Book i 299k book ii 249k book iii 221k book iv 230k book v 162k book vi 174k book vii 286k book viii 179k. The biblical writers borrowed from it to create characters such as the judges samson. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek index sacred texts. And grenes translation makes the work accessible to readers today. The history of herodotus by herodotus, part of the internet classics archive. The first english translation of herodotus might have been the best, but we have only two of the nine books and only the initials of its elizabethan translator, b. Herodotus, the histories, book 1, chapter 1, section 0.
David grenes translation of herodotus the history is a good version of the greek historians magnum opus. Extrapolating from these individual records, we can provide rough bc dates for the majority of events that take place in herodotus the histories. Feb 06, 2010 i had a really hard time finishing the histories. Herodotus the histories complete audio book recording. This new translation makes reading herodotus a pleasure even for people without any interest in history. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek, tr. Woods, for example, in his edition of the first book published in 1873 gives a list of readings for the first and second books, in which he almost invariably prefers the authority. Herodotus book 7 commentary beta edition 14 mb pdf aug 2012 rightclick on pc, ctrlclick on mac for option to download directly this link contains a free pdf copy of an unrevised draft of herodotus histories book 7. Jan 30, 2011 herodotus the histories george rawlinson translation 1858 fr. Herodotus counts by generations, for example the kings of the mermnads dynasty, ruling from c. The first book of the histories, called clio this is the showing forth of the inquiry of herodotus of halicarnassos, to the end that 1 neither the deeds of men may be forgotten by lapse of time, nor the works 2 great and marvellous, which have been produced some by hellenes and some by barbarians, may lose their renown.
English translation of herodotus history book 1,clio, by g. Prior to that were the illiad and the oddyse by homer during the 700s b. It was tougher going than the bible, war and peace and even don quixote. Pamela menschs translation with james romms introduction and notes. Macmillan, london and ny 1890 contents start reading text zipped. The history of herodotus parallel englishgreek english translation. The planned invasion of greece is postponed while dareios prepares to down a rebellion in egypt. Godley by herodotus for free with a 30 day free trial. It is useful and functional, although knox introductions to the iliad and the odyssey fagles translations strike me as better at putting the work in its place. Part of a complete english translation of herodotus. King xerxes lay encamped in trachis in malis and the. In the histories, he describes the expansion of the achaemenid empire under its kings cyrus the great, cambyses, and darius i the great, culminating in xerxes expedition to greece 480 bce, which met with disaster in the naval engagement at salamis and the battles at plataea and mycale.
Read the histories of herodotus a translation by a. Greek researcher, often called the worlds first historian. Herodotus 7 beta greek and latin texts with facing. Book i clio these are the researches of herodotus of halicarnassus, which he publishes, in the hope of thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of what men have done, and of preventing the great and wonderful actions of the greeks and the barbarians from losing their due meed of glory. His histories primarily deals with the lives of croesus, cyrus, cambyses, smerdis, darius, and xerxes and the battles of marathon, thermopylae, artemisium, salamis, plataea, and mycale.
Summary of and commentary on herodotus histories, book 7. The quarrel over succession by two of darius sons, artabazanes and xerxes 2. Despite herodotus s historical significance, little is known about his personal life. The annenberg cpbproject provided support for entering. Polymnia 1 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230. Im still on the fence mostly because its a very expensive albeit beautiful, book. For an early effort at history, herodotus work is important to be aware of. July 20 this link contains a free pdf copy of herodotus book i. Of his life we know almost nothing, except that he spent much of it traveling, to collect the material for his writings, and that he finally settled down at thurii, in southern italy, where his great work was composed. The persian wars 1920 by herodotus, translated by a. The landmark herodotus can be recommended for all the additional material it contains mostly essays, the footnotes arent that good, including a lot of maps perhaps too many. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus. Read the histories book 7, by herodotus online on bookmate herodotus was an ancient greek historian who lived in the fifth century bc c. I hope that young readers could make this book kind of a passport for the now neglected classical greek past, where all we are was born.
Id love to hear about this translation from a student or scholar who knows greek its a beautiful book, but the translator is a businessman with no formal training who did it in his free time. I really enjoyed this book because it is the first book of history ever written by man. Feb 02, 2016 this tutorial offers a guided translation and grammatical analysis of a portion of the greek text of herodotus histories led by dr. Herodotus the great greek historian was born about 484 bce, at halicarnassus in caria, asia minor, when it was subject to the persians. Divided by later editors into nine books named after the muses, the history traces. The histories of herodotus is considered one of the seminal works of history in western literature. The history of herodotus by herodotus written 440 b. He describes the rise of the lydian empire under croesus, who first subdued the greek settlements on the. Herodotus provides detail on many aspects of this conflict, which the greeks eventually won, after battles at thermopylae, salamis, and platea.
Written from the 450s to the 420s bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, the histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known around the mediterranean and western asia at that time. In book 1, herodotus announces his purpose to memorialize the great and marvelous deeds of the greeks and their barbarian neighbors, and, more particularly, to show why they came into conflict. The herodotus histories was starting to interest me after appearing on the searches, but didnt purchase until researching more what it was about. Written in 440 bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, the histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various. Lets consider this fiction and the pleasure will compete with the modern bestsellers. I pass over all the other officers, because there is no need for me to mention them, except for. His goal no longer is the punishment of athens, but the subjugation of europe. Having been overpersuaded to send an expedition against hellas, xerxes first. Michel rodrigue has received prophetic knowledge of the future of the church and the world duration. The history of herodotus by herodotus the internet classics archive. Greek text with facing vocabulary and commentary under a creative commons license. Herodotus excerpts from book vii of the histories translated and.
He travelled widely in most of asia minor, egypt as far as assuan, north africa, syria, the country north of the black sea, and many parts of the aegean sea and the mainland of greece. Buy the histories penguin classics rev ed by herodotus, john m. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek index. The introduction provides context for the translation to come. Clio 1 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 140 150 160. Herodotus the persian wars godleybook vii wikisource, the. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus by. May 19, 2014 a delightful new translation of what is widely considered the first work of history and nonfiction. The translation is very readable but has quite a few inaccuracies. Greek text with facing vocabulary and commentary, 2nd ed. I also purchased the histories from barnes and noble with translation by g.
What is the best translation of herodotus the histories. Herodotus has a wonderful, gossipy style that makes reading these histories more fun than studying the rise of the persian empire and its clash with greecehowever, thats exactly what readers will do in this engaging history, which is full of interesting digressions and asides. Power of vast thracian nation limited by disunity 3. The histories herodotus translated by george rawlinson book 1 these are the researches of herodotus of halicarnassus, which he publishes, in the hope of thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of what men have done, and of preventing the great and wonderful actions of the greeks and the barbarians from. I read the old heritage press harry carter translation. The history of herodotus has been divided into the following sections. Herodotus 1 greek and latin texts with facing vocabulary. Im becomming a little obsessed with history after getting this book. I dont know if this translation was drier, more awkward, etc. Herodotus was born at halicarnassus, on the southwest coast of asia minor, in the early part of the fifth century, b.
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