History of Herodotus, Vol. 1 of 4: A New English Version, Edited with Copious Notes and Appendices, Illustrating the History and Geography of ... the Chief Results, Historical and Ethnograp

by Herodotus

Excerpt from History of Herodotus, Vol. 1 of 4: A New English Version, Edited With Copious Notes and Appendices, Illustrating the History and Geography of Herodotus, From the Most Recent Sources of Information; And Embodying the Chief Results, Historical and Ethnographical; With Maps and IllustrationsThere are, however, one or two' respects in which the present translation does not lay claim to strict accuracy. Occasional passages offensive to modern delicacy have been retrenched, and others have been modified by the alteration of a few phrases. In the orthography of names, moreover, and in the rendering of the appellations of the Greek deities, the Latinized forms, with which our ear is most familiar, have been adopted in preference to the closer and more literal representation of the words, which has recently obtained the sanction of some very eminent writers. In a work intended for general reading, it was thought that unfamiliar forms were to be eschewed; and that accuracy in such matters, although perhaps more scholar-like, would be dearly purchased at the expense of harshness and repulsiveness.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

742 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2018

About the author

Herodotus (Greek: Ηρόδοτος) (c. 484 – c. 425 BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He is known for having written the Histories – a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars. Herodotus was the first writer to perform systematic investigation of historical events. He has been described as "The Father of History", a title conferred on him by the ancient Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero.
The Histories primarily cover the lives of prominent kings and famous battles such as Marathon, Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale. His work deviates from the main topics to provide a cultural, ethnographical, geographical, and historiographical background that forms an essential part of the narrative and provides readers with a wellspring of additional information.
Herodotus has been criticized for his inclusion of "legends and fanciful accounts" in his work. The contemporaneous historian Thucydides accused him of making up stories for entertainment. However, Herodotus explained that he reported what he could see and was told. A sizable portion of the Histories has since been confirmed by modern historians and archaeologists.

Reviews

[Tanya Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad I decided to slog through this again. It's Herodotus. How can one not love this stuff? Volume 2 is next on my radar (among other things).