Herodotus: Histories Book I

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.