle of Salamis (a crucial turning point of Western Culture's history), Persian King Xerxes's flight and the winter recess at Thessalia. Finally, in Book IX Herodotus talks about the military operations of the following year, the second take of Athens, the battle of Plathea, the Greek decisive victory, the Persians' escape, and the final digression over the wisdom of Cyrus.

Few books are so rich in information, stories, legends, and analysis as this one. Herodotus comes alive as a superb, good-willed historian, a hard worker. For all its depth and amplitude, his style is always quick and easy to read. He includes many a good story and has a sense of humor. It's fun to hear his admonitions and preventions like you were a man of his time, a contemporary reader. He was born in Halycarnassus, where today is South Western Turkey. Born to a rich family, they are forced to escape, for political reasons, to the island of Samos. There he decides to travel around for ten years, time during which he collected the material for his masterpiece. Almost always, he tries to give more than one account of facts, leaving the reader to decide whcih one to believe. He interviews everyone he can, compares official records and documents, analyzes the situation, and when he tells his own opinion, he is straightforward about it. Fun, interesting, educational, this book is truly a time mechine.

The father of History is also a good historian.......2004-11-03

The Histories is sheer ecstasy and emotion, and the reader is kept attentive trough the many fascinating histories narrated by Herodotus, always keen on given the reader the most accurate version to the many stories he was told regarding some important issue. By this many accounts he begins to end the tradition of oral transmission in the Greek culture, a powerful tradition which was responsible for the preservation to posterity of works of such caliber as the Odyssey and the Iliad, from Ulysses. In Herodotus view, the written report of the many different points of view would adduce credence to the histories.

The main focus of The Histories is on the battles of the Peloponnesus war, and the chapters revolve around the feats of the Persians and Greeks for the supremacy of Europe and Asia Minor. His is a 360 degrees analysis of customs, culture and habits of war and peace of the most variegated people, being him eyewitness to many events reports. Above all, and part of the merit must be given to the excellent translation to English, Herodotus is an expert with words and narrates many pretty interesting tales in a way reminiscent of Arabian nights: the dialogues between Solon the legislator and Croesus, the richest man in the world, the customs of some people who ate their deceased kin, but not if they died sick, the battle between the cavalry of Croesus and the camel riders of Cyrus, the detailed descriptions of the customs of Egypt and the supposition by Herodotus that the Greeks inherited much of their pantheon from them, the origin of the myth of Cyrus having a bitch as a suckling mother (paralleling the myth of the foundation of Rome), and many etceteras.

I was quite surprised with the overall quality of the book and, mostly, by the many excellent ideas Herodotus gives for each and every act of the likes as Cyrus, Darius, Croesus and many more. His geographical descriptions of each and every territory he interested on, adds luster to his narrative and are not all boring, quite to the contrary, serving always as a background to some historical events he analyses. His demystifying of Greek ideal of being the center of the earth, his projection of the fulfillment of the Red Sea by the Nile water flow in the next 20.000 years gives a vague idea of the man that lies behind the book and who has a lot to teach, even if he does not say so, to future generations, also to our.

I think that every reader interested in the ideas of great thinkers of the Humanity, should take a look upon Herodotus and his Histories. I am sure he/she will not be disappointed, being the Histories, in my humble opinion, one of the 100 best books to be read.

The Father of History.......2003-10-30

Herodotus is called "the father of history" and this book is the reason why. It's the earliest attempt at unbiased history, and that attempt was the catalyst for those historians who followe: Thucydides, Xenophon, etc. Even the common usage of the word "histories"--meaning "inquiries"--is due to Herodotus.

This book is filled with stories of all of the people with whom Herodotus was familiar in the ancient Mediterranean world, and a remarkable number of his stories and his descriptions are still considered to be accurate. Of course, some are off a bit, and some are way off the mark, but understanding how well he did--given the information and the means of communication and transportation that were available to him--leave me in awe.
The stories are colorful and wonderful. I was often amazed at how I'd known of many of them before without realizing that they'd come from Herodotus. Still, there are some major drawbacks to reading Herodotus.

First of all, it helps to have an understanding of the ancient world that Herodotus describes. A good map would have been a helpful appendix, but Google searches and some good historical websites are great aids to understanding all of the peoples and places he describes.

Second, Herodotus' writing is not linear in the way that history is written today. His narrative is multi-leveled and sometimes circular as he describes an area or a group of people, then describes those who came before them or influenced them. If you can keep this in mind, it helps to understand why he describes what seem to be tangential topics.

Customer Reviews:

. . . excellent for Graduate students and pundits as well........2002-12-25

The Histories, as pointed out by a previous reviewer, are a vital text that every person who has succeeded in graduating high school should be exposed to. It should be included in all World Literature approaches, which is why, if you are reading this review for a reference or encouragement to read the Histories, take it just as that.

I would simply like to stipulate that, while many view the book (as mentioned in previous reviews) as "fun" and for "the laymen," it is also a gateway to the classical works, of many that only lofty intellectuals clame credible interpretations; the rest of us laymens [sic] are in a state of perpetual comitatus. Herodutus is vital, credible (well, the read is credible), viable, and a neccesity to anyone who has an inkling of interest in the classics. If you fit in this category, READ THE BOOK!!

Awesome book by our Father of History.......2002-10-14

This book rocks the bookshelf! Not only do you get history, you get zoology, anthropology, myth, and geography. There are many funny things too. You will read about the gold digging ants and the ox that cooks itself. The history concerning the great Persian Wars are spiced up with the dramatics and an exaggeration of numbers. Herodotus believes that Xerses invading army was 3,000,000 strong not including the fleet. The army was so big that it took one week to cross the bridge over the Hellespont and they drank whole rivers dry, according to Herodotus. Read about the heroes of Marathon and Thermopylae in this epic battle between East and West. This is surely a classic for all the ages. Read it today!

Excellent for undergraduates and the layperson.......2002-09-18

Herodotus is often called the "father of history" or if one is more picky and less kind the "father of lies". Regardless of which title you believe he deserves, his "Histories" are a valuable source of information about the Ancient Greek world and their opinions and experiences with other ancient peoples. This translation by de Selincourt and Marincola flows smoothly, students and laypeople should have little trouble understanding the content at least on the surface. Furthermore they have done all of us a great service by keeping traditional enumeration of the lines. My only complaint are the endnotes -- I hate endnotes because I have seen how rarely readers will use them compared to footnotes. Currently (fall 2002) the professor I'm assisting is using this in his ancient survey course.

Not Just for Scholars.......2002-07-21

Let's assume you are not a classics major, and you are not all that interested in military history. Should you read the "Histories" of Herodotus? The answer is a resounding "Yes", and here are some of the reasons why:

While the bulk of the book is devoted to the Persian Wars (and you certainly can skip over the catalogs and battle details) it's the digressions and anecdotes that make Herodotus fascinating reading. Dates, numbers and even names are often of dubious validity, so you need not waste a lot of time on them. The political, social, ethnographic and anthropological commentary is more intriguing, albeit frequently wide of the mark. But that is exactly why you should read it: what and where is "the mark"? If a sophisticated writer and traveler like H. accepted obvious whoppers at face value and passed them on to credulous readers - what does that tell us about our own credulity?

The intrigues and deceptions involved in forging alliances; the constant juggling of self-interest vs. "the greater good"; the importance of skillful rhetoric and propaganda in promoting one's cause; the treachery and rapaciousness of famous leaders like Themistocles, and the self-indulgence and hubris of splendid figures like Xerxes; the extreme dependence of Greeks and Persians alike on oracles and omens ( nowadays we call them "polls"): all these phenomena are uncomfortably familiar to us.

Once you have become engrossed in H.'s narrative, you may want to linger a little over some of the "human achievements" and "great and marvellous deeds" he promises to record. There is for instance the canal Xerxes is said to have constructed across Athos, in order to avoid circumnavigation of the peninsula - an engineering feat and display of hubris reminiscent of "Fitzcarraldo". Until recently, no trace of this technical marvel had been found. But lo: a team of British and Greek geophysicists has located the structure with seismic measurements, as reported in the "Journal of Applied Geophysics". So, while a healthy dose of skepticism is in order (as with all historiographic literature), some achievements that had been doubted by scholars may turn out to be "real" after all.

H. closes his wide-ranging narrative with a statement attributed to Cyrus, whom he credits with foresight and wisdom: "Soft countries breed soft men. It is not the property of any one soil to produce fine fruits and good soldiers too." Therefore "the Persians should choose to live in a rugged land and rule rather than to cultivate rich plains and be slaves to others". Now there is a thought worth pondering!

A smooth translation and an exemplary critical apparatus combine to engage the reader's curiosity and invite reflection.

Herodotus is the father of history, but tread with caution.......2002-07-17

Herodotus is a great historian of the ancient world and he'll go off on long tangents about various people. He was obviously a significant academic who was widely travelled, but some of his insights are no doubt a part of his very active imagination. He discusses the people we all know existed as contemporaries of the Greeks such as the Phoenician traders who competed with the Greeks in the Mediterranean as well as their main military rivals, the Persians. We are also treated to what Herodotus refers to as local customs such as how the pecularities of the Babylonian dress and how brides were bought and sold (Herodotus finds this an admirable practice!). There is a long section on the Egyptians which is often second hand information and it's amusing to read how Herodotus isn't sure where to place Egypt (Asia or Libya). He also makes parallels between peoples such as the respect shown to the elderly in Egypt and parts of Greece. This is, however, a history and we get plenty of that, but Herodotus likes to digress into social anthropological observation. We get the Persian wars, the rise of Alexander, the bizarre behavior of the Persian kings, the conquests of Egypt, and all sorts of other events. I would agree with the description of Herodotus found on the back cover of this edition as he is indeed both the father of history and the father of lies (albeit perhaps more like the father of hyperbole in my opinion). Highly recommended for all students of ancient history. Just don't take everything he claims as fact!

Average customer rating:

Good version of "The History"
Good modern translation of the First Historian.
Excellent, also try others
Grene wins on the strength of his translation
Try another translation

The History
Herodotus
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Greece | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Medieval | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Iliad (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War
Plato Complete Works
The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives
The Peloponnesian War

ASIN: 0226327728

Amazon.com

Herodotus of Halicarnassus was born about 484 B.C. and died some 60 years later. He traveled over much of the known ancient world, making trips to places such as southern Italy, lower Egypt, and the Caucasus. His great History, the first major prose work in world literature, is an account of his world at the time of the Persian Wars. The book, here ably translated by University of Chicago scholar David Grene, earned Herodotus the epithet "The Father of History" in ancient times. He distinguishes between the things seen with his own eyes and those of which he had only heard. But he was often too credulous of things told to him by his peers along the way, for which reason his younger contemporary Thucydides called him "The Father of Lies." Renowned in his own time for his humanity and wide-ranging curiosity, Herodotus shows an insatiable appetite for both useful information and a good yarn, and The History is a starting point for any student of the past.

Book Description

David Grene, one of the best known translators of the Greek classics, splendidly captures the peculiar quality of Herodotus, the father of history.

Here is the historian, investigating and judging what he has seen, heard, and read, and seeking out the true causes and consequences of the great deeds of the past. In his History, the war between the Greeks and Persians, the origins of their enmity, and all the more general features of the civilizations of the world of his day are seen as a unity and expressed as the vision of one man who as a child lived through the last of the great acts in this universal drama.

In Grene's remarkable translation and commentary, we see the historian as a storyteller, combining through his own narration the skeletal "historical" facts and the imaginative reality toward which his story reaches. Herodotus emerges in all his charm and complexity as a writer and the first historian in the Western tradition, perhaps unique in the way he has seen the interrelation of fact and fantasy.

"Reading Herodotus in English has never been so much fun. . . . Herodotus crowds his fresco-like pages with all shades of humanity. Whether Herodotus's view is 'tragic,' mythical, or merely common sense, it provided him with a moral salt with which the diversity of mankind could be savored. And savor it we do in David Grene's translation."--Thomas D'Evelyn, Christian Science Monitor

"Grene's work is a monument to what translation intends, and to what it is hungry to accomplish. . . . Herodotus gives more sheer pleasure than almost any other writer."--Peter Levi, New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

Good version of "The History".......2006-12-03

David Grene's translation of Herodotus' "The History" is a good version of the Greek historian's magnum opus.

The Introduction provides context for the translation to come. 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. Nonetheless, the Introduction is serviceable. Grene notes of Herodotus' work that" "There are two worlds of meaning that are constantly in Herodotus' head. The one is that of human calculation, reason, cleverness, passion, happiness. There, one knows what is happening and, more or less, who is the agent of cause. The other is the will of Gods, or fate, or the intervention of daimons."

In the History itself, Herodotus ranges widely geographically, and considers many different countries. With these, he discusses in detail such varied matters as hygiene, sex, culture, animals, religion, geographical features, and so on. He appears to have tried to ascertain as best as he could what the actuality was and what hearsay or rumor was. One of the more interesting examples of this is his effort to understand the role of Helen in the Trojan War (2, 120). Here, he doubts the veracity of Homer's rendering of the causes of the war. He believes that Helen never did go to Troy, because Priam would not have been willing to risk his empire over one woman. At other places, he clearly states the different versions of some incident and then renders his own best judgment as to what he thought the reality was. In short, he did not simply retell tales that he heard. When he is not sure what actually happened, he says so (e.g., 1, 49; 1, 75).

In the end, Herodotus has done a great service for many generations, by putting down, as best he could, his understanding of the history of the various actors of his time and before. The reader will find it difficult to keep all the people and countries straight. The volume features a useful set of maps, providing a sense of the different countries mentioned, as well as the travels of armies on conquests.

The book moves ahead in a majestic trajectory to ultimately describe the Persian-Greek War, with Xerxes leading his great force into Greece. Herodotus provides detail on many aspects of this conflict, which the Greeks eventually won, after battles at Thermopylae, Salamis, and Platea.

For an early effort at history, Herodotus' work is important to be aware of. And Grene's translation makes the work accessible to readers today.

Good modern translation of the First Historian. .......2006-02-03

I have always thought of Herodotus as boring, full of digressions and hot air. He is, however, the First Historian, and therefore needs to be digested by any educated person. I first tried the Rawlinson translation,The Histories (Everyman's Library (Paper)) managed to struggle through it, but found it turgid and indeed boring. I then looked at Walter Blanco's translation in the Norton Critical Edition.Herodotus: The Histories : New Translation, Selections, Backgrounds, Commentaries (Norton Critical Editions) Blanco's version is easier to read than Rawlinson's, but is full of modern American casualisms which seemed incongruous. Blanco's version is also incomplete, and if I were going to read Herodotus, I wanted to read his entire story, just not selections. Some of Blanco's omissions are significant, including most of Book IX, which contains most of the incidents that link the history of Herodotus to that of Thucydides.The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War

I then read David Grene's translation. I still found the early sections on the history of Egypt and Persia and all the digressions about the Scythians and Libyans tedious, but Grene's language is easy to follow and appropriate to the subject, and as I continued reading the narrative began to flow and became quite enjoyable. (I haven't read the MacaulayThe Histories (Barnes & Noble Classics) or SelincourtThe Histories (Penguin Classics) translations.)

R.G. Collingwood in "The Idea of History" The Idea of History: With Lectures 1926-1928rates Herodotus, with all his faults, as superior to Thucydides. This surprised me, as I had always heard Thucydides held up as the paradigm of what a true historian should be. But Collingwood has a point. With all his digressions, myths, and tall tales, Herodotus does his best to evaluate his sources and then tries to tell us as best he can what actually happened, without taking sides and without pointing morals. Thucydides wants to teach and has a definite moral point of view, which no doubt influenced his selection and presentation of the facts.

Herodotus should be read and digested by every educated person, and David Grene's translation makes that easier to do.

Excellent, also try others.......2006-01-03

The translation, as I see it, makes this classic contemporary but also brings one--perhaps--into ancient minds that are like ours but also unlike ours. Nothing will ever be perfect here until educated people in this culture become scholars of Greek again, like that'll ever happen.

Kudos to Sally from Florida down below who is reading such Classics to fill in the gaps in her education. Sally, you are scarcely alone and I can cite endless examples of recent conscientious graduates from decent-to-great schools who feel the same way. Curiously, while we have been emphasizing education in the cultures of other "peoples," we've simultaneously been ignoring or actively dismantling the history and traditions of this culture. I'm stunned that anyone can complain about Euro-centrism and related bug-a-boos when few college graduates know anything at all about Euro-American history or culture!

Grene wins on the strength of his translation.......2005-03-01

By an costly combination of circumstances, I wound up recently linking three different translations in reading through Herodotus. Here's a comparative review of each, which I'm posting for each work.

1. Translation by G.C. Macaulay and revised throughout by Donald Lateiner; published by Barnes and Noble Classics in 2004, but the Macaulay translation is from around 1890.

I started with this one, attracted by the extensive introduction by Donald Lateiner. That intro was solid and revealed much that I hadn't been aware of. But the translation, even after Lateiner's revisions, is awkward and stilted. Many of the pronoun references are confusing, making it difficult to follow the narrative thread.

Here's about half of a single sentence: "Now Miltiades son of Kimon had thus taken possession of Lemnos:--After the Pelasgians had been cast out of Attica by the Athenians, whether justly or unjustly,--for about this I cannot tell except the things reported, which are these:--Hecataios on the one hand, the son of Hegesander, said in his history that it was done unjustly: for he said that when the Athenians saw the land which extends below Hymettos, which they had themselves given them to dwell in, as payment for the wall built round the Acropolis in former times, when the Athenians, I say, saw that the land was made good by cultivation, which before was bad or worthless, they were seized with jealousy and with longing to possess the land, and so drove them out, not alleging any other pretext: ..."

The footnotes are generally helpful, although many only state the obvious. They are all integrated with the text, making it unnecessary to keep paging to the back. The text is followed by some interesting additions: A "Repertory" of English translations, a list of comments and works "inspired" by Herodotus, further "comments and questions", an extensive bibliography, and two good Indices with that of proper names separate from the general index.

Maps: There are eight, all of which appear to be from the original Macaulay publication. In any case, they do not appear to be based on the most recent cartography. The first, more extensive maps are helpful, but, to my mind, the others are crudely drawn and lack important detail. Still, I'd give this edition a good rating for maps, since it turns out that eight is a comparatively generous serving.

2. Translation by Aubrey de Selincourt in 1954; revised by John Marincola in 1972, 1996, and 2003; published by Penguin Classics.

Disappointed by the Macaulay/Lateiner translation, I picked this one up on the basis of the strong reputation of Penguin Classics. It has another good introduction, followed by a limited bibliography. The translation itself is much easier to digest.

Here's how it renders the same passage as above: "The events which led to Miltiades' capture of Lemnos were as follows. The Athenians had forced certain Pelasgians to leave Attica. Whether or not they were justified in doing this is not clear; all I can offer are the two contradictory accounts, that of the Athenians themselves, on the one side, and of Hecataeus the son of Hegesander on the other. Hecataeus in his History maintains that the Athenians were in the wrong. According to him, they had given the Pelasgians in payment for building the wall round the Acropolis a tract of land, of poor quality and in bad condition, at the foot of Mt Hymettus; the Pelasgians had improved the land, and when the Athenians saw it changed out of recognition and in first-rate order, they grudged the gift and longed to take it back, until without further justification they forcibly ejected the occupants."

The footnotes, which are more extensive and informative than Lateiner's, are unfortunately all gathered as endnotes, necessitating frequent paging back and forth. There's a brief Glossary, which is far from adequate. A decent Index closes the edition.

Maps: There are only four, gathered together at the front. None of the battle sites are represented. The maps are well-drawn, but sacrifice detail for clarity. This was this edition's weakest aspect. It also lacks the many extras provided by Lateiner.

3. Translation by David Grene; published by the University of Chicago Press, 1987

A friend who owns a used book store provided this in time for the last 2 books of The History. There's a long Introduction, with a deeper focus than the others. Grene says this about his translation: "The English in which Herodotus comes before us should be direct, powerful, and clear but also, I think, a little odd." I found this to be a worthy approach and one which Grene achieves in practice, with little loss of clarity.

Here's that same passage: "Now this is the story of how Miltiades took Lemnos. The Pelasgians had been driven out of Attica by the Athenians--whether justly or otherwise I cannot say, only that Hecataeus, son of Hegisander, mentions it in his account and says that it was unjustly; for, he says, the Athenians had given the Pelasgians a piece of land to live in, under Hymettus, in payment for the wall that was at one time drawn around the Acropolis; and when the Athenians saw this place, which had before been very poor and worthless, now well tilled, they were seized with envy and longing to possess it and drove the Pelasgians out, urging no other pretext against them."

Grene has both footnotes and endnotes, the latter being longer and applicable to whole sections. There is a good Index that also attempts to provide explanatory material. That was a good idea, but it's applied somewhat randomly and was thus more frustrating than helpful.

Maps: There are 4 maps at the end and an additional 4 within the text. Of the 3 editions, this is the only one to include a map of Xerxes' route, but it has a major error. It also has the best map of Ionia.

I'd recommend Grene on the strength of his translation. But Lateiner has the best additional material. None of the three has sufficient maps for anyone who, like I, gets hung up on the many unfamiliar place names in Herodotus. You'll need a companion book for a better understanding of the geography; I haven't found an ideal solution, but both Wars of the Ancient Greeks by Victor Davis Hanson and The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece were helpful.

Try another translation.......2004-02-14

Herodotus is great. Don't look to him for accurate facts and figures, which a lot of people expect out of a history these days, because I doubt he was truly concerned with how many Persians there were exactly but rather with illustrating a point about the nature of the Persian regime. So when you run across the footnotes poking fun at him for his "inaccuracies," "mistakes," etc, just skip over them as it's really not relevant. Grene's translation is better than I could do yet, but I'm sure there are better ones out there closer to the original in spirit. I haven't read any others though, so I may be wrong.

Average customer rating:

The Persian Wars

The Persian Wars
Herodotus
Manufacturer: Audio Connoisseur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

Greece | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | Literature & Fiction | Books on CD | Formats | Books

Nonfiction | Books on CD | Formats | Books

Military | History | Books on CD | Formats | Books

General | Books on CD | Formats | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The History of the Peloponnesian War: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)
The Peloponnesian War
The March of the Ten Thousand (The March Upcountry, The Anabasis, The Persian Expedition)
Greek Lives
Alexander the Great (MP3 CD)

ASIN: 1929718179

Book Description

2 Volumes on 2 MP3-CDs, Unabridged, With Music and Sound Effects, Running Time: 29 hours THE PERSIAN WARS is unquestionably one of the world's greatest works of literature. But what, precisely, is it? The Persian Wars is part history, part geography, part travelogue, part anthropology...and completely entertaining. It possesses a charm that is legendary. With Herodotus we experience the impact of that great intellectual, moral, and ethical force that set the Greeks apart from the rest of the Ancient World. Herodotus has succeeded for all time in brilliantly expressing the conflict between the ideal of the free man and that of the despot - a magnificent epic of human triumph over the forces of tyranny, of the struggle over two diametrically opposed concepts of government...between which man must still choose today.

Contents of Volume I: The first four books of The Persian Wars serve as an introduction to the actual conflict itself. In this leisurely unwinding of events, people, and places in Volume I, Herodotus provides the listener with a fascinating glimpse of the Ancient World. It is a marvelous journey into an exotic time filled with strange and savage tribes, beautiful cities and monuments, and - as always - borne along on that inimitable charm that is unique to Herodotus.

Contents of Volume II: Starting with Book Five, Volume II of The Persian Wars enters directly into the intrigues between the Greeks and Persians. Darius, infuriated with Athens because of her support for the liberation of the Ionian Greeks, initiates the first invasion of Greece, which ends with the Athenian victory at Marathon in 490 B.C. When Xerxes ascends the Persian throne a few years later, the war is resumed on a vastly greater scale. In some of the most wonderful prose of all time, Herodotus describes the events culminating in the naval battle of Salamis and the clash of armies at Plataea.

Customer Reviews:

The Persian Wars.......2006-08-18

Not being an expert in translations from ancient Greek to English, I can only comment that I got what I wanted out of the MP3 CD. To learn about the Persian Wars. The narrator is easy to understand, and made a worthwhile presentation.

Average customer rating:

The History/Herodotus
Herodotus
Manufacturer: Univ of Chicago Pr (Tx)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Greece | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War
Plato's Phaedrus: A Translation With Notes, Glossary, Appendices, Interpretive Essay and Introduction (Focus Philosophical Library)
The Peloponnesian War
Plato Complete Works
The Aeneid

ASIN: 0226327701

Herodotus: The Histories : New Translation, Selections, Backgrounds, Commentaries (Norton Critical Editions)

Average customer rating:

The First Historian.
Outstanding New Translation
A short moral history of the West
the best of the Greeks

Herodotus: The Histories : New Translation, Selections, Backgrounds, Commentaries (Norton Critical Editions)
Herodotus , and Walter Blanco
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Greece | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Peloponnesian War: A New Translation, Backgrounds, Interpretations (Norton Critical Editions)
The Cambridge Companion to Herodotus (Cambridge Companions to Literature)
The Histories (Oxford World's Classics)
The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War
Greek Lives

ASIN: 0393959465

Customer Reviews:

The First Historian........2006-02-02

Herodotus was the first historian as we now understand the term. That is, he was the first to examine and compare sources of information about past events and to write them down. His reputation has waxed and waned over the centuries, and at the present time he is less well thought of than Thucydides. Yet Collingwood, in "The Idea of History", favors Herodotus over Thucydides because Herodotus simply tries to tell us as best he can what actually happened, while Thucydides has a moral tale to tell, and may have (we can't be sure) tailored his narrative to fit his moral.

Be that as it may, Herodotus should be read by every educated person, since Western culture and civilization began in his time, and the events he describes affect us to this day.

Since most of us do not read ancient Greek, the question then arises as to which translation to read. Walter Blanco's translation in this Norton Critical Edition is quite good, but is by no means perfect. He tends to use casual language modern Americans are comfortable with, but this probably isn't the tone in which Herodotus wrote his books. There is evidence that he declaimed them orally to audiences in rather formal performances, more like modern dramatic readings than reading to oneself.

Blanco's version is definitely an improvement over the 19th century standard by Rawlinson, but David Grene's more formal language seems more appropriate to me. There is also a very interesting online version by Shlomo Felberbaum, available at www.losttrails.com.

Here is a famous incident from Book VIII in each version:

Rawlinson: "And Themistocles succeeded in detaining the fleet in the way which I will now relate. He made over to Eurybiades five talents out of the thirty paid him, which he gave as if they came from himself; ..."

Grene: "This is how Themistocles made the Greeks stop there. He gave a share - five talents - of the money to Eurybiades, as though the money came from himself."

Blanco: "This is how Themistocles induced the Greeks to stay. He took three hundred pounds of this silver and gave it to Eurybiades as it if were actually coming from himself."

Felberbaum: "Then Themistocles made the Greeks hold up this way: to Eurybiades of that money he gave as a share five talents as if from his own forsooth he were making the gift."

A significant limitation of the Norton Edition is that it is not a complete translation. Many sections are left out, for example most of Book IX, which gives some of the links with the events later taken up by Thucydides. If you want to read all of Herodotus you won't get it in this translation, which is why I gave it four stars rather than five.

On the plus side, the background and commentary selections are very informative and helpful, and are alone well worth the price of the book.

Outstanding New Translation.......2005-08-07

This is a supurb presentation of the masterpiece of ancient history. The comentaries and backgrounds are especially valuable in developing an appreciation for the richness of our cultural heritage. This should enhance the accessibility of Herodotus to a wide audience. There are no better sources available.

A short moral history of the West.......2000-08-31

Often called "the father of history" Herodotus wrote the history of the Persian Wars more than one thousand years ago. The Persian Wars were a series of wars between the Powerful Persian empires of Xerxes and Darius and a handful of Greek cities, most notably Athens and Sparta. The Persian Wars set the tone for many subsequent themes in Western History including:

1. The concept of preserving Western culture from Eastern invaders. This theme occurs again and again in the conflicts between Rome and Parthia, the latter Roman Empire and the Huns, Charlamagne and the Saracens, late Medieval Europe and the Mongols, and contemporary Hollywood propaganda films about Arab terrorists. 2. The idea of a highly motivated and cunning underdog defeating a powerful but sloppy enemy. 3. The need for alliances and team work.

The most interesting part of The Histories, however is not the politics or the battles but the moral lessons that Herodotus tried to impart. A recurring theme in The Histories is the idea that the Greeks defeated the Persians because the Greeks acted in Harmony with nature while the Persians defied nature. Herodotus provides countless anecdotes of the hubris of Persian emperors who attempted to dominate nature by bridging the Hellespont , draining an offending river by digging thousands of diverting canals, or throwing shackles into the ocean to symbolize its submission to the Emperor. Herodotus viewed these actions as Hubris because they contained a false assumption of man's superiority over nature.

It is interesting that the father of Western History derived his culture's legitimacy from its respectful interaction with nature. What on Earth would he make of us now?

the best of the Greeks.......2000-05-30

First of all, if you haven't had the pleasure of reading any of the Norton Critical Editions of any famous works, always opt for them. As usual, this is a superb edition with tons of scholarly material and background information. If you like Greek history, it's hard to find anything that you would not like about Herodotus's histories. Many consider him the father of all history, and after you read him, you'll see why. On top of being a great historian, you'll find plenty of personal anecdotes about the Romans' escapes in Egypt, Cyrus's mistakes and achievments, and Xerxes' victories. This will make you a quick expert in Greek history and will entertain you with anecdotes from the Greek forays into Africa and the Mediterrean. You'll never think of any of the Greek leaders the same way again after you read Herodotus' gossip column account. You can't always trust him, but it's much more entertaining than Thucydides's histories.

The Persian Wars, II, Books 3-4 (Loeb Classical Library)

Average customer rating:

It must be Greek to me
achtung!
No series captures Herodotus like Loeb (forget Penguin!).

The Persian Wars, II, Books 3-4 (Loeb Classical Library)
Herodotus
Manufacturer: Loeb Classical Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Greece | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Medieval | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Herodotus, Books V-VII: The Persian Wars (Loeb Classical Library)
The Persian Wars, IV, Books 8-9 (Loeb Classical Library)
The Iliad: Volume I, Books 1-12 (Loeb Classical Library No. 170)
The Odyssey: Books 1-12 (The Loeb Classical Library, No 104)
Anabasis (Loeb Classical Library)

ASIN: 0674991311

Book Description

Herodotus the great Greek historian was born about 484 BC, at Halicarnassus in Caria, Asia Minor, when it was subject to the Persians. 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. He lived, it seems, for some time in Athens, and in 443 went with other colonists to the new city Thurii (in South Italy), where he died about 430. He was 'the prose correlative of the bard, a narrator of the deeds of real men, and a describer of foreign places' (Murray).</p>

Herodotus' famous history of warfare between the Greeks and the Persians has an epic dignity which enhances his delightful style. It includes the rise of the Persian power and an account of the Persian empire; a description and history of Egypt; and a long digression on the geography and customs of Scythia. Even in the later books on the attacks of the Persians against Greece there are digressions. All is most entertaining and produces a grand unity. After personal inquiry and study of hearsay and other evidence, Herodotus gives us a not uncritical estimate of the best that he could find.</p>

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Herodotus is in four volumes.</p>

Customer Reviews:

It must be Greek to me.......2005-07-15

Reading the Greek texts in the original is quite rewarding, especially since classical Greek is a tough nut to crack. Although I studied Greek for several years in schools and still brush it up as I go along, I often need help to understand some passages, especially syntactic forms that include untranslatable particles where dictionaries are of little or no help. Thus, I consider the Loeb Classical Library series second to none. I must admit that sometimes the Loeb translated text is an interpretation rather than actual translation and this makes understanding the Greek text challenging. For instance, the popular Greek double negative may be translated as a positive, a true interpretation but not a linguistic translation that would help the students of Greek clearly understand the original.

I must also mention the fact that in early Loeb editions, some going back 80 plus years which are available as used books at lower prices than new reprints, some passages of the English translation not only seem somewhat stilted to the modern reader, the result of using period English, but sometimes even necessitate consulting an English dictionary. However, most recent Loeb reprints have adapted the translation to modern forms.

In sum, the Loeb editions are invaluable in the sense of supplying the Greek (or Latin) original alongside a translation and thus indispensable to lovers of the ancient languages. When reading Loeb's Xenophons's Hellenica (and other Loeb histories, for instance) it helps so much to have the year the event being described printed in the margin. Rich indices and fold-out maps also enhance understanding and enjoyment. Finally, the retail price of these thick, cloth-bound, gold-stamped volumes ($21.50) is closer to that of run-of-the-mill trade paperbacks and much lower than that of trade hardcovers.

achtung!.......2004-09-11

A question for this volume's previous reviewer: if the quality of the translation matters so much, why even buy H's Histories in Greek? In fact, if you, prospective buyer, want a great translation, forget about Loeb. Recreating in English (as Loeb does) Greek syntax, grammar and sentence structure often results in awkward, harsh prose. H's Histories did not sound awkward or at all unnatural to the ears of ancient readers, so Loeb's strictly-by-the-book accuracy, while a boon for the translator, actually renders an inaccurate picture of the text for the casual reader. Contrary to what the previous reviewer has said, then, Aubrey De Selincourt's translation (Penguin press) is actually very faithful and accurate in every way that matters, managing to be smooth and eminently readable while minimally dishonest to the original text.

That said, I encourage you, prospective reader, to consider whether you want a translation of the Greek or the Greek itself. If a translation, buy Penguin's. If the Greek, Loeb is fine: using its translation to see how an expert deals with certain constructions and translation issues can be of great assistance. Personally, I prefer Oxford's editions, though for mostly aesthetic reasons; theirs use better paper, better bindings, are better looking, and their Greek typeface is less crowded--and thus easier to read--than Loeb's. Amazon's look inside option will give you a sample of each volume, in case you'd like to compare them for yourself (you'll need to do an advanced book search: author, herodotus; title, historiae [you'll need to search for 'volume I' and 'volume II' separately]; publisher, oxford university press). Oxford classical texts, however, don't come with a translation--a problem easily rectified if you're willing to spend an extra $7 on Penguin's H. (Actually, I prefer not to have a translation availible when I read Greek, since a very thin and easy-to-cross line separates checking one's translations against that of an expert, and using that expert's work as a crutch.)

The two editions cost about as much as one another, so your only choice is between the better-designed but less beginner-friendly Herodotus text from Oxford (two volumes), and the beginner-friendly but smaller and less 'kalos' text from Loeb (four volumes).

No series captures Herodotus like Loeb (forget Penguin!)........1998-10-24

Designed with both the amateur and the professional classicist in mind the Loeb series captures Herodotus (and all the other authors I have read) better than any other series. Unlike other publishers (for example Penguin) the Loeb seems truer to the original Greek, although my skill at reading ancient Greek is by no means exceptional; however, I can honestly tell a difference between the Loeb and the economy-translations. The Loebs may cost a bit more than these other translations, but the price is worth it: they are extremely well made. There are, of course, other good translations of Herodotus, such as the <<Portable Greek Historian>> but this text only contains portions of Herodotus' work. I recommend the Loeb version to anyone seeking not just an excellent translation but a piece to add to their library as well.

Average customer rating:

The Histories: Library Edition
Herodotus
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

Greece | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | Books on Cassette | Formats | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0786115912

Authors:

Authors

Authors