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Histories (Herodotus)
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Everything about Histories Herodotus totally explainedThe Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in Western literature. Written about 440 BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, The Histories tells the story of the war between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. Herodotus travelled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book. At the beginning of The Histories, Herodotus sets out his reasons for writing it:
Herodotus of Halicarnassus here displays his enquiry, so that human achievements may not become forgotten in time, and great and marvellous deeds – some displayed by Greeks, some by barbarians – may not be without their glory; and especially to show why the two peoples fought with each other. |
The Histories is divided into nine books, each named after one of the Muses. The rise of the Persian Empire is chronicled, and the causes for the conflict with Greece. Herodotus treats the conflict as an ideological one, frequently contrasting the absolute power of the Persian king with the democratic government of the Greeks. The Histories contains a famous account of the Battle of Marathon, of which Herodotus wrote:
So when the battle was set in array, and the [[haruspex |
Storyline
- The rulers of Lydia (on the west coast of modern Turkey): Candaules, Gyges, Sadyattes, Alyattes, Crœsus (6-7)
- How Gyges took the kingdom from Candaules (8-13)
- The singer Arion's ride on the dolphin (23-24)
- Solon's answer to Crœsus's question that Tellus was the happiest person in the world (29-33)
- Crœsus's efforts to protect his son Atys, his son's accidental death by Adrastus (34-44)
- Crœsus's test of the oracles (46-54)
- The answer from the Oracle of Delphi concerning whether Crœsus should attack the Persians (famous for its ambiguity): If you attack you'll destroy a mighty empire (55-56)
- Pisistratus' rises and falls from power as tyrant of Athens (59-64)
- The rise of Sparta (65-68)
- Crœsus's defeat by Cyrus II of Persia, and how he later became Cyrus's advisor (70-92)
- The rulers of the Medes: Deioces, Phraortes, Cyaxares, Astyages, Cyrus II of Persia (95-144)
- The rise of Deioces over the Medes
- Astyages's attempt to destroy Cyrus, and Cyrus's rise to power
- Harpagus tricked into eating his son, his revenge against Astyages by assisting Cyrus
- The culture of the Persians
- The history and geography of the Ionians, and the attacks on it by Harpagus
- Pactyes' convinces the Lydians to revolt. Rebellion fails and he seeks refuge from Mazares in Cyme (Aeolis)
- The culture of Assyria, especially the design and improvement of the city of Babylon and the ways of its people
- Cyrus's attack on Babylon, including his revenge on the river Gyndes and his famous method for entering the city
- Cyrus's ill-fated attack on the Massagetæ
The proof of the antiquity of the Phrygians by the use of children unexposed to language
The geography of Egypt
Speculations on the Nile river
The religious practices of Egypt, especially as they differ from the Greeks
The animals of Egypt: cats, dogs, crocodiles, hippopotamuses, otters, phoenixes, sacred serpents, winged snakes, ibises
The culture of Egypt: medicine, funeral rites, food, boats
The kings of Egypt: Menes, Nitocris, Mœris, Sesostris, Pheron, Proteus
Helen and Paris' stay in Egypt during the Trojan War
More kings of Egypt: Rhampsinitus (and the story of the clever thief), Cheops (and the building of the Great Pyramid), Chephren, Mycerinus, Asychis, Anysis, Sethôs
The line of priests
The Labyrinth
More kings of Egypt: the twelve, Psammetichus (and his rise to power), Necôs, Psammis, Apries, Amasis II (and his rise to power)
Cambyses II of Persia's (son of Cyrus II and king of Persia) attack on Egypt, and the defeat of the Egyptian king Psammetichus III.
Cambyses's abortive attack on Ethiopia
The madness of Cambyses
The good fortune of Polycrates king of Samos
Periander, the king of Corinth and Corcyra, and his obstinate son
The revolt of the two Magi in Persia and the death of Cambyses
The conspiracy of the seven to remove the Magi
The rise of Darius I of Persia.
The twenty satrapies
The culture of India and their method of collecting gold
The culture of Arabia and their method of collecting spices
The flooded valley with five gates
Orœtes's (governor of Sardis) scheme against Polycrates
The physician Democêdes
The rise of Syloson governor of Samos
The revolt of Babylon and its defeat by the scheme of Zopyrus
The history of the Scythians (from the land north of the Black Sea)
The miraculous poet Aristeas
The geography of Scythia
The inhabitants of regions beyond Scythia: Sauromatae, Budini, Thyssagetae, Argippaeans, Issedonians, Arimaspi, Hyperboreans
A comparison of Libya (Africa), Asia, and Europe
The rivers of Scythia: the Ister, the Tyras, the Hypanis, the Borysthenes, the Panticapes, the Hypacyris, the Gerrhus, and the Tanais
The culture of the Scythians: religion, burial rites, xenophobia (the stories of Anacharsis and Scylas), population
The beginning of Darius's attack on Scythia, including the bridge over the Bosphorus
The brutal worship of Zalmoxis by the Getae
The customs of the surrounding peoples: Tauri, Agathyrsi, Neuri, Androphagi (man-eaters), Melanchlaeni, Geloni, Budini, Sauromatae
The wooing of the Amazons by the Scyths, forming the Sauromatae
Darius's failed attack on Scythia and consequent retreat
The story of the Minyæ (descendants of the Argonauts) and the founding of Cyrene
The kings of Cyrene: Battus, Arcesilaus, Battus the Lame (and the reforms of Demonax), Arcesilaus (his revolt and death)
The peoples of Libya from east to west
The revenge of Arcesilaus' mother Pheretima
The attack on the Thracians by Megabazus
The removal of the Paeonians to Asia
The slaughter of the Persian envoys by Alexander I of Macedon
The failed attack on the Naxians by Aristagoras, tyrant of Miletus
The revolt of Miletus against Persia
The background of Cleomenes I, king of Sparta, and his half brother Dorieus
The description of the Persian Royal Road from Sardis to Susa
The introduction of writing to Greece by the Phoenicians
The freeing of Athens by Sparta, and its subsequent attacks on Athens
The reorganizing of the Athenian tribes by Cleisthenes
The attack on Athens by the Thebans and Eginetans
The backgrounds of the tyrants of Corinth, Cypselus and his son Periander
Aristagoras's failed request for help from Sparta, and successful attempt with Athens
The burning of Sardis, and Darius's vow for revenge against the Athenians
Persia's attempts to quell the Ionian revolt
The fleeing of Histiaeus to Chios
The training of the Ionian fleet by Dionysius of Phocaea
The abandonment of the Ionian fleet by the Samians during battle
The defeat of the Ionian fleet by the Persians
The capture and death of Histiaeus by Harpagus
The invasion of Greece under Mardonius and enslavement of Macedon
The destruction of 300 ships in Mardonius's fleet near Athos
The order of Darius that the Greeks provide him earth and water, in which most consent, including Aegina
The Athenian request for assistance of Cleomenes of Sparta in dealing with the traitors
The history behind Sparta having two kings and their powers
The dethronement of Demaratus, the other king of Sparta, due to his supposed false lineage
The arrest of the traitors in Aegina by Cleomenes and the new king Leotychides
The suicide of Cleomenes in a fit of madness, possibly caused by his war with Argos, drinking unmixed wine, or his involvement in dethroning Demaratus
The battle between Aegina and Athens
The taking of Eretria by the Persians after the Eretrians sent away Athenian help
Pheidippides's encounter with the god Pan on a journey to Sparta to request aid
The assistance of the Plataeans, and the history behind their alliance with Athens
The Athenian win at the Battle of Marathon, led by Miltiades and other strategoi
The Spartans late arrival to assist Athens
The history of the Alcmaeonidae and how they came about their wealth and status
The death of Miltiades after a failed attack on Paros and the successful taking of Lemnos
The amassing of an army by Darius after learning about the defeat at Marathon
The quarrel between which son should succeed Darius in which Xerxes I of Persia is chosen
The death of Darius in 486 BC
The defeat of the Egyptian rebels by Xerxes
The advice given to Xerxes on invading Greece: Mardonius for invasion, Artabanus against
The dreams of Xerxes in which a phantom frightens him and Artabanus into choosing invasion
The preparations for war, including a canal and bridge across the Hellespont
The offer by Pythius to give Xerxes all his money, in which Xerxes rewards him
The request by Pythius to allow one son to stay at home, Xerxes' anger, and the march out between the butchered halves of Pythius's son
The destruction and rebuilding of the bridges built by the Egyptians and Phoenicians at Abydos
The siding with Persia of many Greek states, including Thessaly, Thebes, Melia, and Argos
The refusal of aid after negotiations by Gelo of Syracuse, and the refusal from Crete
The destruction of 400 Persian ships due to a storm
The small Greek force (appox. 6000) led by Leonidas I, sent to Thermopylae to delay the Persian army (approx. 3.4 million)
The Battle of Thermopylae in which the Greeks hold the pass for 3 days
The secret pass divulged by Ephialtes of Trachis in which Hydarnes uses to lead forces around the mountains to encircle the Greeks
The retreat of all but the Spartans, Thespians, and Thebans (forced to stay by the Spartans).
The Greek defeat and order by Xerxes to remove Leonidas' head and attach his torso to a cross
Greek fleet is led by Eurybiades, a Spartan
The destruction by storm of two hundred ships sent to block the Greeks from escaping
The retreat of the Greek fleet after word of a defeat at Thermopylae
The supernatural rescue of Delphi from a Persian attack
The evacuation of Athens assisted by the fleet
The reinforcement of the Greek fleet at Salamis Island, bringing the total ships to 378
The destruction of Athens by the Persian land force after difficulties with those who remained
The Battle of Salamis, the Greeks have the advantage due to better organization, and less loss due to ability to swim
The description of the Angarum, the Persian riding post
The rise in favor of Artemisia, the Persian woman commander, and her council to Xerxes in favor returning to Persia
The vengeance of Hermotimus, Xerxes' chief eunuch, against Panionius
The attack on Andros by Themistocles, the Athenian fleet commander and most valiant Greek at Salamis
The escape of Xerxes and leaving behind of 300,000 picked troops under Mardonius in Thessaly
The ancestry of Alexander I of Macedon, including Perdiccas
The refusal of an attempt by Alexander to seek a Persian alliance with Athens
The second taking of an evacuated Athens
The evacuation to Thebes by Mardonius after the sending of Lacedaemonian troops
The slaying of Masistius, leader of the Persian cavalry, by the Athenians
The warning from Alexander to the Greeks of an impending attack
The death of Mardonius by Aeimnestus
The Persian retreat to Thebes where they're afterwards slaughtered
The description and dividing of the spoils
The speedy escape of Artabazus into Asia.
The Persian defeat in Ionia by the Greek fleet, and the Ionian revolt
The mutilation of the wife of Masistes ordered by Amestris, wife of Xerxes
The death of Masistes after his intent to rebel
The Athenian blockade of Sestos and the capture of Artayctes
Translations of the Histories
George Rawlinson, 1858: in classics.mit.edu full text of all books (Book I to Book IX)
George Campbell Macaulay, 1904: full text, vol. 1, full text, vol. 2
Alfred Denis Godley, 1921: full text
Aubrey de Sélincourt, 1954 excerpts
Harry Carter, 1958
David Grene, 1985
Walter Blanco and Jennifer Tolbert Roberts, 1992
Robin Waterfield, 1998
Shlomo Felberbaum, 2003 - work in progress: full text
Herodotus' Histories in popular culture
In the movie The English Patient, Herodotus' work is a favorite of the main character, whose life journeys are similar to those of Herodotus. The work is continually referenced throughout, particularly in the campfire scene.
Many films have dramatised the battle of Thermopylae where king Leonidas of Sparta with his 300 bodyguards along with a few thousand militiamen from other Greek cities hold the pass from the Persian army. This was done most recently (and least accurately) in the film 300.
In Neil Gaiman's American Gods, the main character, Shadow, is introduced to Herodotus's Histories by his cellmate, and the work is referenced throughout the novel.Further Information
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