His plan to conquer egypt gives herodotus the opportunity to dedicate three logoi to the ancient kingdom on the. Herodotus the histories book one book two book three book four book five book six book seven book eight book nine. The history book ii great books of the western world. The history of herodotus by herodotus the internet classics archive. The history of herodotus volume 2 by herodotus free ebook. Herodotus was born at halicarnassus modern day bodrum, a city of mixed peoples including greeks and carians, on the fringe of the persian empire.
The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 716 pages and is available in paperback format. In the histories, he describes the expansion of the achaemenid empire under its kings cyrus the great, cambyses, and darius i the great, culminating in xerxes expedition to greece 480 bce, which met with disaster in the naval engagement at salamis and the battles at. Moreover the naming of almost all the gods has come to hellas from egypt. Being the second book of the famous history of herodotus london. Darius i, the great, darayavahush, 522486 bce in books 3, 4, 5 and 6. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus by. The histories by herodotus book ii, euterpe knowitall to. His histories primarily deals with the lives of croesus, cyrus, cambyses, smerdis, darius, and xerxes and the battles of marathon, thermopylae, artemisium, salamis, plataea, and mycale. Thoughts on book 2 of the histories of herodotus first.
Without booksthe herodotus book in particularthe gaps between the characters would be unable to bridge. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek, tr. The publisher has supplied this book in drm free form with digital watermarking. The main characters of this classics, non fiction story are.
Greek researcher, often called the worlds first historian. Xerxes i khshayarsha, 486466 bce in books 7, 8, and 9. The history of herodotus by herodotus written 440 b. Book i 299k book ii 249k book iii 221k book iv 230k book v 162k book vi 174k book vii 286k book viii 179k. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc. Prior to that were the illiad and the oddyse by homer during the 700s b.
At the beginning of the histories, herodotus sets out his reasons for writing it. It has the mane and tail of a horse, huge tusks which are very conspicuous, and a voice like a horses neigh. The history of herodotus book i the first book of the histories, called clio this is the showing forth of the inquiry of herodotus of halicarnassos, to the end that1 neither the deeds of men may be forgotten by lapse of time, nor the works 2 great and marvellous, which have been produced some by hellenes and some by barbarians, may. Herodotus description of egypt dominates book ii of the histories. Herodotus was an ancient greek historian who lived in the fift. Jul 01, 2001 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. This happens quite literally in one scene, where hana uses miscellaneous books from the library to repair the stairs.
The rise of the persian empire is chronicled, and the causes for the conflict with greece. Written about 440 bc, the histories tell the story of the war between the persian empire and the greek citystates in the 5th. Herodotus is not just the father of history, he is also the father of ethnography, and his description of the egyptians suggests that they often do the opposite of whatever the greeks do. So its fitting that, through herodotus book, the english patient reveals his own history.
Book 2 of the histories largely concerns itself with egypt. Pdf the histories book by herodotus free download 716 pages. Its interesting that while the graphic novelmovie 300 is intensely fictional, there are many details that come right from the account of herodotus concerning the. The histories, however, is one of those books where an audiobook helps. The audiobook gives you a good pace and forcemarches you through to the end.
It is a quadruped, clovenfooted, with hoofs like an ox, and a flat nose. Oct 09, 2017 the histories of herodotus of halicarnassus, volume 1. The rise of the persian empire is chronicled, and the causes for the conflict. Summary of and commentary on herodotus histories, book 7, 2015 your bibliography. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek index. Quite a few comments have been posted about the history of herodotus. Books viix contain the history of the wars, culminating in an account of the. Herodotus the great greek historian was born about 484 bce, at halicarnassus in caria, asia minor, when it was subject to the persians. Her name is derived from the greek word meaning delight. Cambyses ii, kabujiya, 530522 bce in books 2 and 3. The hippopotamus, in the canton of papremis, is a sacred animal, but not in any other part of egypt. Euterpe 1 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 140 150 160 170 180 book 3. Reading herodotus, one can often get bogged down in the loops of geography, people, history, culture and meandre through miles of esoterica.
Herodotus s subject in his history is the wars between greece and persia 499479 bce and their preliminaries. Two of these i do not think it worth while to speak of, further than simply to mention what they are. Online books about this author are available, as is a wikipedia article herodotus. Sep 03, 2019 i really enjoyed this book because it is the first book of history ever written by man. The biblical writers borrowed from it to create characters such as the judges samson. The history book ii book 2 is named after the greek muse euterpe. Godley, read by librivox volunteers, proofed, coordinated, and produced by karen merline. In the histories, he describes the expansion of the achaemenid empire under its kings cyrus the great, cambyses, and darius i the great, culminating in xerxes expedition to greece 480 bce, which met with disaster in the naval engagement at salamis. Herodotus often accepted stories and reputations uncritically and reported them as facts. Egyptians, preferring cleanliness to comeliness, practice circumcision. Pdf the histories book by herodotus free download 716.
Written about 440 bc, the histories tell the story of the war between the persian empire and the greek citystates in the 5th century bc. The history of herodotus volume 2 kindle edition by herodotus, g. Written in 440 bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, the histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known in western asia, northern. Book i 299k book ii 249k book iii 221k book iv 230k book v 162k book vi 174k book. The histories of herodotus of halicarnassus, volume 1. Back to the future cover gallery by various authors great scott. He travelled widely in most of asia minor, egypt as far as assuan, north africa, syria, the country north of the black sea, and many parts of the aegean sea and the mainland of greece. The present selection includes 3599 of the traditionally numbered 182 sections that make up. Herodotus of halicarnassus 440 bc the histories of herodotus of halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in western literature. The histories of herodotus is now considered the founding work of history in western literature. In the histories, he describes the expansion of the achaemenid empire under its kings cyrus the great, cambyses, and darius i the great, culminating in xerxes expedition to greece 480 bce, which met with disaster in the naval engagement at salamis and the battles at plataea and mycale.
Thaleia 1 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 140 150 160. Written in 440 bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, the histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known in western asia, northern africa and greece at that time. Despite herodotus s historical significance, little is known about his personal life. Herodotus histories full audiobook book 2 of 3 youtube. The histories of herodotus of halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in western literature. Herodotus describes the birth and rise to power of cyrus, who liberated persia from the medes, and the subsequent expansion of the persian empire until cyrus death during a war with the massagetae. One of the most important works of history in western literature, by the freshest and liveliest of all classical greek prose authors, herodotus s histories is also a key text for the study of ancient greece and the persian empire. The histories of herodotus is considered one of the seminal works of history in western literature. Herodotus was a greek writer and geographer credited with being the first historian. I really enjoyed this book because it is the first book of history ever written by man.
Euterpe on the death of cyrus, cambyses his son by cassandane daughter of pharnaspes took the kingdom. The father of history, as cicero called him, and a writer possessed of remarkable narrative gifts, enormous scope, and considerable charm, herodotus has always been beloved by readers wellversed in the classics. The histories herodotus translated by george rawlinson book 1 these are the researches of herodotus of halicarnassus, which he publishes, in the hope of thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of what men have done, and of preventing the great and wonderful actions of the greeks and the barbarians from. As it has survived, the history is divided into nine books the division is not the authors. This is a chapterbychapter summary, with occasional notes, of the histories of herodotus, based mostly on the translation by peter greene 1987, with occasional reference to translations by a. He has become known as the father of history for his major work the histories. Covering a central and widely studied period of greek history, book v not only describes the revolt of the east greeks against their persian masters, which led to the great persian wars of 490479 bc, but also. Book vi of the histories is one of herodotus most varied books, beginning with the final collapse of the ionian revolt and moving on to the athenian triumph at marathon 490 bc.
This is the story which i heard from the priests of hephaestus temple at memphis. Herodotus c480c425 is the father of history and his histories are the first piece of western historical writing. Herodotus lays out the history of egypt until the reign of amasis, the pharaoh that cambyses will defeat in histories. Free download or read online the histories pdf epub book. Histories classics of world literature series by herodotus. The histories also known as the history of herodotus is considered the founding work of history in western literature. Compelled by his desire to prevent the traces of human events from being erased by time, herotodus recounts the incidents preceding and following the persian wars.
In book 2, herodotus discusses the geography, culture, and history of egypt. Book 1 book 2 book 3 book 4 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8 book 9 2. The book shows literature and historys power to repair. Herodotus account of egyptian history and customs, contained in book ii of his long narrative history of the persian wars, is a classic. The histories of herodotus is considered the founding work of history in western literature. Cambyses becomes king of the persian empire 530522 bc. He is known for having written the book the histories greek. Nile river overflows every year, flooding the surrounding lands as far as 2 days of travel.
Woods, for example, in his edition of the first book published in 1873 gives a list of readings for the first and second books, in which he almost invariably prefers the authority of gronovius to that of stein, where their reports differ. The history of herodotus volume 1 by herodotus free ebook. Permission to reprint in nonprofit venues is hereby granted, although. Written from the 450s to the 420s bc it remains one of the wests most important sources. The first edition of the novel was published in 440, and was written by herodotus. Book 2 of the history, which describes the egyptian land and people, illustrates herodotus s skill as a narrator as well as his weaknesses as a historian. Even though his broader theme is the history of the persian wars, book ii includes a vast range of subjects, from geology and meteorology to commerce, family life, and medicine. Summary of and commentary on herodotus histories, book 7. For anyone with even the slightest interest in ancient history, herodotuss history is compulsory reading an authentic voice from the past that takes us back into the 5th and 6th centuries bce, to let us witness the epochmaking confrontation between the greeks and the all powerful persian empire. Part of a complete english translation of herodotus.
A contemporary of thucydides, socrates, and euripides he is often called the father of history, initially by no less than cicero. The history of herodotus has been divided into the following sections. Histories book 2 the history of egypt summary course hero. Written from the 450s to the 420s bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, the histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known around the mediterranean and western asia at that time. Book 2 summary in book 2, herodotus discusses the geography, zoology, customs, and history of ancient egypt. Books iv describe the background to the grecopersian wars.
Volume 2 of the histories includes the accounts of the famous battles at thermopylae and salamis. Herodotus was a greek historian who was born in the 5th century bc in what is now modernday bodrum in turkey then part of the vast persian empire. Herodotus claims to have traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book, almost all of which covers territories of the persian empire. Histories by herodotus translated by george rawlinson book 2 euterpe. Herodotus attempts to relate the whole history of the kings of egypt, although he does not describe all 350 pharaohs he claims have ruled the country. Downloads pdf the histories of herodotus by herodotus. Sep 21, 20 herodotus traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book. Herodotus broke from the then tradition to treat history as one of investigation of. The history of herodotus volume 2 kindle edition by herodotus. The histories, herodotus the histories of herodotus is the founding work of history in western literature.
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