Bøger af Herodotus

Translated with Notes by George Rawlinson. With an Introduction by Tom Griffith.Herodotus (c480-c425) is 'The Father of History' and his Histories are the first piece of Western historical writing. They are also the most entertaining.Why did Pheidippides run the 26 miles and 385 yards (or 42.195 kilometres) from Marathon to Athens? And what did he do when he got there? Was the Battle of Salamis fought between sausage-sellers? Which is the oldest language in the world? Why did Leonidas and his 300 Spartans spend the morning before the battle of Thermopylae combing their hair? Why did every Babylonian woman have to sit in the Temple of Aphrodite until a man threw a coin into her lap, and how long was she likely to sit there? And what is the best way to kill a crocodile?This wide-ranging history provides the answers to all these fascinating questions as well as providing many fascinating insights into the Ancient World.

The Histories of Herodotus, completed in the second half of the 5th century BC, is generally regarded as the first work of history and the first great masterpiece of non-fiction writing. Few history books since can compare for sheer drama with Herodotus's narrative of the Persian invasions of Greece. His accounts of the great battles of Marathon and Thermopylae, of Salamis and Plataea, retain to this day a matchless epic quality.More than this, though, The Histories is also the source of much of our knowledge of the ancient world. Herodotus was an endlessly curious man, and gathered information about the world around him from as many people and places as he could investigate. History was only the beginning of his interests. Whether it was the pyramids of Egypt, the cannabis habit of the Scythians, the flora and fauna of Arabia or the table dancing of the Athenian aristocracy, he was fascinated by them all. To this day, phrases derived from The Histories - from 'rich as Croesus' to 'tall poppy syndrome' - are part of the mental furniture even of those who haven't read him. Sometimes he is sceptical, and sometimes credulous, but his love of recounting what he has learned never ceases. Above all, as Tom Holland says in his introduction, "e;Herodotus is the most entertaining of historians. Indeed he is as entertaining as anyone who has ever written - historian or not."e;This absorbing new translation, by one of Britain's most admired young historians, allows all the drama and mysteriousness of this great book to be fully appreciated by modern readers. The sources of our information about the world are now more in flux than they have been for generations: there could be few better moments to read and reflect upon the book which first sought to organise knowledge.TOM HOLLAND is the author of Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic, which won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History and was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. Persian Fire, his history of the Graeco-Persian wars, won the Anglo-Hellenic League's Runciman Award in 2006. His most recent book, In the Shadow of the Sword, describes the collapse of Roman and Persian power in the Near East, and the emergence of Islam.He has adapted Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides and Virgil for the BBC, and is the presenter of BBC Radio 4's Making History. In 2007, he was the winner of the Classical Association Prize awarded to 'the individual who has done most to promote the study of the language, literature and civilisation of Ancient Greece and Rome'. He served two years as the Chair of the Society of Authors 2009-11, and is currently on the committee of the Classical Association.PAUL CARTLEDGE is the inaugural A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Cambridge and President of the Fellowship, Clare College. His numerous books include Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History 1300-362 BC; The Greeks: A Portrait of Self and Others; The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece (winner of the John D. Criticos Prize); Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World; Ancient Greek Political Thought in Practice; and Ancient Greece. A Very Short Introduction. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, holds the Gold Cross of the Order of Honour (conferred by the President of the Hellenic Republic) and is an Honorary Citizen of Sparti, Greece.

The History of Herodotus is a monumental work of ancient Greek literature that spans over two volumes. Volume 2 of the History of Herodotus, written by Herodotus himself, continues where the first volume left off, recounting the events of the Persian Wars between the Greeks and the Persians. The book begins with the story of the Battle of Marathon, where the Athenians defeated the Persians in a surprising victory. Herodotus then delves into the events leading up to the second Persian invasion, including the intrigue and betrayal that took place within the Persian court. Throughout the book, Herodotus provides rich and detailed descriptions of the cultures and customs of the various peoples involved in the conflict, from the Persians to the Greeks to the various tribes of Asia Minor. He also includes stories of individual heroism and treachery, adding depth and nuance to the historical events he recounts.

Herodotus, a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BCE, wrote "An Account of Egypt." The book is a detailed account of Herodotus's travels to Egypt, where he spent several years studying culture, history, and geography. Herodotus talks about the Nile River's geography, Egyptian religion and mythology, ancient Egyptian art and architecture, and their customs and traditions. Herodotus's observations about how Egyptian and Greek cultures are alike and different are one of the most interesting parts of "An Account of Egypt." The author talks about the many ways the two civilizations are similar, like how they were both interested in math, astronomy, and medicine. "An Account of Egypt" is an interesting book to look at one of the world's oldest and longest-lasting civilizations. It has a lot of information about Egyptian culture and history, and scholars and historians still study it and use it as a reference today.