The Histories

By Herodotus, Aubrey De Selincourt (translator), John Marincola (contributor)

Book cover of The Histories

Book description

'The first example of non-fiction, the text that underlies the entire discipline of history ... it is above all a treasure trove' Tom Holland

One of the masterpieces of classical literature, The Histories describes how a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city states united to repel the might of…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Histories as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I first encountered Herodotusthe “Father of History”when studying Ancient Greek for the UK A-level exams. I read the Greek text laboriously, with help from Aubrey de Selincourt’s translation. My teacher and fellow students could hardly believe that I didn’t find Book Two, which covers the customs of the Egyptians, boring. They were also surprised that I wasn’t contemptuous of Herodotus’s willingness to record what he was told without judgment.

The myth Herodotus created—of a Western world devoted to the rule of law and the freedom of individuals under that law, in opposition to a “despotic” East—has…

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