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Title: Herodotus: The Histories (Penguin Classics) by Herodotus, John M. Marincola, Aubrey De Selincourt ISBN: 0-14-044638-9 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.72 (29 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The history of a fascinating period, and great entertainment
Comment: The Penguin Classics series is full of treasures, but this is one of the best of them. Like other reviewers I approached this with a little trepidation, thinking that it would be a dry study of ancient history. I was surprised and delighted to find that Herodotus, at least in this translation (by Aubrey de Selincourt), is lively, witty and frankly more readable than many modern history writers.
There are copious footnotes, provided by John Marincola, and I found them very valuable in providing context. For example, Herodotus gives, in book seven, an incredible account of how Xerxes had a channel cut through the Athos peninsula a mile and a half long and a hundred feet wide, just to pass through on his invasion of Greece, and not for permanent use. Marincola points out in the footnotes that later writers of antiquity ridiculed this account, but that in fact archaeological evidence has been found to support it.
Marincola also provides a structural outline of the histories, several maps (which are absolutely invaluable), and a chronology, plus lists of the most important kingships. The histories cover quite a bit of territory and time, but the focus is on the war between Persia and Greece, waged first by Darius and then by Xerxes. The timeline, in modern terms, is about 560 B.C. to 480 B.C.; however, particularly when talking about Egypt, Herodotus goes back much further.
Herodotus' general style, in fact, is to use the political events of the history as springboards for relating the information he has about the customs of the various Mediterranean societies. There are many digressions on the customs of the Babylonians, the Thracians, the Libyans, the Indians, and so on; these are placed whereever they seem most relevant in the story. But the digressions do not obscure the fact that Herodotus is simply a terrific story-teller. He relates little anecdotes about how so-and-so became king or incurred the wrath of Xerxes or died in battle with tremendous gusto; he is opinionated, coherent, and just plain fun to read.
More than just the pleasure of reading well-written history, however, there is something else to be gained from reading Herodotus. The histories are now almost 2500 years old. It is impossible to read them without wishing to have met Herodotus; without realizing that whatever we think about our technological progress, men of wit, genius and breadth of learning have existed for millenia and are not confined to the present day. When you read the Histories, and perhaps especially when you read the section on Egypt, which was, incredibly, as old to Herodotus as Herodotus is to us, you start to feel the true depth of human time in a way very hard to achieve.
A classic, in every sense of the word. You'll love it.
Rating: 5
Summary: Herodotus' "Histories"
Comment: Herodotus, as everybody knows, is "The Father of History." However, another tradition, almost as old, has cast him as the "Father of Lies". Unlike Thucydides, who immediately followed him, Herodotus' history was epic in scope, encompassing all human life - and his discussions of supernatural or divine events, for instance, often read as being exceptionally credulous and lacking in critical awareness.
However, this need not detract from one's enjoyment of this marvellous work. Herodotus travelled all across the world, Greek and non-Greek, and while he supplies us with a good deal of fascinating and factual information about historical events, his digressions into the realms of mythology and local folk-tales keep us entertained to the last. The highly digressive structure of the work makes it exceptionally difficult to follow the chronological or analytical thread in places, but that's beside the point. The "Histories" is a book to submerge yourself into, and whether you want to find out about Greek history in the archaic period or merely be entertained by a wealth of beautifully-told anecdotes, Herodotus is the man for you. His merits are numerous - unlike Thucydides, his conception of history encompasses far more than the narrow realms of politics and wars, and he is happy to set differing traditions alongside one another and allow the reader to make up their own mind. As we move into a period when history is increasingly seen as "holistic", and away from the narrow Thucydidean conception of history, we increasingly learn to treasure Herodotus for what he is - the fossilized voice of an entire generation of men, living in an impossibly distant past, keeping us entertained with their fireside stories. All this is facilitated by Aubrey de Selincourt's fluent (if slightly free) translation. Superb.
Rating: 5
Summary: . . . excellent for Graduate students and pundits as well.
Comment: 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!!
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Title: History of the Peloponnesian War (Penguin Classics) by Thucydides, Rex Warner ISBN: 0140440399 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1954 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Oresteia (PENGUIN CLASSICS) by Aeschylus, Robert Fagles ISBN: 0140443339 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 1984 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean by Charles Freeman ISBN: 0198721943 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $26.50 |
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Title: Greek Lyric: An Anthology in Translation by Andrew W. Miller ISBN: 0872202917 Publisher: Hackett Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 March, 1996 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: The Iliad of Homer by Homer, Richmond Lattimore ISBN: 0226469409 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: 01 July, 1961 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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