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    Histories
    Histories
    Histories
    Ebook1,099 pages25 hours

    Histories

    By Herodotus and Tom Griffith

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    Translated with Notes by George Rawlinson. With an Introduction by Tom Griffith.

    Herodotus (c480-c425) is 'The Father of History' and his Histories are the first piece of Western historical writing. They are also the most entertaining.

    Why did Pheidippides run the 26 miles and 385 yards (or 42.195 kilometres) from Marathon to Athens? And what did he do when he got there? Was the Battle of Salamis fought between sausage-sellers? Which is the oldest language in the world? Why did Leonidas and his 300 Spartans spend the morning before the battle of Thermopylae combing their hair? Why did every Babylonian woman have to sit in the Temple of Aphrodite until a man threw a coin into her lap, and how long was she likely to sit there? And what is the best way to kill a crocodile?

    This wide-ranging history provides the answers to all these fascinating questions as well as providing many fascinating insights into the Ancient World.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWordsworth Editions
    Release dateFeb 1, 2013
    ISBN9781848704831
    Author

    Herodotus

    Often referred to as the “father of history,” Herodotus was born in what is now modern-day Turkey in 484 BCE. He travelled the world in order to collect eyewitness accounts of the Greco-Persian Wars and conduct first-hand research, and his work is amongst the earliest Greek prose to survive in its entirety. Although Herodotus’s method of collecting information was unique for the time, he, like many Greek scholars of the period, is criticized for manipulating his reporting of events and witnesses accounts in order to improve the narrative tone. The Histories is Herodotus’s only known work, and is still referred to by modern historians as providing an important perspective on life in ancient times. Recently, Herodotus’s written account of the Battle of Thermopylae was adapted into the film 300 by Zack Snyder. Herodotus is said to have died in 625 BCE at the age of 60, although this date cannot be confirmed.

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    Reviews for Histories

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      In the world's first history textbook (so to speak), Herodotus chronicles the wars between Persia and Greece - and so much more. As new historical figure or locales are introduced into the narrative, he frequently pauses to detail that person or place's history even when it has little bearing on the main event. The sum is a fascinating amalgam of fact and fiction: enough facts to provide an outline of the Greco-Persian Wars and the environs in which they took place, together with the people who carried it out; and enough fiction to add an aura of mythology to the undertakings, providing a challenge in prose to Homer's poetry.Inevitably the question arises of what to believe, so you'll want a good edition with footnotes or endnotes to help you parse it all. Herodotus' absurd description of a hippopotamus alone is enough to throw everything else into question, and that's just one of many examples. Whether he travelled as widely as his narrative implies, or saw with his own eyes as much as he claims, are open questions. There's also no telling how reliable his other sources were - something he gamely questions, but never enough to prevent him from sharing a good story. Expect some entertainment with your history.It's much easier reading than I'd assumed going in, and translator Aubrey de Selincourt's 1954 effort probably deserves the credit for making this such a compelling read. Even if you don't believe a word of what Herotodus says (although archeology has been able to back up quite a bit), the 'Father of History' still put together a great epic. For all that his effort is slandered, dating all the way back to ancient times, at least he gave it a shot and - most telling - none of his contemporaries ever tried to top him.
    • 5/5
      A generation had no living memory of the greatest danger that the Greeks had ever lived through, but one man decided to change all that and gift posterity with a new genre. The Histories written by Herodotus details 80 crucial years from the rise of the Persian Empire to the defeat the remnants of Xerxes expedition and the events that led to the latter.Using knowledge gleamed from extensive travel across the ancient world Herodotus begins his historical narrative by giving the ‘legendary’ encounters between the peoples of Europe and Asia before delving into the more ‘historical’ events that lead to Xerxes’ grand expedition. Herodotus details the history of the kingdom of Lydia that was the first to conquer populations of Greeks, those in western Anatolia, and how its great king Croesus lost his war to Cyrus the Great thus placing those same Greeks under the rule of Persia. The history of the Medes and their conquest by the Persians is related then the subsequent history of the Persian Empire until the Ionian revolt which led to the intervention of Athens and setting the stage for Darius expedition to Marathon. Intertwined with the rise of Persia was Herodotus relating the events within various Greek city-states, in particular Athens and Sparta, that contributed to the reasons for first Darius’ expedition and then to Xerxes’. Eventually his narrative would go back and forth between the two contending sides throughout the latter conflict as events unfolded throughout 480-479 BC.The sheer volume of material that Herodotus provides is impressive and daunting for a reader to consider. Not only does he cover the political and military events, but numerous past historical and general culture aspects as well as lot of biographies and antidotal digressions that add color to the overall piece. Given that this was the first history ever written it’s hard to really criticize Herodotus—though Thucydides apparently had no problem later—but some digressions I wish Herodotus had left out or not heard at all.The Histories by Herodotus is one of classic historical works that needs to be read by anyone who enjoys reading history. Whether or not you love the style of writing or even the topic, this book is important because it literally is the first history book.
    • 3/5
      Most interesting I think if read as an originating piece of the theory of historiography, or as a divergent theory of historiography.
    • 4/5
      It's a classic it should be read. I'm guessing George Bush didn't read it otherwise he would have gotten in and out of Iraq faster. "Soft countries breed soft men." Cyrus
    • 5/5
      One of the most fascinating history books I've ever read. Herodotus tries his best at being unbiased and doesn't always succeed, which makes this history even more intriguing. That's forgivable, however, because this is really one of the world's earliest attempts at creating a book of history. Herodotus had no rules by which to write. So when he includes heresay and myth it makes the book all the more exciting.
    • 3/5
      Strangely compelling, for ancient history -- especially in this (de Selincourt) translation.
    • 3/5
      Knap historisch document.Inhoudelijk evenwichtige verdeling tussen actie en beschou?wing, maar met wel lange aanloop. In de compositie zitten soms vele, storende flashbacks en uitweidingen over allerlei details. Causaliteit: de grote mannen en hun hebzucht, eerzucht, moed en opoffering, maar ook dromen (voorspellende waarde), orakels (komen steeds uit), en ingrijpen van "God" (op 2-tal plaatsen als zeer ree?l omschreven, elders gesuggereerd). Het lot is op de achtergrond aanwezig, maar niet uitgesproken.Opmerkelijk is de licht bewonderende ondertoon bij de beschrijving van de verrichtingen van de Perzen, cfr vooral Cyrus; de Ioni?rs worden daarentegen als regelrecht uitschot omschreven, de Atheners zijn maar zo zo; over Sparta blijft Herodotus neutraal.
    • 4/5
      This book deserves "5 stars" for its historical importance. Unfortunately, my knowledge of this period is minimal and I often lost the thread of the narrative - this was not helped by Herodotus's fondness for digression. While some parts were a slog . ALL THOSE NAMES . Much was very interesting, although sometimes incredulous.
    • 4/5
      These are the reasons for the Persian invasions of Greece, in 490 and 481 -79 BCE, and the methods used to defeat them. A good deal about the Persians, not many Greeks being mentioned by name.Herodotus probably died about 429 BCE. He was a believer in setting out the evidence for a disputed point in the text, and sometimes left the reader little doubt as to which version of the facts he preferred. His account demonstrates an early stage in the development of historical methodology, and we are certainly much in his debt for his methods. I think he was the "Father of history" for his courage in placing alternatives before his readers.
    • 5/5
      Rawlinson's translation is old fashioned, though perfectly serviceable and this edition lacks some of the critical apparatus some other editions have, but it was the way I discovred Herodotus so can't help loving it.
    • 4/5
      Herodotus paints a fascinating picture of the ancient world - full of colour and wonder. His wild (and I mean wild) inaccuracies only make him more enjoyable to read.
    • 4/5
      It is often said that Herodotus is more pleasant to read than Thucydides, but I find that Herodotus is *only* pleasant compared to Thucydides. (7/10)
    • 4/5
      Very interesting and entertaining history book. For class we had to read sections regarding different ethnic groups and Herodotus does a wonderful job telling the reader about them. This was a suprisingly quicck read and kept my attention the whole way.
    • 3/5
      READ IN DUTCH/GREEK

      This was our final assignment in my Greek class. So I read passages in Greek, translating them in Dutch. Some of the stories of the Histories are very famous, but I'd never realised they came from Herodotus.
    • 3/5
      It took me a long time to get around to reading Herodotus (over 15 years) & a long time to read him once I did. Writing in the 5th century BC, Herodotus set the tone for much of Western history writing afterwards. Like that of the epic poets, his chronicle chiefly concerns rulers & wars. That said there are many interesting, even amusing, digressions regarding local customs, religious practices, gender relations, etc. For the lay reader (one with no particular knowledge of Western antiquity)confusion will reign in regards to names, locations & dates. Like its 20th century offspring, 100 Years of Solitude, names repeat over generations. We are talking sons of sons, etc. Sometimes Herodotus recites genealogies in a manner reminiscent of Genesis. There will be a place & a progenitor (sometimes that will be a god or human who consorts with a god). As for location, trying to pin down exactly what Greece might be is quite difficult as it seems to be a moving target depending on which city or island is in or out of the confederacy at any given time or depending on whether you are talking about Greeks as an ethnic group or as a political one. The maps included at the beginning of the Penguin Classics edition are only mildly helpful. I would have loved to be able to superimpose modern maps onto ancient ones & vice versa. Just getting a grip on what is Africa (not called such by Herodotus, but rather Egypt,Libya & Ethiopia/ Kush), what is Europe (the Bosphorus is key, although at times Europe seems to be elsewhere than Greece)& what is Asia (perhaps one of the reasons it is hard to get a grip on where Greece is is that Greeks are established also in Western Asia, in what we now call Sicily & southern Italy, as well as North Africa). In short there was a whole lot of mixing going on. A few things that I found quite remarkable in light of modern history are as follows: Herodotus never mentions race as we know it & only very rarely skin color or hair texture (& when he does it is primarily to note that the Ethiopians were considered to be the most perfect physical specimens of the human race, as well as the longest lived); Herodotus never mentions the Jews at all, whether as inhabitants of Judea or elsewhere, although Jews certainly were part of the Ancient World that he writes about-he does mention Palestine, but the Phoenicians & Assyrians seem to have been the most important players on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean ; although females are generally regarded as property throughout the world Herodotus reports on, some do have power & influence & occasionally, as in the case of the naval commander Artemesia, male positions. When women do assume gender-proscribed roles, Herodotus takes that in stride, as if it's to be expected & lauded, all the while the norm remains otherwise. Most of The Histories is taken up with the rise of the Persian Empire from Cyrus through Xerxes, along with some history of Egypt up until the defeat of Egypt by Cambyses in 525 when Egypt fell under Persian power. The book ends with the defeat of Xerxes by the Greeks (Athenians, Spartans & Allies)in 478.
    • 4/5
      Written in the 5th century BC, this is a fascinating snapshot of ancient Greek life and beliefs. Herodotus's narrative of the Persian War and the famous Spartan stand at Thermopylae are worth the price of admission alone, but where he really shines is in his many passages of sheer made up nonsense. For instance: his description of the hippopotamus - highly creative, highly wrong. Also, his ideas about the practices of other cultures are fairly ridiculous in some places, but this is what makes it so fun. He must have been a real hoot to hang out with, the kind of fellow who told fireside tales that kept listeners hanging on every improbable word."And there are these flying snakes, right?"Right, Herodotus, right.
    • 3/5
      Knap historisch document.Inhoudelijk evenwichtige verdeling tussen actie en beschou¬wing, maar met wel lange aanloop. In de compositie zitten soms vele, storende flashbacks en uitweidingen over allerlei details. Causaliteit: de grote mannen en hun hebzucht, eerzucht, moed en opoffering, maar ook dromen (voorspellende waarde), orakels (komen steeds uit), en ingrijpen van "God" (op 2-tal plaatsen als zeer reeël omschreven, elders gesuggereerd). Het lot is op de achtergrond aanwezig, maar niet uitgesproken.Opmerkelijk is de licht bewonderende ondertoon bij de beschrijving van de verrichtingen van de Perzen, cfr vooral Cyrus; de Ioniërs worden daarentegen als regelrecht uitschot omschreven, de Atheners zijn maar zo zo; over Sparta blijft Herodotus neutraal.
    • 4/5
      A fun, highly readable translation of a hugely historical work. It really made the world of over 2,000 years ago come alive. That being said, this isn't a book you burn through in a day or two. I'm a slow reader to begin with, but this took awhile to get through, referencing the copious notes and many pages of maps does slow one down.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
       I loved this, it kept me gripped right the way through the 4 volume edition I borrowed from the library. He sets out to tell the history for the Persian wars, only he gets a bit sidetracked! Takes a whole book to describe Egypt, for example. Full of action, fine descriptions of places and tells tales. And he's so interested in anything and everything that it is full of little details, a real magpie of a mind at work. I can quite see how he comes to be called the father of history and the first writer of literature, because this doesn't actually fall into either category neatly - it is probably best described as a history embroidered with literature. It isn't all entirely factual, the men with eyes in their chests probably never existed, except in heresay, but that's how he gained his information - visit places and ask everyone about what's just over the horizon.
    • 5/5
      Herodotus was hailed as "The Father of History" by Cicero; To me, he might as well be the Father of Humanism.

      I've read a few war epics, Homer's Iliad, Hugo's Les Misérables and Tolstoy's War and Peace, The Histories excels them all in terms of scope, structure, richness of content, intricacy and theatrical grandeur. The main theme / storyline is the Persian Wars, i.e., the conflicts between the Persian Empire and Greek nations, culminating in the invasion of Greece by Xerces I; the underlying theme is the struggle between tyranny and freedom, between the inexorability of fate and the triumph of the human spirit.

      Like threads in a beautiful Persian tapestry, Herodotus weaves together numerous elements in his narratives, the histories and geographies of the many nations in Asia and Europe, the customs, cultures and achievements of the peoples, the remarkable characters and lives of individuals, and the oracles foreshadowing their fates, from kings to slaves, heroes and thieves, men, women and children, their words and deeds all distinct and memorable.

      Some accused Herodotus of making up fanciful stories rather than recording the facts. I'm reminded of Thomas Mann's comment on War and Peace, "Seldom did art work so much like nature; its immediate, natural power is only another manifestation of nature itself; " If the best art is but a manifestation or imitation of nature, why make up stories when the facts themselves are much more wondrous and glorious?

      You live many lives when you read this book. A masterpiece.


    • 3/5
      I found this interesting and amusing to read, but by the time I reached Book Six, I was finished. Not being a scholar, I feel no compulsion to finish, having read enough to know who Herodotus was, how he wrote and what he wrote about. At this point in my life, I believe I would prefer a straight forward history with lots of photographs and detailed maps.
    • 4/5
      My Barnes & Noble edition read well and I soon sunk into the magic of Herodotus's history of the Persian Wars (and whatever else was on his mind!) A better read than Thucydides.
    • 5/5
      This was a really great read! I don't know if it was the translation and the way Herodotus actually wrote, but it felt like he was there having a conversation with you. A must read for anyone interested in ancient history, especially the persian conquests. Word of advice though, read the notes as you are reading the book. I didn't do that, but I wish I did. Next time I read it I will.
    • 5/5
      for many years, this has been my bedside book; I could always pick it up and read a story or two at random when I woke in the night. It is full of wonderful stories. I am now using Ammianus in much the same way; his is a little more serious but with robin seager's studies on the side, Ammianus doesn't need to be read strictly in order in the usual way. At any rate, I find it more fun this way.
    • 5/5
      I suppose we don't need another review of such a well known work, but since I just finished rereading it I thought I might put down some thoughts. For one, here is a book whose tangents tend to be its most redeeming qualities. Everytime Herodotus goes off storyline, my mind gets more engaged rather than less engaged. This I find to be quite a unique feature. A condensed version of Herodotus, say with only main points about the rise of the Persian Empire and the Persian War would be not nearly as interesting and possibly not worth rereading unless you were a professional historian.
    • 5/5
      Definitely a must read for anyone interested in ancient history. There is no doubt that much of the book is fiction, yet it's great for what it is.
    • 5/5
      Father of History? Not in the modern sense of the word, and certainly he wasn’t the first to desire to record great deeds for prosperity. “Father of Lies”? Maybe according to some lights, but how douchey to call him that. No, Herodotus’s tale-spinning is as accurate for my purposes as Thucydides’s conscientious citing of sources, because they both make history great. Which is all I’m in it for—good times. And Herodotus gives us Marathon and Thermopylae and Salamis and Plataea, and tells us a story about mighty events with bluff Greek heroes and moustache-twirling Persian villains (the degeneration of the Persian royal house from Cyrus to Xerxes is one of humanity’s great decline-and-fall narratives), and one that may occasionally self-contradict and not dot its t’s, but it doesn’t matter, because it’s powerful and plausible and we WANT it to be the way it was. Herodotus is the Father of Wonder, here deployed in the service of the narrative, so we say “Amazing! They truly were the Greatest Generation.”

      And that’s not all that Herodotus gives us. When he leaves his central story behind, which is often, he becomes the father of geography, ethnography, anthropology and much more besides. And he does it with such joyful savoir faire, all of it, the true and the false and the how could you possibly say. Without him we wouldn’t have the Scythian corpse sculptures, or the great birds from whose nests the Arabs pluck cinnamon bark, which comes from parts unknown. We wouldn’t have the Androphagi, or the man who had his son served up to him at banquet, or the people who eat their compeers when they reach the ripe old age, and in general we would have no idea how totally absurdly rife with cannibalism the non-Greek world is, which would be to our disadvantage. (We also wouldn’t have a hundred instances of horrible and unnecessary death inflicted by humans on their fellows to remind us just how awful these ancients could turn at the drop of an oracular censer.) And that is just as important as the story of the seven conspirators and the rise of Darius, or of the relationship that sprung up between Cyrus and Croesus the king of Libya, the crotchety guardian angel for all his captor’s endeavours. Or the Spartans throwing the envoys in the well, or "come and get them!" or “if their arrows block out the sun, then at least we’ll be fighting in the shade!” (We certainly wouldn’t have the movie 300, is what I’m saying.) It’s a different kind of wonder that the epideictic sort of above: it’s what the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows called:

      "la cuna, n. a twinge of sadness that there’s no frontier left, that as the last explorer trudged with his armies toward a blank spot on the map, he didn’t suddenly remember his daughter’s upcoming piano recital and turn for home, leaving a new continent unexplored so we could set its mists and mountains aside as a strategic reserve of mystery, if only to answer more of our children’s questions with "Nobody knows! Out there, anything is possible.'"

      And so the wonder of the unexplored-becoming-explored contends with sadness; and the wonder of great deeds too contends with the sorrow of a life that always threatens to turn brutsih and short, where wonder is temporary and suffering is infinite. There is that stunning, gut-wrenching conversation between Xerxes andhis uncle Artabanus as they sit by the Hellespont watching the construction of the pontoon bridge, ready to invade Europe and inflict unthinkable horror on millions.

      And Xerxes looks over his war mans in rows like waves and starts to cry. And he explains:

      "I was overcome with pathos, sadness at the thought that even among all these thousands of men I behold, in one hundred years, not one will be alive."

      And his wise uncle Artabanus, the only one to advise against the invasion (until some prophetic dreams scared him into error) and a model for uncles everywhere, replies:

      "In one’s life we have deeper sorrows to bear than that. Short as our lives are, there is no human being either here or elsewhere so fortunate that it will not occur to him, often and not just once, to wish himself dead rather than alive. For misfortunes fall upon us and sicknesses trouble us, so that they make this life, for all its shortness, seem long."

      It is to weep, non? But at least--Zeus be praised--there are those moments of Wonder; and Herodotus is their Father.

    • 5/5
      It's been awhile since I read it, but I absolutely loved this book at the time, and in picking it up recently I still find it fascinating. "The Histories" culminates in Xerxes invasion of Greece, but before doing so sets the stage by providing a history of Lydia, Egypt, the Persian empire under Darius, and of course Athens and Sparta. The book is absolutely chock-full of interesting events, culture, and perspectives that are either long gone ("Until their fifth year they are not allowed to come into the sight of their father, but pass their lives with the women. This is done that, if the child die young, the father may not be inflicted by its loss"), or just as true today, 2000+ years later ("No one is so foolish as to prefer war to peace, in which, instead of sons burying their fathers, fathers bury their sons.") It's hard to do the book justice in a review; as I flip through it there is just way too much to extract. The section on Egypt with accounts of the building of the pyramids and mummification was wonderful, as were the classic stories of the Persian invasions into Greece. By the way, forget the awful movie "300" which tells of Thermopylae, read Herodotus!Many have drawn attention to the fact that in some cases the "History" provided is almost certainly not factual and plays between reality and lore. Herodotus is often criticized for this but I found the book all the more interesting as a result. To those who would harp on this point, I would recall Mark Twain's comment about history and question how much else of what we read as "history" is a truly objective recounting of events. :-) I am also reminded of a coincidence that occurred as I read Herodotus for the first time: I came across an article in Time Magazine that explained the discovery of the giant gold-digging "ants" he described in modern-day Pakistan, which turned out to be marmots, and indeed burrowed in gold-bearing soil. The translation by Rawlinson is superb, as are the footnotes provided with the text. I highly recommend this particular version of the "The Histories". One quote for the road; Xerxes while watching his massive army on the move: "'There came upon me', replied he, ' a sudden pity, when I thought of the shortness of man's life, and considered that of all this host, so numerous as it is, not one will be alive when a hundred years are gone by.'"
    • 4/5
      I have this in two volumes. I give the first a 5-star rating and the second a 3 to 4 star rating. The first was very interesting because it described the way of life in the parts of the world Herodotus had vistied as it was 2500 years ago and earlier. The second described Persian invasions of Greece during his lifetime. Very detailed, a little slow. Now I want to see the movie "300".
    • 4/5
      Who am I to write a review of Herodotus’ The Histories? I am not a classicist, a historian, or a scholar. I wouldn’t know the difference between translations, which one is “most true” to the original, which one provides the most accurate analysis of the texts and its accuracies and inaccuracies. So, I have decided that the only way I could review this book is to express how readable it is for a non-scholar who wants to read one of the most ancient of histories, of a time and place far removed from our own, about alien cultures and beliefs, and a complicated war between the ancient Greeks and Persians. The only reason I read this version is that when I mentioned to my brother once that I had never really read any of the Greek historians, he said I had to read this one and then loaned me his copy. It took me a couple of years, but I finally got around to it. And I found that what he told me is true. The Histories is extremely readable and interesting. Herodotus spent a lot of time giving a background of the conflict, and mixes the historical with what we would call the mystical or fantastic. A lot of time is spent describing the cultures of the Egyptians, the Persians, and the various Greek city-states. If I forgot the significance of a name, I could just look him (rarely a her) in the index, where a short description could be found. If I became confused about where the Thracians were from, I could look at several helpful maps in the back.There were several times that I became overwhelmed by the details (I guess I didn’t appreciate knowing what colors and costumes each people wore during battles). I also had difficulty following from one battle to another, but I’m not sure if that was the fault of the text.I therefore recommend this for the casual, armchair historian who just wants to learn more about the ancient Greeks while reading a good story. I suspect the book would also work for the more serious scholar who wants to study the text.

    Book preview

    Histories - Herodotus

    Herodotus

    Histories

    Translated with Notes

    by George Rawlinson

    with an Introduction

    by Tom Griffith

    WORDSWORTH CLASSICS

    OF WORLD LITERATURE

    Histories first published

    by Wordsworth Editions Limited in 1996

    Published as an ePublication 2013

    ISBN 978 1 84870 483 1

    Introduction © Tom Griffith 1996

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    Introduction

    Herodotus’ life

    Very little is known about the life of Herodotus. He was born in Halicarnassus, we are told, in about 484 BC – though the date may be no more than a plausible guess. Halicarnassus was a Greek city on the south-west coast of what is now Turkey. His father was Lyxes, his mother Rhoio – or perhaps Dryo – and it is possible that his mother was partially or wholly non-Greek. Nothing at all is known of his childhood. As a young man he was exiled by Lygdamis, the ruler of Halicarnassus. This may have been for disloyalty, or merely for being a political opponent. Lygdamis was the grandson of the Queen Artemisia who plays a prominent and colourful role in Herodotus’ account of the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC. During his exile Herodotus is said to have travelled widely, but this is something we could in any case have deduced from his writings.

    When Lygdamis was deposed and expelled in a coup d’état, some time before 454 BC, Herodotus returned to Halicarnassus. But in 444 BC he left again, this time of his own free will. The Athenians were founding a city at Thuria, or Thurii, on the south coast of Italy, and Herodotus was one of the first colonists. It was probably at Thurii that he wrote most or all of his Histories, working no doubt from extensive notes taken during his travels.

    In fifth-century Greece the only way to produce books was to copy them by hand, and as a result they were extremely expensive. The first publication of the Histories was almost certainly by public recitation, and the first recitals are thought to have been held in Athens and Olympia. Indeed, Herodotus may well have lived for a time in Athens, and at some point he became a friend of the poet Sophocles. He is markedly pro-Athenian in his writing – and this at a time when the arrogance and imperialism of the Athenians had made them highly unpopular throughout the Greek world. Herodotus is well informed on Athenian sources and inscriptions, which suggests that he must have had close contacts in Athens, whether or not he lived there.

    The date of Herodotus’ death is uncertain. His history contains unmistakable references (Book vi, 91 and Book vii, 137 are the most striking) to events at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War – the war between Athens and Sparta which began in 431 BC. And Book ix, 73 describes the Spartans as ‘always’ sparing the village of Decelea, on the borders of Attica, which suggests that he may still have been alive towards the end of the war. He may well have died in Thurii, but it could also have been in Pella, the capital of Macedonia, where the king was a patron of literature and the arts, and where the playwright Euripides lived for a time.

    That is just about all that is known about Herodotus. Did he marry? Did he have a family? If he did, nothing is known about his wife or children. Of his nature, habits and personality we know only what we can deduce from his writings. He apparently wrote nothing apart from the Histories. So we know him from those, and from nowhere else.

    The Histories

    The Histories tell the story of the two Persian invasions of Greece, in 490 BC and 480 BC. They therefore contain the first act in a long drama of East-West conflict which can be seen as ending over 150 years later with the successful invasion of Persia by Alexander the Great, or possibly as continuing through the Roman wars with the Parthians, the life of Mahomet and the rise of Islam, to the rivalry between Richard I of England and Saladin. To put his story into context, Herodotus first tells the story of the rise of the kingdom of Lydia in western Turkey, and its overthrow by the Persians, and then gives a long account of the growth and extent of the Persian empire. The conflict with Greece does not begin until the revolt of the Ionian Greeks against the Persians in 510 BC.

    The work was divided in ancient times – though not by Herodotus himself – into nine books, each book being given the name of one of the Muses. This division has been observed ever since. The rise of Lydia takes up most of Book i, and the digression on the Persian empire takes up Books ii, iii, iv and the beginning of v. So the first half of the work is concerned with preliminaries. Many people, on first reading the Histories, start with the lonian Revolt, and read Books v–ix. And if you want to read the best-known stories in Herodotus – the battle of Marathon, or King Xerxes whipping the sea for its disobedience, or Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans defending the pass at Thermopylae against an army of half a million (or five million, if we are to believe Herodotus), this is the best thing to do. But as you come to know and like Herodotus, so you will come to enjoy, and perhaps prefer, Books ii to iv. It is in these books that Herodotus is most himself, and here that his strengths and weaknesses are most apparent. Above all, it is here that he is often at his most entertaining.

    Father of History, or Father of Lies?

    Herodotus has been called the Father of History. He has also been called the Father of Lies. Which judgment should we accept? Before we answer this question, we need to think a little about his aims, and the context in which he wrote. The Western tradition of history-writing was created by Herodotus and Thucydides, who lived a generation after Herodotus. When Herodotus started writing, there was no historical tradition for him to fit into or break away from. There were writers of prose narrative (logographoi), but as far as we know they did little more than rewrite traditional stories which were already familiar to readers of epic poetry.

    The first critic of Herodotus was Thucydides, who criticises Herodotus (though not by name) on two grounds (Thucydides i, 22). He begins by apologising, with evident insincerity, for the fact that he does not himself pander to popular taste by offering his readers what he calls a ‘mythical’ element – by which he seems to mean a mixture of myth, fantasy and entertainment. When he says this, he is generally taken to be implicitly criticising Herodotus for including all sorts of material which was inappropriate to a history. And he further accuses Herodotus – once again by implication rather than directly – of inaccuracy, and of not bothering to check his facts.

    The first of these charges is certainly unfair, and can be quickly dismissed. Since Herodotus was writing for recitation, rather than to be read, it was important for him to entertain. This is one reason why we find much in his Histories that nowadays would be regarded as unhistorical. Another is that Herodotus had a very wide range of interests. His curiosity extended itself to all manner of things beyond the mere narrative of events. To almost everything but the narrative of events, it sometimes seems. Sexual mores, religious beliefs, natural history, funeral rites, art, geography, ethnography. On what grounds can we now insist that he should have omitted these things? It was Thucydides who decided that history should consist of diplomacy, war, politics, economics – and not much else. We cannot criticise Herodotus for not complying with a definition of history which had not yet been formulated.

    The charge of inaccuracy is harder to deal with. In Herodotus’ defence we can point out that Thucydides, for all his criticisms, pays Herodotus the tribute of beginning his own history in earnest at the point where Herodotus leaves off; that much of what Herodotus had to say about royal burials in Scythia has been confirmed by recent archaeological findings; that Xerxes’ cutting of a canal through the Athos peninsula – a story received with incredulity for about 2,500 years – has recently been confirmed by aerial photography. Nevertheless, when we compare him with Thucydides, Herodotus certainly does on occasions strike us as being uncritical. Some of his informants do seem, in the modern idiom, to have seen him coming. It was clearly someone with a sense of humour, for example, who told him about the plains in India where gold dust lay about in heaps for anyone brave enough to pick it up. Why brave enough? Because of the man-eating ants – bigger than a fox, but smaller than a dog – which inhabit the same plains, making it all but impossible for any human being to escape alive.

    Herodotus knows this story to be true, because his informant had seen some of these ants at the court of the king of Persia (Book iii, 102). He is equally confident about the recommended way to avoid the ants. Go in the heat of the day (the ants don’t like the heat). Take three camels, one of which must be a female which has just given birth. Load this camel with as much gold dust as you dare, then leg it for home. When the ants start to catch up with you, cut loose the other two camels. The ants will eat those, while your female camel’s eagerness to return to her offspring will get you safely home. With luck.

    It is tales of this kind which underlie Thucydides’ charge of inaccuracy – and which led Cicero, at a later date, to describe Herodotus as fabulosus (fond of tall stories). Yet this description too is in many ways unfair. Herodotus is very clear about his aims and methods. He states at the outset that his aim is to preserve the memory of the past by recording the remarkable achievements of the Greeks and other peoples. His method is to record what he was told, without passing judgment on it. ‘My business is to record what people say, but I am by no means bound to believe it.’ (Book vii, 152)

    There are times when his willingness to record things uncritically is greatly to our benefit. He tells us (Book iv, 42) of the Egyptian Pharaoh Neco who, after abandoning plans for a canal linking the Nile with the Arabian gulf, sent out a Phoenician fleet with orders to sail round Libya (as Africa was then known). This they did, though it took them more than two years to accomplish, stopping in the autumn to sow a crop, then waiting for the harvest before sailing on.

    Can we believe this? Or is it another tall story? The answer is that we have to believe it, because of one detail which Herodotus mentions in order to cast doubt on the story. The Phoenicians claimed that as they sailed westwards round the southern end of Libya (i.e. Africa) they had the sun on their right – to the north of them. This is indeed where the sun appears, if you sail westwards round the Cape of Good Hope, and the only way the Phoenician sailors could have known that it was so was if they had actually done it. Thucydides would not have told us this story at all. He would have exercised his (undoubtedly acute) historical judgment, decided the story was false, and suppressed it. And we would then never have known that the Phoenicians did circumnavigate Africa, in open boats, more than 2,500 years ago.

    Why is the Histories a great book?

    Herodotus was the first Western historian, and in his respect for evidence he remains a model of what a historian ought to be. He first presents us with the evidence, and then tells us what conclusions he draws from it. So if we do not accept his conclusions, we still have the evidence. Thucydides, by contrast, gives us only his conclusions – take them or leave them. If we distrust his conclusions, as we occasionally have good reason to do, we have no idea what the evidence was on which those conclusions were based. So while Thucydides may perhaps have had the better analytical intelligence, Herodotus was more modern – and to us more useful – in his handling of evidence.

    Apart from that, the Histories give us a wonderful picture of what we might call the Greek tragic world-view. All tragedy consists, according to Aristotle, in a reversal of fortune. Such reversals, according to Herodotus and most Greeks, are likely to occur when the natural order of things is disturbed by excess of some kind. This is the idea of hubris and its counterpart, nemesis. Hubris is the disturbance of the natural order. The reversal of fortune which restores the natural order is nemesis. In modern usage we tend to treat hubris as human arrogance, and certainly it can take this form. During the second Persian invasion Xerxes bridges the Hellespont – a sacrilegious act, given that the sea was a god. Then, following a storm, he punishes the sea by giving it 300 lashes, throwing fetters into it, and branding it with red-hot irons (Book vii, 35). This is hubris, and human arrogance, on the grand scale. Nemesis, in the shape of the destruction of the bridge and the defeat of the expedition, inevitably follows.

    There are other manifestations of hubris, however, which do not involve the arrogance of humans. Polycrates the tyrant of Samos is warned by his friend Amasis to throw away his most treasured possession (Book iii, 40). Polycrates recognises the danger of being too successful, and throws his favourite ring into the sea. There it is swallowed by an enormous fish – a fish so enormous that the fisherman who catches it offers it up to the tyrant’s household in the hope of a reward. So Polycrates gets his ring back, and Amasis breaks off his friendship with him. Not because Polycrates is arrogant – he is not – but because any human being who has that kind of luck is bound to come to a disastrous end. And sure enough, Polycrates grows careless, and does come to a disastrous end.

    In the Greek view, people may contribute to their own downfall, like Xerxes. Or they may come to grief without any contribution of their own, like Polycrates. Or they may be lured to their doom by misleading messages from the gods, like Croesus. ‘Attack the Persians,’ the oracle at Delphi told Croesus (Book i, 53), ‘and you will destroy a great empire.’ So he attacked the Persians, and did indeed destroy a great empire – the Lydian empire, his own.

    It is this ever-present possibility of a dramatic reversal in human fortunes which underlies the Greek respect for moderation. Meden agan (nothing in excess) is one expression of it. And Solon’s remarks to Croesus are another. ‘Until he is dead, no man can be called happy – only lucky’ was what Solon had told Croesus, when Croesus was at the height of his power. At the time Croesus was highly indignant, but years later, after the downfall of his empire, as he stood in chains on the funeral pyre prepared for him and the twenty-four Lydian boys condemned to die with him, he remembered Solon’s words, and acknowledged their truth.

    The third reason why the Histories is a great book is that it is at all times highly entertaining. Not all Herodotus’ stories have a moral dimension. The exploits of Artemisia, for example – ramming and sinking a friendly vessel in order to escape from a pursuing Athenian trireme (Book viii, 87). Or Darius, in his determination to punish the Athenians, shooting an arrow into the air and ordering his slave to say to him three times, before he sat down to dinner each day, the words: ‘Master, remember the Athenians’ (Book v, 105). Or Rhampsinitus and the thief (Book ii, 121) – a story which has passed into the Decameron, The Thousand and One Nights and every self-respecting anthology of stories since.

    Other stories again catch our fancy – as they obviously caught his – for no other reason than that they are bizarre. The best way to catch crocodiles, for example (Book ii, 70). Or the experience of Babylonian women in the temple of Aphrodite (Book i, 199). Every Babylonian woman, he tells us, must go once in her life to the temple of Aphrodite, and sit there until a man throws a gold coin into her lap. Then she must sleep with the man who throws the coin (there being no right of refusal), after which she can go home. Tall, good-looking women get home soon enough, he tells us drily, but ugly women can be there for as long as three or four years.

    It is this kind of sympathetic and imaginative touch which endears Herodotus to us. Thucydides has a wonderfully clear and analytical mind, and he writes with magisterial authority, but he can also strike us, at times, as being cold, sceptical and didactic. These are in many ways admirable qualities in a historian, but it is hard to feel a strong affection for them. You can imagine being friends with Herodotus where you cannot imagine being friends with Thucydides. Herodotus is inquisitive, tolerant, good-humoured, imaginative – the ideal companion to take with you on holiday. Provided you’re not in a hurry, that is.

    Tom Griffith

    formerly Head of Classics

    Marlborough College

    Further Reading

    Other ancient writers

    Arrian, Life of Alexander. Describes the Greek attack on Persia 150 years after the events described by Herodotus

    Lucian, True Histories. Believed to be a parody of (among others) Herodotus

    Plutarch, Life of Themistocles and Life of Aristides *

    Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War. Continues Greek history from the point where Herodotus leaves off *

    General histories of Greece

    A. R. Burn, Persia and the Greeks (2nd ed.), London 1984

    J. B. Bury and R. Meiggs, History of Greece, London 1975

    Modern books on Herodotus

    A. de Sélincourt, The World of Herodotus, London 1962

    J. Gould, Herodotus, Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1989

    R. W. Macan, Herodotus and Thucydides, Cambridge University Press 1927

    J. L. Myres, Herodotus, Father of History, Oxford University Press 1953

    J. Wells, Studies in Herodotus, Basil Blackwell 1923

    A Note on the Text

    Rawlinson’s translation of Herodotus first appeared in 1858, when it was published in four volumes, including very extensive footnotes and a variety of essays and appendices. In 1910, the Everyman edition of the translation was issued, in which the notes were much reduced and the extraneous material was omitted. A few extra footnotes were supplied by the editor, E. H. Blakeney: these are here enclosed in square brackets.

    The present volume reprints the Everyman text, with a few modernisations of spelling or orthography. The only significant change is the restoring of the Greek names of deities (as they appeared in Herodotus’ text) in place of their Roman equivalents, which Rawlinson had used throughout.

    Contents

    Book One

    Clio

    1–5 Causes of the war between Greece and Persia – Mythic

    6–25 Causes of the war between Greece and Persia – Historic – Aggressions of Croesus – Previous Lydian History

    26–28 Conquests of Croesus

    29–33 Visit of Solon to the court of Croesus

    34–45 Story of Adrastus and Atys

    46–55 Preparations of Croesus against Cyrus – Consultation of the oracles

    56–58 Croesus seeks a Greek alliance – Hellenes and Pelasgi

    59–64 State of Athens under Pisistratus

    65–68 Early History of Sparta

    69–70 Alliance of Croesus with Sparta

    71 Croesus warned

    72–85 Croesus invades Cappadocia – His war with Cyrus

    86–87 Danger and deliverance of Croesus

    88–89 His advice to Cyrus

    90–91 His message to the Delphic oracle

    92 His offerings

    93 Wonders of Lydia

    94 Manners and customs of the Lydians

    95 History of Cyrus – Old Assyrian Empire – Revolt of Media

    96–107 Early Median History

    108–122 Birth and bringing-up of Cyrus

    123–124 Incitements to revolt

    125–126 Cyrus sounds the feelings of the Persians – their Ten Tribes

    127–130 Revolt and struggle

    131–140 Customs of the Persians

    141 Cyrus threatens the Ionian Greeks

    142–151 Account of the Greek settlements in Asia

    152 Sparta interferes to protect the Greeks

    153–157 Sardis revolts and is reduced

    158–160 Fate of Pactyas

    161–170 Reduction of the Asiatic Greeks

    171–176 The Carians, Caunians, and Lycians attacked – their customs – they submit to the Persians

    177 Conquests of Cyrus in Upper Asia

    178–187 Description of Babylon

    188–190 Cyrus marches on Babylon

    191 Fall of Babylon

    192–193 Description of Babylonia

    194–200 Customs of the Babylonians

    201 Expedition of Cyrus against the Massagetae

    202 The River Araxes

    203–204 The Caspian

    205–206 Tomyris – her offer to Cyrus

    207–208 Advice given by Croesus, adopted by Cyrus

    209–210 Dream of Cyrus

    211–214 Two battles with the Massagetae – Defeat and death of Cyrus

    215 Manners and customs of the Massagetae

    Book Two

    Euterpe

    1. Accession of Cambyses – he invades Egypt

    2. Description of Egypt – Antiquity

    3. Seats of learning

    4. Inventions, etc.

    5–13. Description of the country

    14. Agriculture

    15–18. Boundaries

    19–27. The Nile – Causes of the inundation

    28. Sources

    29–31. The Upper Nile

    32. The interior of Libya

    33–34. Comparison of the Nile and Ister

    35–36. Customs of the Egyptians – their strangeness

    37–48. Religious customs

    49–57. Connection of the religions of Egypt and Greece

    58–64. Egyptian Festivals

    65–67. Sacred animals

    68–70. The Crocodile

    71. The Hippopotamus

    72. Otters, fish, etc.

    73. The Phoenix

    74–75. Sacred and winged serpents

    76. The Ibis

    77–80. Daily life of the Egyptians

    81. Dress

    82. Divination

    83. Oracles

    84. Practice of Medicine

    85–90. Funerals

    91. Worship of Perseus

    92–95. Customs of the marshmen

    96. Egyptian boats

    97. Routes in the flood-time

    98. Anthylla and Archandropolis

    99. History of Egypt – Mên

    100–101. His successors – Nitocris – Moeris

    102–110. Sesostris – his expeditions – his works in Egypt

    111. His son, Pheron

    112–120. Proteus – story of Helen

    121–122. Rhampsinitus

    123. Doctrine of metempsychosis

    124–126. Cheops – his pyramid

    127–128. Chephren

    129–133. Mycerinus

    134–135. His pyramid – history of Rhodopis

    136. Asychis

    137–140. Anysis – Sabaco

    141. Sethos – invasion of Sennacherib

    142–143. Number of the kings

    144–146. Greek and Egyptian notions of the age of the gods

    147–152. The Dodecarchy

    154–157. Psammetichus

    158–159. Neco, his son

    160. Psammis, son of Neco

    161–169. Apries, son of Psammis – his deposition

    170. Tomb of Osiris

    171. Egyptian mysteries

    172–177. Reign of Amasis

    178–182. His favour to the Greeks

    Book Three

    Thalia

    1–3. Causes of quarrel between Persia and Egypt – Nitetis story

    4. Aid lent by Phanes

    5–9. Passage of the Desert

    10. Invasion of Egypt – Psammenitus king

    11. Murder of the children of Phanes – Battle of Pelusium

    12. Egyptian and Persian skulls

    13. Siege and capture of Memphis – submission of the Libyans and Cyrenaeans

    14–15. Treatment of Psammenitus

    16. Treatment of the body of Amasis

    17–18. Expeditions planned by Cambyses

    19. Phoenicians refuse to attack Carthage

    20–24. Embassy to the Ethiopians

    25. Expedition fails

    26. Failure of the expedition against Ammon

    27–29. Severities of Cambyses towards the Egyptians

    30–35. His outrageous conduct towards the Persians

    36. His treatment of Croesus

    37–38. His madness

    39–43. History of Polycrates – his connection with Amasis

    44. He sends ships to assist Cambyses

    45. Revolt of the crews – Samos attacked

    46–47. Aid sought from Sparta and Corinth

    48–53. Story of Periander

    54–56. Siege of Samos

    57–59. Fate of the rebels

    60. Wonders of Samos

    61. Revolt of the Magi – usurpation of the Pseudo–Smerdis

    62–66. The news reaches Cambyses – his wound, speech, and death

    67. Reign of the Magus

    68–69. His detection by Otanes

    70. Otanes conspires – arrival of Darius

    71–73. Debate of the conspirators

    74–75. Fate of Prexaspes

    76–79. Overthrow of the Magi

    80–82. Debate on the best form of government

    83. Decision of Otanes

    84. Privileges of the Six

    85–87. Darius obtains the kingdom

    88. His wives

    89–93. Division of the Empire into twenty Satrapies

    94–97. Amount of the tribute

    98–105. Customs of the Indians

    106–116. Productiveness of the earth’s extremities

    117. The river Aces

    118–119. Fate of Intaphernes

    120–125. Story of Oroetes and Polycrates

    126–128. Punishment of Oroetes

    129–130. Democedes of Crotona cures Darius

    131. His former history

    132–133. His influence – he cures Atossa

    134. Atossa at his instigation requests Darius to invade Greece

    135–138. Persians sent to explore the coasts – Democedes escapes

    139–149. Persian expedition against Samos to establish Syloson

    150–158. Revolt and reduction of Babylon by the stratagem of Zopyrus

    159. Punishment of the rebels

    160. Reward of Zopyrus

    Book Four

    Melpomene

    1. Expedition of Darius against Scythia – its pretext

    2–4. Previous history of the Scythians – their war with their slaves

    5–7. Traditions of their origin – their own account

    8–10. Traditions of their origin – Greek version of the same

    11–12. Traditions of their origin – account preferred by the author

    13–16. Story of Aristeas

    17–20. Description of Scythia

    21–27. Neighbouring nations Sauromatae, Budini, Argippaei, Issedones, and Arimaspi

    28–31. Climate of Scythia

    32–36. Stories of the Hyperboreans

    37–41. Universal geography – Description of Asia

    42–43. Universal geography – Circumnavigation of Libya

    44. Universal geography – Voyage of Scylax

    45. Origin of the names Europe, Asia, Libya

    46–47. Remarkable features of Scythia – the people

    48–50. The rivers – the Ister and its affluents

    51. The Tyras

    52. The Hypanis

    53. The Borysthenes

    54–58. The Panticapes, Hypacyris, Gerrhus, Tanais, etc.

    59. Religion of the Scyths – Gods

    60–61. Sacrifices

    62–63. Worship of Ares, etc.

    64–66. War-customs

    67–69. Soothsayers

    70. Oaths

    71–73. Burial of the kings, etc.

    74–75. Use of hemp

    76–80. Hatred of foreign customs – stories of Anacharsis and Scylas

    81. Population

    82. Marvels

    83–85. Preparations of Darius

    86. Size of the Euxine, Propontis, etc.

    87–92. March of Darius to the Ister

    93–96. Customs of the Thracians

    97–98. Darius at the Ister

    99–101. Size and shape of Scythia

    102–117. Description of the surrounding nations, Tauri, etc.

    118–119. Consultation of the kings

    120. Plans of the Scyths

    121–140. March of Darius through Scythia, and return to the Ister

    141–143. Passage of the Ister and return to the Hellespont

    144. Saying of Megabazus

    145–149. Libyan expedition of Aryandes – Founding of Thera

    150–155. Theraeans required by the oracle to colonise Libya – two accounts

    156. Occupation of Platea

    157. Settlement at Aziris

    158. Colonisation of Cyrene

    159–164. History of Cyrene from its foundation to the death of Arcesilaus III

    165. Application of Pheretima to Aryandes

    166. Fate of Aryandes

    167. Expedition against Barca

    168–181. Account of the Libyan tribes from Egypt to Lake Tritonis

    182–185. The three regions of Northern Libya

    186–190. Customs of the Libyans

    191–192. Contrast of eastern and western Libya

    193–196. Account of the western tribes

    197. Four nations of Libya

    198–199. Productiveness of Libya

    200–203. Account of the expedition against Barca

    204. Fate of the Barcaeans

    205. Death of Pheretima

    Book Five

    Terpsichore

    1–2. Thracian conquests of Megabazus

    3–8. Customs of the Thracians

    9–10. Region north of Thrace

    11. Coës and Histiaeus rewarded

    12–14. Story of Pigres and Mantyes

    15. Megabazus reduces the Paeonians

    16. Customs of the Paeonians

    17–21. Submission of Macedonia – story of the ambassadors

    22. Hellenism of the royal family of Macedon

    23–24. Recall of Histiaeus

    25. Appointment of Artaphernes and Otanes

    26–27. Conquests of Otanes

    28–29. Troubles arise in Ionia – previous history of Miletus

    30–34. Aristagoras’ expedition against Naxos

    35. Message of Histiaeus

    36. Revolt of Aristagoras

    37–38. Fate of the tyrants

    39–48. Aristagoras goes to Sparta – Recent history of Sparta

    49–54. Aristagoras fails to persuade Cleomenes

    55–96. He goes to Athens – Recent history of Athens – Murder of Hipparchus – Expulsion of Hippias – Cleisthenes – attempts of Sparta – Theban and Aeginetan wars, etc.

    97. Aristagoras obtains aid from Athens

    98. Escape of the Paeonians

    99–101. Attack on Sardis, which is taken and burnt

    102. Retreat and defeat of the Greeks

    103. Spread of the revolt to Caria and Caunus

    104–115. Revolt and reduction of Cyprus – Darius and Histiaeus

    116–117. Persians recover the Hellespont

    118–121. War in Caria

    122–123. Persian successes in Aeolis and Ionia

    124. Aristagoras resolves on flight

    125. Advice of Hecataeus

    126. Flight and death of Aristagoras

    Book Six

    Erato

    1–3. Histiaeus comes down to the coast

    4. Conspiracy discovered at Sardis

    5. Histiaeus sails to the Hellespont

    6–15. Miletus threatened by the Persians – the two fleets – battle of Lade

    16. Misfortunes of the Chians

    17. Dionysius the Phocaean commander

    18. Fall of Miletus

    19–20. Punishment of the Milesians

    21. Sorrow of Athens

    22–25. Fate of the Samians – seizure of Zancle

    26–30. Fate of Histiaeus

    31–32. Punishment of the rebels

    33. Phoenician fleet ravages the Chersonese

    34–40. Chersonesite kingdom of the Cimonidae

    41. Flight of Miltiades to Athens

    42. New settlement of Ionia by the Persians

    43–45. Expedition of Mardonius fails

    46–47. Suspected revolt of Thasos

    48–49. Envoys of Darius demand earth and water – submission of Aegina and the islands generally

    50. Cleomenes attempts to punish the Aeginetans

    51. Cleomenes’ feud with Demaratus

    52–59. The double royalty at Sparta – descent – privileges of the kings

    60. Spartan customs

    61–63. Story of Ariston

    C64–70. Demaratus, deprived of his crown, flies to Persia

    71. Leotychides made king

    72. Fate of Leotychides

    73. Aeginetans forced to give hostages

    74–75. Fate of Cleomenes

    76–84. Various causes assigned for his insanity

    85–86. Aeginetans demand back their hostages – story of Glaucus

    87–93. War between Aegina and Athens

    94. Expedition of Datis and Artaphernes

    95–99. Course of the expedition

    100–101. Preparations of the Eretrians – siege and surrender of Eretria

    102. Persians land at Marathon

    103–104. Account of Miltiades

    105–106. Pheidippides sent to Sparta – appearance of Pan

    107. Dream of Hippias

    108. Plataeans join the Athenians – previous connection of the two nations

    109–110. Division among the Athenian generals – Miltiades and Callimachus

    111. Preparations for battle

    112–114. Battle of Marathon

    115–116. Attempt to surprise Athens

    117. Story of Epizelus

    118–119. Return of the expedition to Asia

    120. Spartans visit Marathon

    121–124. Charge made against the Alcmaeonidae

    125. Previous history of the family – favours of Croesus

    126–130. Marriage of Megacles with Agarista

    131. Descent of Pericles

    132–135. Expedition of Miltiades against Paros

    136. Trial of Miltiades – his death

    137–140. His capture of Lemnos – previous history of the inhabitants

    Book Seven

    Polyhymnia

    1. Preparations of Darius against Greece

    2. His sons dispute the succession

    3. Appointment of Xerxes

    4. Death of Darius

    5. Xerxes urged to attack Greece

    6. Influence of Onomacritus

    7. Reduction of Egypt

    8. Xerxes assembles a council – his speech

    9. Address of Mardonius

    10. Speech of Artabanus

    11. Reply of Xerxes

    12–14. Xerxes’ vision

    15–16. Colloquy with Artabanus

    17–18. The vision appears to Artabanus

    19. Preparations of Xerxes

    20–21. Magnitude of the expedition

    22–24. Canal of Athos – skill of the Phoenicians

    25. Collection of stores

    26. Xerxes’ march from Critalla

    27–29. Story of Pythius the Lydian

    30. Route of the army

    31. Xerxes reaches Sardis

    32. Heralds sent off

    33–34. Bridge at Abydos

    35. Xerxes lashes the Hellespont

    36. Construction of the Bridge

    37. The army leaves Sardis

    38–39. Treatment of Pythius’ son

    40–41. Order of the march

    42. Route through Mysia

    43. Xerxes at Troy

    44–45. Xerxes views his armament

    46–52. Dialogue with Artabanus

    53. Xerxes’ address to the chief Persians

    54. Libation and prayer of Xerxes

    55–56. Passage of the Hellespont

    57. Prodigies

    58–59. March from Sestos to Doriscus

    60. Numbering of the army

    61. Nations enumerated – the Persians – their dress and armature

    62. The Medes, Cissians, and Hyrcanians

    63. The Assyrians and Chaldaeans

    64. The Bactrians and Sacae

    65. The Indians

    66. The Arians, Parthians, etc.

    67. The Caspians, Sarangians, etc.

    68. The Utians, etc.

    69. The Arabians and the Ethiopians of Libya

    70. The Ethiopians of Asia

    71. The Libyans

    72–73. The Paphlagonians, Phrygians, and Armenians

    74–75. The Lydians and Thracians

    76–77. The Chalybians, Cabalians, etc.

    78–79. The Moschians, Mares, Colchians, etc.

    80. The Islanders

    81–82. Officers and Commanders in chief

    83. ‘Immortals’

    84–88. Nations which furnished cavalry

    89. Contingents to the fleet – Phoenicians – Egyptians

    90. Contingents to the fleet – Cyprians

    91. Contingents to the fleet – Cilicians – Pamphylians

    92–93. Contingents to the fleet – Lycians – Dorians – Carians

    94–95. Contingents to the fleet – Ionians – Aeolians – Hellespontians

    96. Marines

    97–98. Commanders of the naval force

    99. Artemisia

    100. Xerxes reviews his forces

    101. Consults Demaratus

    102. Speech of Demaratus

    103. Reply of Xerxes

    104. Demaratus’ opinion of the Spartans

    105. Xerxes leaves Doriscus

    106–107. Mascames and Boges

    108. Xerxes’ march from Doriscus

    109. Passage of the Nestus

    110–112. Thracian tribes along the route

    113. March through Paeonia

    114. Passage of the Strymon

    115–116. March to Acanthus

    117. Death and funeral of Artachaees

    118–119. Preparations for feeding the army

    120. Witty remark of Megacreon

    121. Order of the march

    122. Passage through the Canal

    123. Course of the fleet

    124. Arrival in the Thermaic Gulf

    125–126. The camels attacked by lions

    127. Xerxes reaches Therma

    128. Two entrances into Thessaly

    129. Description of Thessaly – the Peneus and its tributaries

    130. The way to submerge Thessaly

    131. Stay of Xerxes in Pieria

    132–133. Treatment of Persian heralds

    134–137. Story of Sperthias and Bulis

    138. Alarm of the Greeks

    139. Patriotic conduct of the Athenians – the Athenians, the Saviours of Greece

    140. Warning of the oracle

    141–142. The second oracle

    143. Themistocles

    144. Proposal of Themistocles to build a fleet

    145. The Greeks make up their quarrels

    146–147. Xerxes’ treatment of the Greek spies

    148. Greek embassy to Argos – reply of the Argive council

    149. Sparta rejects their offer

    150–152. Alliance between Persia and Argos

    153. Greek embassy to Sicily – ancestry of Gelo

    154. History of Gelo

    155. Gelo becomes king of Gela

    156. Makes Syracuse his capital

    157. Speech of the Greek envoys

    158. Gelo’s answer

    159. Indignation of Syagrus

    160. Gelo’s reply to him

    161. Address of the Athenian envoy

    162. Gelo’s final answer

    163–164. Cadmus sent by Gelo to Delphi

    165. Intention of Gelo to help the Greeks – Carthaginians invade Sicily

    166–167. Defeat and disappearance of Hamilcar

    168. Promises of the Corcyraeans – their actual conduct

    169. Embassy to Crete

    170. Mythic history of Minos – greatest known slaughter of Greeks

    171. Misfortunes of Crete

    172. Greeks occupy the defile of Tempe

    173–4. Reason of their leaving the pass

    175–177. Greeks resolve to defend Artemisium and Thermopylae – description of these places

    178. Greeks advised to pray to the winds

    179. Advance of the Persian fleet

    180–182. First encounter

    183. Stele placed on the ‘Ant’

    184–185. Estimate of the Persian forces

    186. Number of the host altogether

    187. Rivers insufficient for the supply

    188–189. First storm – loss to the Persian fleet

    190. Enrichment of Ameinocles

    191. The storm ceases

    192. Thanksgiving to Poseidon ‘the Saviour’

    193. Persians advance to Aphetae

    194. Greeks take fifteen ships

    195. Fate of Aridolis

    196. Xerxes’ advance through Thessaly

    197. Temple of Laphystian Zeus

    198. Description of Malis

    199–200. Pass of Thermopylae

    201. Position of the two armies

    202–203. Enumeration of the Greek troops

    204. Descent of Leonidas

    205. The three hundred

    206. Spartans keep the Carneia

    207. Panic

    208. Mounted spy sent by Xerxes

    209. Xerxes questions Demaratus

    210. First attack by the Medes

    211. Second attack by the ‘Immortals’

    212. Alarm of Xerxes

    213–214. Ephialtes tells of the mountain-path

    215. Hydarnes sent with Ephialtes

    216. The path described

    217–218. Passage of the Persians

    219. Leonidas dismisses the allies

    220–221. Reasons for Leonidas remaining

    222. Conduct of the Thespians and Thebans

    223–224. Last conflict – death of Leonidas

    225. Struggle over his body

    226. Remark of Dieneces

    227. Alpheus and Maro

    228. Inscriptions

    229–231. Story of Aristodemus

    232. Another survivor of the Battle

    233. Conduct and fate of the Thebans

    234–235. Xerxes’ colloquy with Demaratus

    236. Objection of Achaemenes

    237. Reply of Xerxes

    238. His treatment of Leonidas’ body

    239. Gorgo and the waxed tablet

    Book Eight

    Urania

    1. The Greek Fleet at Artemisium

    2–3. The commander, Eurybiades

    4–5. Proceedings of Themistocles

    6. Approach of the Persians

    7. Ships sent round Euboea

    8. Story of Scyllias the Diver

    9. Council of the Greek Captains

    10–11. First battle at Artemisium

    12–13. Terrible storm

    14. Second engagement

    15–18. Third engagement

    19–22. Stratagem of Themistocles – Oracle of Bacis

    23. Advance of the Persian fleet

    24–25. Persian sailors visit Thermopylae

    26. Deserters from Arcadia

    27–31. Persians invade Phocis – wars of Phocians and Thessalians

    32. Flight of the Phocians

    33. Their towns burnt

    34. Division of the Persian forces

    35–39. Attack on Delphi – discomfiture of the Persians

    40. The Grecian fleet anchors at Salamis

    41. The Athenians quit Attica

    42–48. Nations composing the Grecian fleet

    49. Proposed withdrawal to the Isthmus

    50–51. The Persians reach Athens

    52–3. Attack on the Acropolis

    54. Message to Artabanus

    55. Prodigy of the sacred olive

    56. Greeks resolve to sail to the Isthmus

    57. Suggestion of Mnesiphilus

    58–60. Themistocles applies to Eurybiades

    61–62. Adeimantus and Themistocles

    63–64. Determination of Eurybiades

    65. Omen of the cloud of dust

    66. Persian fleet at Phalerum

    67. Xerxes consults his captains

    68. Speech of Artemisia

    69. Satisfaction of the king at it

    70–71. Advance of the Persians

    72. Greeks at the Isthmus

    73. Inhabitants of the Peloponnese

    74. Proceedings at Salamis

    75. Stratagem of Themistocles

    76. Persians occupy Psyttaleia

    77. Truth of prophecies

    78. Contention of the Greek captains

    79. Arrival of Aristides

    80–81. His conference with Themistocles

    82–83. Preparations for the fight

    84–89. Battle of Salamis

    90. Position of Xerxes’ Seat

    91. Rout of the Persians

    92. Exploits of Polycritus

    93. Conduct of Ameinias

    94. Story of Adeimantus’ flight

    95. Exploit of Aristides

    96. Preparations to renew the fight

    97. Messenger sent to Persia

    98. Persian messengers

    99. Effect of the tidings

    100. Mardonius’ advice to Xerxes

    101. Xerxes consults with Artemisia

    102. Artemisia’s answer

    103–104. Proceedings of Xerxes

    105–106. Story of Hermotimus

    107. Persians sail to the Hellespont

    108. Proposed pursuit

    109. Themistocles’ advice

    110. His message to the king

    111. Siege of Andros

    112. Themistocles gathers contributions

    113. Line of Persian retreat

    114. Satisfaction for the death of Leonidas

    115. Xerxes’ march to the Hellespont – sufferings of the army

    116. Story of a Thracian king

    117. Passage to Abydos

    118–120. False account of Xerxes’ return

    121–122. Grecian offerings to the gods

    123. Prize of valour

    124. Honours paid to Themistocles

    125. Envy of Timodemus

    126–127. Artabazus lays siege to Potidaea

    128. Affair of Timoxenus

    129. Siege raised

    130. Persian fleet at Samos

    131. Grecian fleet at Aegina

    132. Embassy of Herodotus the Chian

    133–135. Mys consults the oracles

    136–139. Mission of Alexander, son of Amyntas, to Athens – legend of Perdiccas

    140. Speech of Alexander

    141–142. Counter speech of Spartan ambassadors

    143. Answer of the Athenians to Alexander

    144. Answer to the Spartan envoys

    Book Nine

    Calliope

    1. Mardonius marches against Athens

    2. Advice of the Thebans

    3. Mardonius enters Athens

    4–5. Mission of Murychides

    6. Athenian embassy to Sparta

    7. Address of the Athenian envoys

    8. Delay of the Ephors

    9–10. Expedition sent out

    11. Answer to the envoys

    12–13. Mardonius, warned by the Argives, retreats

    14. Furthest point reached by Persians

    15. Mardonius encamps on the Asopus

    16. Story related by Thersander

    17–18. Danger of the Phocians

    19. March of Peloponnesians from the Isthmus

    20–23. First engagement – Masistius slain

    24. Persian lamentations

    25. Greeks move towards Plataea

    26–27. Marshalling of the nations – rival claims of the Tegeans and the Athenians

    28–29. Left wing according to the Athenians – array and numbers of the other troops

    30. Amount of Greek army

    31–32. Persians marshalled by Mardonius

    33–36. Grecian soothsayer Tisamenus – his history

    37. Mardonius’ soothsayer, Hegesistratus

    38–40. Persians cut off the Greek convoys

    41–42. Persians hold a council of war

    43. Oracle of Bacis

    44–45. Greeks warned by Alexander of Macedon

    46–47. The Spartans and Athenians change places

    48. Mardonius insults the Spartans

    49. Persians choke the fountain of Gargaphia

    50–52. Movement to Oëroë

    53–55. Obstinacy of Amompharetus

    56–57. Retreat of Pausanias

    58. Mardonius’ speech thereupon

    59. Persians pursue the Greeks

    60–65. Battle of Plataea – death of Mardonius

    66. Conduct of Artabazus

    67. Boeotians’ struggle with Athenians

    68. General flight

    69–70. Second battle at the entrenched camp

    71. Prowess of the contending parties

    72. Conduct of Callicrates

    73–75. Athenian most distinguished, Sophanes – his conduct and fate

    76. A lady’s appeal to Pausanias

    77. Arrival of Mantineans and Eleans

    78–79. Evil counsel of Lampon

    80. Disposal of the booty

    81. Portions set apart for the gods – distribution of the remainder

    82. A Persian and a Spartan supper

    83. Wonders of the battle-field

    84. Clandestine burial of Mardonius

    85. Graves of the slain

    86–88. Siege of Thebes

    89. Flight of Artabazus

    90–91. Leotychides invited by the Samians

    92–95. Deiphonus and Evenius

    96. Greeks proceed to Samos – Persian army at Mycale

    97–103. Battle of Mycale

    104. Fate of the Persians

    105. The palm of bravery assigned to the Athenians

    106. Greeks sail to the Hellespont

    107. Persians retreat to Sardis

    108–113. Intrigues of Xerxes – fate of Masistes

    114–120. Athenians lay siege to Sestos – fate of Oeobazus – punishment of Artaÿctes

    121. Athenians return, bringing with them the shore-cables of Xerxes’ bridges

    122. Artembares and Cyrus

    Histories

    Book One

    These are the researches of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, [1] 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 losing their due need of glory; and withal to put on record what were their grounds of feud.

    1. According to the Persians best informed in history, the Phoenicians began the quarrel. This people, who had formerly dwelt on the shores of the Erythraean Sea, [2] having migrated to the Mediterranean and settled in the parts which they now inhabit, began at once, they say, to adventure on long voyages, freighting their vessels with the wares of Egypt and Assyria. They landed at many places on the coast, and among the rest at Argos, which was then pre-eminent above all the states included now under the common name of Hellas. [3] Here they exposed their merchandise, and traded with the natives for five or six days; at the end of which time, when almost everything was sold, there came down to the beach a number of women, and among them the daughter of the king, who was, they say, agreeing in this with the Greeks, Io, the child of Inachus. The women were standing by the stern of the ship intent upon their purchases, when the Phoenicians, with a general shout, rushed upon them. The greater part made their escape, but some were seized and carried off. Io herself was among the captives. The Phoenicians put the women on board their vessel, and set sail for Egypt. Thus did Io pass into Egypt, according to the Persian story, [4] which differs widely from the Phoenician: and thus commenced, according to their authors, the series of outrages.

    2. At a later period, certain Greeks, with whose name they are unacquainted, but who would probably be Cretans, [5] made a landing at Tyre, on the Phoenician coast, and bore off the king’s daughter, Europe. In this they only retaliated; but afterwards the Greeks, they say, were guilty of a second violence. They manned a ship of war, and sailed to Aea, a city of Colchis, on the river Phasis; from whence, after despatching the rest of the business on which they had come, they carried off Medea, the daughter of the king of the land. The monarch sent a herald into Greece to demand reparation of the wrong, and the restitution of his child; but the Greeks made answer, that having received no reparation of the wrong done them in the seizure of Io the Argive, they should give none in this instance.

    3. In the next generation afterwards, according to the same authorities, Alexander the son of Priam, bearing these events in mind, resolved to procure himself a wife out of Greece by violence, fully persuaded, that as the Greeks had not given satisfaction for their outrages, so neither would he be forced to make any for his. Accordingly he made prize of Helen; upon which the Greeks decided that, before resorting to other measures, they would send envoys to reclaim the princess and require reparation of the wrong. Their demands were met by a reference to the violence which had been offered to Medea, and they were asked with what face they could now require satisfaction, when they had formerly rejected all demands for either reparation or restitution addressed to them. [6]

    4. Hitherto the injuries on either side had been mere acts of common violence; but in what followed the Persians consider that the Greeks were greatly to blame, since before any attack had been made on Europe, they led an army into Asia. Now as for the carrying off of women, it is the deed, they say, of a rogue; but to make a stir about such as are carried off, argues a man a fool. Men of sense care nothing for such women, since it is plain that without their own consent they would never be forced away. The Asiatics, when the Greeks ran off with their women, never troubled themselves about the matter; but the Greeks, for the sake of a single Lacedaemonian girl, collected a vast armament, invaded Asia, and destroyed the kingdom of Priam. Henceforth they ever looked upon the Greeks as their open enemies. For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate. [7]

    5. Such is the account which the Persians give of these matters. [8] They trace to the attack upon Troy their ancient enmity towards the Greeks. The Phoenicians, however, as regards Io, vary from the Persian statements. They deny that they used any violence to remove her into Egypt; she herself, they say, having formed an intimacy with the captain, while his vessel lay at Argos, and perceiving herself to be with child, of her own freewill accompanied the Phoenicians on their leaving the shore, to escape the shame of detection and the reproaches of her parents. Whether this latter account be true, or whether the matter happened otherwise, I shall not discuss further. I shall proceed at once to point out the person who first within my own knowledge inflicted injury on the Greeks, after which I shall go forward with my history, describing equally the greater and the lesser cities. For the cities which were formerly great, have most of them become insignificant; and such as are at present powerful, were weak in the olden time. [9] I shall therefore discourse equally of both, convinced that human happiness never continues long in one stay.

    6. Croesus, son of Alyattes, by birth a Lydian, was lord of all the nations to the west of the river Halys. This stream, which separates Syria [10] from Paphlagonia, runs with a course from south to north, and finally falls into the Euxine. So far as our knowledge goes, he was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the Greeks, forcing some of them to become his tributaries, and entering into alliance with others. He conquered the Aeolians, Ionians, and Dorians of Asia, and made a treaty with the Lacedaemonians. Up to that time all Greeks had been free. For the Cimmerian attack upon Ionia, which was earlier than Croesus, was not a conquest of the cities, but only an inroad for plundering.

    7. The sovereignty of Lydia, which had belonged to the Heraclides, passed into the family of Croesus, who were called the Mermnadae, in the manner which I will now relate. There was a certain king of Sardis, Candaules by name, whom the Greeks called Myrsilus. He was a descendant of Alcaeus, son of Heracles. The first king of this dynasty was Agron, son of Ninus, grandson of Belus, and great-grandson of Alcaeus; Candaules, son of Myrsus, was the last. The kings who reigned before Agron sprang from Lydus, son of Atys, from whom the people of the land, called previously Meonians, received the name of Lydians. The Heraclides, descended from Heracles and the slave-girl of Jardanus, having been entrusted by these princes with the management of affairs, obtained the kingdom by an oracle. Their rule endured for two and twenty generations of men, a space of five hundred and five years; [11] during the whole of which period, from Agron to Candaules, the crown descended in the direct line from father to son.

    8. Now it happened that this Candaules was in love with his own wife; and not only so, but thought her the fairest woman in the whole world. This fancy had strange consequences. There was in his body-guard a man whom he specially favoured, Gyges, the son of Dascylus. All affairs of greatest moment were entrusted by Candaules to this person, and to him he was wont to extol the surpassing beauty of his wife. So matters went on for a while. At length, one day, Candaules, who was fated to end ill, thus addressed his follower: ‘I see thou dost not credit what I tell thee of my lady’s loveliness; but come now, since men’s ears are less credulous than their eyes, contrive some means whereby thou mayst behold her naked.’ At this the other loudly exclaimed, saying, ‘What most unwise speech is this, master, which thou hast uttered ? Wouldst thou have me behold my mistress when she is naked? Bethink thee that a woman, with her clothes, puts off her bashfulness. Our fathers, in time past, distinguished right and wrong plainly enough, and it is our wisdom to submit to be taught by them. There is an old saying, Let each look on his own. I hold thy wife for the fairest of all womankind. Only, I beseech thee, ask me not to do wickedly.’

    9. Gyges thus endeavoured to decline the king’s proposal, trembling lest some dreadful evil should befall him through it. But the king replied to him, ‘Courage, friend; suspect me not of the design to prove thee by this discourse; nor dread thy mistress, lest mischief befall thee at her hands. Be sure I will so manage that she shall not even know that thou hast looked upon her. I will place thee behind the open door of the chamber in which we sleep. When I enter to go to rest she will follow me. There stands a chair close to the entrance, on which she will lay her clothes one by one as she takes them off. Thou wilt be able thus at thy leisure to peruse her person. Then, when she is moving from the chair toward the bed, and her back is turned on thee, be it thy care that she see thee not as thou passest through the doorway.’

    10. Gyges, unable to escape, could but declare his readiness. Then Candaules, when bedtime came, led Gyges into his sleeping-chamber, and a moment after the queen followed. She entered, and laid her garments on the chair, and Gyges gazed on her. After a while she moved toward the bed, and her back being then turned, he glided stealthily from the apartment. As he was passing out, however, she saw him, and instantly divining what had happened, she neither screamed as her shame impelled her, nor even appeared to have noticed aught, purposing to take vengeance upon the husband who had so affronted her. For among the Lydians, and indeed among the barbarians generally, it is reckoned a deep disgrace, even to a man, to be seen naked. [12]

    11. No sound or sign of intelligence escaped her at the time. But in the morning, as soon as day broke, she hastened to choose from among her retinue, such as she knew to be most faithful to her, and preparing them for what was to ensue, summoned Gyges into her presence. Now it had often happened before that the queen had desired to confer with him, and he was accustomed to come to her at her call. He therefore obeyed the summons, not suspecting that she knew aught of what had occurred. Then she addressed these words to him: ‘Take thy choice, Gyges, of two courses which are open to thee. Slay Candaules, and thereby become my lord, and obtain the Lydian throne, or die this moment in his room. So wilt thou not again, obeying all behests of thy master, behold what is not lawful for thee. It must needs be, that either he perish by whose counsel this thing was done, or thou, who sawest me naked, and so didst break our usages.’ At these words Gyges stood awhile in mute astonishment; recovering after a time, he earnestly besought the queen that she would not compel him to so hard a choice. But finding he implored in vain, and that necessity was indeed laid on him to kill or to be killed, he made choice of life for himself, and replied by this inquiry: ‘If it must be so, and thou compellest me against my will to put my lord to death, come, let me hear how thou wilt have me set on him.’ ‘Let him be attacked,’ she answered, ‘on that spot where I was by him shown naked to you, and let the assault be made when he is asleep.’

    12. All was then prepared for the attack, and when night fell, Gyges, seeing that he had no retreat or escape, but must absolutely either slay Candaules, or himself be slain, followed his mistress into the sleeping-room. She placed a dagger in his hand, and hid him carefully behind the self-same door. Then Gyges, when the king was fallen asleep, entered privily into the chamber and struck him dead. Thus did the wife and kingdom of Candaules pass into the possession of Gyges, of whom Archilochus the Parian, who lived about the same time, [13] made mention in a poem written in iambic trimeter verse.

    13. Gyges was afterwards confirmed in the possession of the throne by an answer of the Delphic oracle. Enraged at the murder of their king, the people flew to arms, but after a while the partisans of Gyges came to terms with them, and it was agreed that if the Delphic oracle declared him king of the Lydians, he should reign; if otherwise, he should yield the throne to the Heraclides. As the oracle was given in his favour he became king. The Pythoness, however, added that, in the fifth generation from Gyges, vengeance should come for the Heraclides; a prophecy of which neither the Lydians nor their princes took any account till it was fulfilled. Such was the way in which the Mermnadae deposed the Heraclides, and themselves obtained the sovereignty.

    14. When Gyges was established on the throne, he sent no small presents to Delphi, as his many silver offerings at the Delphic shrine testify. Besides this silver he gave a vast number of vessels of gold, among which the most worthy of mention are the goblets, six in number, and weighing altogether thirty talents, which stand in the Corinthian treasury, dedicated by him. I call it the Corinthian treasury, though in strictness of speech it is the treasury not of the whole Corinthian people, but of Cypselus, son of Eetion. Excepting Midas, son of Gordias, [14] king of Phrygia, Gyges was the first of the barbarians whom we know to have sent offerings to Delphi. Midas dedicated the royal throne whereon he was accustomed to sit and administer justice, an object well worth looking at. It lies in the same place as the goblets presented by Gyges. The Delphians call the whole of the silver and the gold which Gyges dedicated, after the name of the donor, Gygian.

    As soon as Gyges was king he made an inroad on Miletus and Smyrna, and took the city of Colophon. Afterwards, however, though he reigned eight and thirty years, he did not perform a single noble exploit. I shall therefore make no further mention of him, but pass on to his son and successor in the kingdom, Ardys.

    15. Ardys took Priene and made war upon Miletus. In his reign the Cimmerians, driven from their homes by the nomads of Scythia, entered Asia and captured Sardis, all but the citadel. He reigned forty-nine years, and was succeeded by his son, Sadyattes, who reigned twelve years. At his death his son Alyattes mounted the throne.

    16. This prince waged war with the Medes under Cyaxares, the grandson of Deïoces, [15] drove the Cimmerians out of Asia, conquered Smyrna, the Colophonian colony, [16] and invaded Clazomenae. From this last contest he did not come off as he could have wished, but met with a sore defeat; still, however, in the course of his reign, he performed other actions very worthy of note, of which I will now proceed to give an account.

    17. Inheriting from his father a war with the Milesians, he pressed the siege against the city by attacking it in the following manner. When the harvest was ripe on the ground he marched his army into Milesia to the sound of pipes and harps, and flutes masculine and feminine. [17] The buildings that were scattered over the country he neither pulled down nor burnt, nor did he even tear away the doors, but left them standing as they were. He cut down, however, and utterly destroyed all the trees and all the corn throughout the land, and then returned to his own dominions. It was idle for his army to sit down before the place as the Milesians were masters of the sea. The reason that he did not demolish their buildings was, that the inhabitants might be tempted to use them as homesteads from which to go forth to sow and till their lands; and so each time that he invaded the country he might find something to plunder.

    18. In this way he carried on the war with the Milesians for eleven years, in the course of which he inflicted on them two terrible blows; one in their own country in the district of Limeneium, the other in the plain of the Maeander. During six of these eleven years, Sadyattes, the son of Ardys, who first lighted the flames

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