The Histories

by Herodotus; Blanco, Walter; Roberts, Jennifer Tolbert

• ISBN13: 9780393959468
• ISBN10: 0393959465
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1991-12-17
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Summary

Walter Blanco's translation manages both to remain true to the spirit and letter of the original Greek and to be readily understandable to American students. The selections from The Histories show Herodotus as ethnographer and as narrative historian, including his rich descriptions of Egyptian civilization and its contributions to Greek culture and his dramatic account of the Persian wars "Backgrounds and Commentaries" provide students with a context for understanding Herodotus's place at the genesis of the historical narrative tradition. Great classical accounts by Aeschylus, Thucydides, Aristotle, and Plutarch serve as comparative pieces in early historical narrative while critical commentaries by modern scholars'”including Hume, Mill, Macaulay, Collingwood, Momigliano, Ferrill, and others'”engage students in the debate over Herodotus's historical authority. A master Map, Chronology of Events, Glossary of names, places, and terms, and explanatory footnotes facilitate the student's understanding of this work. A Bibliography directs readers to resources for further study.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix	(2)
Introduction	xi	(4)
Chronology of Events	xv	(4)
A Note on the Persian Wars	xix	(2)
Map: The Persian Wars	xxi
THE HISTORIES	1	(238)
Book I	3	(71)
Book II, Chapters 1-98, 112-120	74	(34)
Book III, Chapters 39-43, 61-88, 98-105	108	(15)
Book IV, Chapters 36-44	123	(4)
Book V, Chapters 48-105	127	(21)
Book VI, Chapters 98-117	148	(7)
Book VII, Chapters 1-57, 89-105, 138-52, 172-239	155	(46)
Book VIII, Chapters 1-125	201	(33)
Book IX, Chapters 51-64	234	(5)
BACKGROUNDS	239	(38)
Aeschylus, The Persians, II. 334-514	241	(4)
Bacchylides, Third Epinician Ode, 11.10-62	245	(2)
Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, Book 1, Chapters 1-23, 89-117; Book 3, Chapter 104	247	(22)
Aristotle, Politics, 1313a.34-1314a.14	269	(2)
Plutarch, On the Malice of Herodotus	271	(6)
COMMENTARIES	277	(146)
Early Modern Criticism	279	(13)
David Hume
Of Miracles	279	(3)
Isaac Taylor
[The Consequences of the Greek Victory for Western Civilization: A Christian View]	282	(1)
John Stuart Mill
[The Consequences of the Greek Victory for Western Civilization: A Secular View]	283	(1)
Thomas Babington Macaulay
[The Purpose and Method of History]	284	(8)
Twentieth-Century Criticism	292	(131)
I. Background	292	(26)
R. G. Collingwood
History's Nature, Object, Method, and Value	292	(3)
Christian Meier
The Origins of History in Ancient Greece	295	(11)
Oswyn Murray
Greek Historians	306	(12)
II. Herodotus	318	(59)
Aubrey de Sélincourt
[The Life of Herodotus]	318	(5)
James Romm
The Shape of Herodotus' World	323	(4)
Charles W. Fornara
Herodotus' Perspective	327	(5)
Stanley Rosen
Herodotus Reconsidered	332	(24)
Arnaldo Momigliano
The Place of Herodotus in the History of Historiography	356	(12)
J. A. S. Evans
Father of History or Father of Lies: The Reputation of Herodotus	368	(9)
III. The Persian Wars	377	(16)
A. T. Olmstead
Persia and the Greek Frontier Problem	377	(13)
Arther Ferrill
Herodotus and the Strategy and Tactics of the Invasion of Xerxes	390	(3)
IV. Aspects of Herodotus' Work	393	(30)
A. W. Gomme
Herodotos and Aeschylus	393	(6)
M. E. White
Herodotus' Starting Point	399	(5)
Rosaria Vignolo Munson
The Celebratory Purpose of Herodotus: The Story of Arion	404	(3)
John Hart
Themistocles in History	407	(3)
Virginia Hunter
[Homer, Herodotus, and the Egyptian Logos]	410	(5)
Donald Lateiner
Five Systems of Explanation	415	(8)
Glossary	423	(9)
Bibliography	432