Herodotus' Histories is a fascinating account of the interactions between the Greeks and their powerful Near-Eastern neighbours. In it he explores the long-term causes for the Persian invasions of Greece in the early fifth century BCE, a momentous event both for the development of Greek civilization and for the beginnings of historiography, and traces the rise of the Persians as rulers of a large multi-ethnic empire whose lands and cultures are vividly described. This first surviving history is a tapestry of brilliant and entertaining narratives, but it also addresses profoundly serious concerns, such as the advantages and failings of different forms of government, the role of religion and morality in public life, and encounters with different cultures. This collection - the first of two volumes - is dedicated to the historical component of the Histories and includes important previously published essays, some translated into English for the first time, which discuss Herodotus' historical method, sources, narrative art, literary antecedents, intellectual background, and political ideology. The introduction contains an account of Herodotus' life and times, as well as a survey of recent scholarship designed as a guide for contextualizing the selected articles according to the range of approaches they represent.

In the Histories, which could loosely be translated as 'Investigations' or 'Researches,' Herodotus tells how the Persian Empire began, grew, and then met defeat in Greece in his parents' generation. Book 1 begins that story. It introduces both the world in which the Persian imperial war machine began to operate and then expanded, and Herodotus' own procedures in undertaking the ambitious task he has set himself. This edition helps intermediate and advanced students to read the book in the original Greek and will also be of interest to advanced scholars. The Commentary provides information about dialect, grammatical forms, syntax, and other properties of his language. In addition, the Introduction and the Commentary 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.

In the Histories, which could loosely be translated as 'Investigations' or 'Researches,' Herodotus tells how the Persian Empire began, grew, and then met defeat in Greece in his parents' generation. Book 1 begins that story. It introduces both the world in which the Persian imperial war machine began to operate and then expanded, and Herodotus' own procedures in undertaking the ambitious task he has set himself. This edition helps intermediate and advanced students to read the book in the original Greek and will also be of interest to advanced scholars. The Commentary provides information about dialect, grammatical forms, syntax, and other properties of his language. In addition, the Introduction and the Commentary 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.

Herodotus' Histories is a fascinating account of the interactions between the Greeks and their powerful Near-Eastern neighbours. In it he explores the long-term causes for the Persian invasions of Greece in the early fifth century BCE, a momentous event both for the development of Greek civilization and for the beginnings of historiography, and traces the rise of the Persians as rulers of a large multi-ethnic empire whose lands and cultures are vividly described. This first surviving history is a tapestry of brilliant and entertaining narratives, but it also addresses profoundly serious concerns, such as the advantages and failings of different forms of government, the role of religion and morality in public life, and encounters with different cultures. This collection - the first of two volumes - is dedicated to the historical component of the Histories and includes important previously published essays, some translated into English for the first time, which discuss Herodotus' historical method, sources, narrative art, literary antecedents, intellectual background, and political ideology. The introduction contains an account of Herodotus' life and times, as well as a survey of recent scholarship designed as a guide for contextualizing the selected articles according to the range of approaches they represent.

The ancient historian Herodotus, the Father of History, is also considered a great anthropologist. In his account of the Persian invasions of Greece in the fifth century BCE, he searches for the forces that transformed Persians from an underprivileged nation into the rulers of the largest empire of antiquity. In his Histories , he explores the non-Hellenic peoples that were either conquered by the Persians or managed to resist or elude their aggression, such as the Lydians, Egyptians, Libyans, Scythians, and Thracians, and describes the lands they inhabit, their resources, customs, religious rituals, and cultural predisposition. This second volume of the Oxford Readings in Classical Studies on Herodotus focuses on his description of foreign lands and peoples, and on the theoretical issues it raises. The selected essays look at the principles of Herodotus' research concerning the physical world in the light of traditional myth and the science of his times, and deal with the connections between travelling and storytelling, culture and gender, Hellenic and barbarian religions, and memory and ethnicity - all within the context of his insistence on the basic unity of human experience. Central to this collection is the extent to which the Histories's ethnographic portrayals conform to conventional Greek constructs of barbarian 'otherness', or derive from field-work and direct contact with native sources.

In Greek thought, "barbaroi" are utterers of unintelligible or inarticulate sounds. What importance does the text of Herodotus's "Histories" attribute to language as a criterion of ethnic identity? The answer to this question illuminates the empirical foundations of Herodotus's pluralistic worldview. The first translator of cultures also translates, describes, and evaluates foreign speech to a degree unparalleled by other Greek ancient authors. For Herodotus, language is an area of interesting but surprisingly unproblematic difference, which he offers to his audience as a model for coming to terms in a neutral way with other, more emotionally charged, cultural differences.

The ancient historian Herodotus, the Father of History, is also considered a great anthropologist. In his account of the Persian invasions of Greece in the fifth century BCE, he searches for the forces that transformed Persians from an underprivileged nation into the rulers of the largest empire of antiquity. In his Histories , he explores the non-Hellenic peoples that were either conquered by the Persians or managed to resist or elude their aggression, such as the Lydians, Egyptians, Libyans, Scythians, and Thracians, and describes the lands they inhabit, their resources, customs, religious rituals, and cultural predisposition. This second volume of the Oxford Readings in Classical Studies on Herodotus focuses on his description of foreign lands and peoples, and on the theoretical issues it raises. The selected essays look at the principles of Herodotus' research concerning the physical world in the light of traditional myth and the science of his times, and deal with the connections between travelling and storytelling, culture and gender, Hellenic and barbarian religions, and memory and ethnicity - all within the context of his insistence on the basic unity of human experience. Central to this collection is the extent to which the Histories's ethnographic portrayals conform to conventional Greek constructs of barbarian 'otherness', or derive from field-work and direct contact with native sources.