Herodotus: Histories Book I

In the Histories, which could loosely be translated as 'Investigations' or 'Researches', Herodotus sets out to tell how the Persian Empire began, grew, and then met defeat in Greece in his parents' generation. Book One begins that story. It introduces both the world in which the Persian imperial war machine began to operate and then expanded, and also Herodotus' own procedures in undertaking the ambitious task he has set himself. This edition helps intermediate and advanced students engage with the book in the original Greek. The Commentary provides considerable help with dialect, grammatical forms, syntax, and other properties of his language. In addition, it and the Introduction engage in literary interpretation and explore Herodotus' value as a historian, his immense curiosity and the attention he devotes to the customs, beliefs, concrete realities, and myths of other cultures. Students are thereby enabled to develop a scholarly appreciation of Herodotus' work.