If one must begin somewhere, they might as well begin at the beginning. The first true work of history, Herodotus’ Histories has been poured over more times than anything in the West but the Bible, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Works like these can stand multiple re-readings, each time finding a gem left undiscovered prior, or reinterpreting something already known. So hats off to Herodotus for getting it so right the first time out of the gate.

It’s easy to picture Herodotus, perhaps at Thurii, late in life, reading from his Histories in the Agora-striding around, gesturing theatrically, slyly delivering asides to his audience, in stark contrast to his dour successor Thucydides, who I imagine delivering his work from a podium, serious as death. To me, at least, Herodotus’ personality emerges from his work. He must have been a gregarious man, insatiably curious about things, something apparent time and time again in his work. As he reports, he traveled widely all over the Near East and North Africa to research his work. What he was doing for a living during these times is something he never makes clear, but perhaps he was a merchant or agent of one, which would explain his wide travels.

The Histories are ostensibly about the Persian Wars, but famously includes numerous digressions on geography, culture, and religions of whatever seems to have caught his attention, most famous being those on Egypt and Scythia. Interesting as well, are the areas not mentioned. He only mentions Carthage in passing and Italy as it pertains to the Persian War, and doesn’t mention at all the Jews, only recently returned from captivity in Babylonia. As he gets further from the eastern Mediterranean basin and the Near East, he gets less reliable, but always interesting. He reports on what he’s heard, sometimes on multiple versions of the stories he’s heard, and sometimes is wildly wrong (like the flying serpents) or is wrong for the right reasons (like his account of the Phoenician circumnavigation of Africa). His digressions on the ways and mores of foreign lands are sympathetic, particularly in respect to Egypt, which he sees as the font of all Greek religion.

Herodotus most defiantly is a believer (maybe the founder) of the “great man” theory of history. In his work, the motivations for the actions of the great powers, like Lydia or Persia, are the personal quibbles or grudges of their leaders, wonderfully drawn characters like the haughty-then-humbled and wise Croesus, or the tyrannical Xerxes. He is a proud and patriotic Greek, but with a cosmopolitan world-view, probably due to his being half-Carian (a native of Halicarnassus).

As for the central (oft broken) narrative theme of his history, Herodotus lays the blame for this on that most Greek of concepts “hubris”, be it Croesus’ overarching pride causing him to foolishly misinterpret the Oracle at Delphi’s warning that if he fought the Persians, a great empire would fall, or Xerxes having the Hellespont shackled and scourged. The putative cause of the war was retaliation by the Persians for Greek support of the Ionian Revolt (an account curiously muddled by Herodotus, considering his origin in the region). Darius felt that he had to punish the Greeks behind this (especially the Athenians), leading to the failed invasion of Attica and the battle of Marathon. His son, Xerxes, set out to avenge this defeat with an enormous expeditionary force, bridging the Hellespont and driving into Greece proper. Here we have all the epic battles, Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataea and the legendary leaders, Leonidas, Themistocles and Pausanias. The story is well known, but this is where it’s all from.

What makes the History bear repeated re-readings are the wonderful stories. Amasis II and his breaking wind in response to a demand of Pharaoh Apries to surrender, Solon telling Croesus who the happiest man he ever heard of was-to Croesus’ dismay, Darius and the other Persian plotters discussing the virtues of monarchy, oligarchy and democracy, or Dienekes cavalierly declaring that when the Persian arrows blot out the sun that the Spartans can fight in the shade. It reminds me of nothing more than the Bible in that way. Therefore, it becomes difficult to review.

This was the second of the “Landmark” series of editions of ancient texts, edited by Robert Strassler and I can’t recommend it highly enough. The translation by Andrea Purvis is very clear and flowing, capturing, for instance, the vagueness of the utterances of the Pythia, or the direct address of Herodotus to the reader. For the first time in my life, I am entirely satisfied; perhaps overjoyed is a better term, at the maps provided in the text. There is a map every few pages, which identifies the locales referenced in the surrounding text. It is sometimes repetitive, but that would be wonderful for students only dipping into parts of the text. The added appendices (there are 21) range from merely interesting to extremely helpful, covering topics from Geography to what Herodotus got right or wrong about Egypt. I would like to one day see Strassler give this treatment to all the great ancient historians. Frankly, I think that in Elysium, old Herodotus is quite happy with what Mr. Strassler has done with his work, and there can be no higher praise than that. ( )

This edition is certainly handsome, bellsy and whistley, and the text itself reads well, but it is cluttered with tiny redundant maps and footnotes that are often useless and, worst of all, labeled in an absurdly contrived fashion. Consider: page 224 has six footnotes which are marked in the text as a, a, a, a, b and c. The footnotes themselves at the bottom of the page are named 3.37.1a, 3.37.3a, 3.38.4a, 3.39.1a, 3.39.1b and 3.39.1c. The left margin of the page has paragraph titles 3.37, 3.38 and 3.39. When I see an 'a' in the text, I look down and see four 'a' footnotes, then look left and see three paragraphs, then look in the text to see which paragraph I was reading, then look left again to see what the paragraph's number is, and then look down and find the correct 'a' footnote. FAIL. The apparatus is condescending (I don't need to be told where Egypt is, especially once every three pages), yet at the same time hinders legibility.

If you're in the market, consider the Everyman's Library edition: you don't need to pay extra for this if you have half a brain of your own.

There are good reasons to refer to this edition as the "Landmark". To begin with it has 127 maps which I found invaluable. All of the places in the text are referenced to a specific map with location references where necessary. The maps are excellent and some pages contain three maps that are series of insets from the overview to detailed maps of smaller sections. The book also includes 21 appendices dealing with how specific topics are treated in the text. There are also a good number of photographs of relevant artifacts, monuments and places. For example there are three photos of the victory tripod, it looks like a column, erected by the Greeks at Delphi celebrating their victory over the Persians. It was moved to Constantinople and the inscription listing the states who participated in the war is still legible. These additions are not bells and whistles but integral parts of the book that add greatly to understanding and enjoying the text.
Herodotus narrative centers around the Persian-Greek wars but that is only about one-third to one-half of the text. There are large sections on Egypt and Scythia and smaller sections that cover most of the civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean. There are discussions of a variety of topics from religion to clothing and everything in between.
Some of the material is pure mythology and some is the best factual accounts we have of the topics discussed. Herodotus seems to have traveled widely and gathered information from many sources. He was obviously a person who was afflicted with a great curiosity about human affairs of all types. At the same time he was focused on the importance of the war and provides much detail on all of the battles and other events.
I think that this book is essential for anyone with an interest in ancient Greece. Reading any other edition of Herodotus would not provide the reader with the richness of experience and knowledge contained in this edition. It will now sit on my bookshelf like an old friend waiting for another visit. ( )

I have only a passing familiarity with Ancient and Classical Greek history, but after reading http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200701... I thought I'd give it a try. The maps and annotations helped put things in context, but the story telling itself is rollicking: politics, religion, cannibalism, pedastry, all in the first chapter! ( )