Terminalcoffee discussion

A couple of weeks ago, RA said that his purchase of the new Herodotus was almost sexual. It prompted me to finally start reading my own, more modest copy. I'm loving it, but given that it's not completely accurate historically, I found myself wondering, "Why do we read Herodotus?" I know, I know, why do we read anything, but seriously, if you read Herodotus, why? Frankly, I read it because I want to say I've read it, thinking that that will make me seem somehow less stupid than I actually am. Why do you read it?

Um, I don't.

I do feel a very strong physical attraction to books, though.

Man, I love Herodotus...I read the Grene translation a few years ago and I just started the latest Landmark edition...I love his storytelling, I love the brilliant complexity of the interactions between city-states...I love the beauty of the Landmark edition. This reading will probably take at least a month, if not more, but I love it.

I love Greek history in general, though...the manner in which all the people and cities interact...all that. Universal themes lurk on just about every page.

By the way, in the first ten pages of Herodotus you get a fairly entertaining bitchfest between city states about stealing each other's wives, then a king who wants to show off how hot his wife is to his bodyguard so he lets him see her naked, and she gets PISSED. I won't tell you what happens next.

I'm in lust with my copy of War & Peace. The first few days after I brought it home I wanted to carry it around in a baby bjorn and coo it to sleep at night. But that's just me.

And I've never read any Herodotus, though based on RA's description I may want to track him down.

What is this? Like Euripides? Can you make a book link so I can check out Herodotus?

Here's the landmark Herodotus...

http://www.amazon.com/Landmark-Herodo...

I also read the landmark Thucydides...the landmark editions are fantastic.

http://www.amazon.com/Landmark-Thucyd...

This reminds me: do you all say "sissero" or "kikkero"?

I say Syd. But I could be wrong.

Great post, Ginnie. RA, in your new avatar, you look ready to be the next Steve Jobs should his bout with cancer not go so well.

I love Herodotus. I love the scene where Xerxes has a river flogged for sinking his bridge. I also love the the section on the Scythians. Also, I seem to recall early on some men are cursed with a "woman's disease" for defiling the Oracle at Delphi (or was it Corinth?)

Sally, the Romans pronounced it Kikero. We say Sisero, thanks to the British, who sometimes call him Tully.

I wish I could find a clip of Xerxes on "South Park." THAT'S some legendary stuff!

Ugh, I hated 300. Silliest damn movie I've ever seen.

That film was abysmal. Pretty, but awful.

I look at the heading and I keep seeing Hero.us like it is a web site.

Dave, did you see the "South Park" spoof of it?

It was pretty wasn't it, Logan. Speaking of pretty, is Beowulf out on dvd, yet?

Yes I did. Your mention of it in message 14 is what made me think of 300.

Scissoring!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QpXMO...

(Oh shit, now I have to go watch the whole thing again 'cause that laughing felt good.)

I just read this passage, 1.61:

After recovering his tyranny in this way, Peisistratos married the daughter of Megakles in accordance with their agreement. But since he already had full-grown sons, and the Alkmeonids were said to be under a curse, he did not want his new wife to bear his children, and so had intercourse with her in an indecent way. His wife kept quiet about this at first, but later (I do not know whether she was questioned about it or not), she did tell her mother, who then told her husband. Megakles, responding to what he considered a grave insult by Peisistratos, flew into a terrible rage, and in his fury he ended his hostility with his political enemies and united with them.

That's steamy!

Yeah, I just finished the passage about Persian customs. I enjoy how he says that the "most sensible" custom they have basically involves the pimping off of daughters, but that the custom he does not approve of at all is how Persian women, at least once in their lifetimes, have to go to the Temple of Aphrodite and have sex with a complete stranger.

I really hope reincarnation happens and that I was a Persian 2000 years ago.