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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Started off reading this because of my nearly undying adoration for Dan Carlin. Herodotus (if this was indeed one man) was quite something then and thanks to Tom Holland's beautiful prosaic translation is still something today. Although Thermopolese doesn't enter the story line until the book 7, it is fascinating to see the evolution of politics, population and even agriculture.
This kind of writing doesn't appeal to me and I find myself losing focus a lot of times. Maybe it's me, that I'm not really interested in these topics or that the flow of narration sometimes makes me confused as if I need to disentangle my train of thought after each paragraph because sometimes the next passages don't necessarily relate to the previous ones directly.
I would try this again though but I've decided for now, I can't invest my time reading a huge book I'm not enjoying. I can't even remember half of what I've already read from books 1 and 2. Although if I ever pick this up again, I might improve my reading such as take notes, and physically keep track of the events and my thoughts so I'm 101% focused and not be forgetful of everything I read here.
I would try this again though but I've decided for now, I can't invest my time reading a huge book I'm not enjoying. I can't even remember half of what I've already read from books 1 and 2. Although if I ever pick this up again, I might improve my reading such as take notes, and physically keep track of the events and my thoughts so I'm 101% focused and not be forgetful of everything I read here.
A very interesting read. I especially enjoyed the parts describing the customs of the ancient peoples that interacted with the Greeks. Some bits were downright hilarious and shocking, like antiquity was wild. I did not enjoy the military history as much, but I appreciate the importance of such a great account. The experience of reading this in and of itself is super cool to me.
I give this five stars, but not because I think it flawless – Herodotus is obviously not 100% accurate (he gives credence in places where he shouldn’t and expresses doubt where he might better have doubled down), has a few faults of style (the change between historical fact and folklore can be jarring at times, and some of the ‘fun’ parts are more strange than entertaining), and the Histories as a whole is a rather strange to a modern historian or casual reader.
I do, however, recognise that Herodotus is invaluable. I have studied Herodotus so much in the past, and continue to do so – most days, it feels like. At this point, I can’t imagine life without him.
For this reason, it’s difficult to review this – it’s such a huge text, and I know from the experience of writing endless essays, reading endless scholarship, lectures, a few presentations, plus a thesis, exactly how much there is to it, and there is probably still much more that I do not know. It is a long text, and hardly consistent in style or subject matter – it forms a weird combination of folklore, ethnography, geography, transcriptions word-of-mouth stories (often conflicting and contradictory), with some ‘proper’ history (at least, what we would recognise under this label), thrown in. And I have read the whole thing cover to cover, many parts of it several times, and much of it in the original Greek.
Although it therefore doesn’t form what we would now recognise as a strict ‘history’, it is essential in other ways – to see, for one, that our own idea of history is hardly the only way to go about it, and just as importantly to see where its other influences lie (particularly the famous stories, the methods of inquiry and ‘assessments’ that Herodotus loves to make, and the east vs. west narrative that, for better or worse, we’ve stuck with ever since). This sort of examination makes the subject matter seem almost irrelevant, but we should not forget that either – Herodotus gives us insight into early Greek history, both in eastern influences and in his various tangents about the founding of various cities and the general formation of Greek culture.
More recognised, on the other hand, is the Greco-Persian War narrative, always the same story we know and yet never tiresome. He observes, but doesn’t dismiss, making his own judgement when he needs to. He hates tyrants, but tolerates cultural differences; he condemns arrogance, but is amused by cunning. There’s room for the supernatural and the divine, but he holds himself back from too clear an endorsement where the unseen world can’t be historically examined. Balance is key, in every case – we might learn from this when we are too hung up on the exact word-for-word recounting of an event. This might be useful in a time when we always seem to be questioning our ‘relationship’ with the truth, and whether other people are too far parted from it: the Histories are true, in the sense of being ‘true’ to their own world and the story they have to tell – just perhaps not always in a way that we immediately understand.
I do, however, recognise that Herodotus is invaluable. I have studied Herodotus so much in the past, and continue to do so – most days, it feels like. At this point, I can’t imagine life without him.
For this reason, it’s difficult to review this – it’s such a huge text, and I know from the experience of writing endless essays, reading endless scholarship, lectures, a few presentations, plus a thesis, exactly how much there is to it, and there is probably still much more that I do not know. It is a long text, and hardly consistent in style or subject matter – it forms a weird combination of folklore, ethnography, geography, transcriptions word-of-mouth stories (often conflicting and contradictory), with some ‘proper’ history (at least, what we would recognise under this label), thrown in. And I have read the whole thing cover to cover, many parts of it several times, and much of it in the original Greek.
Although it therefore doesn’t form what we would now recognise as a strict ‘history’, it is essential in other ways – to see, for one, that our own idea of history is hardly the only way to go about it, and just as importantly to see where its other influences lie (particularly the famous stories, the methods of inquiry and ‘assessments’ that Herodotus loves to make, and the east vs. west narrative that, for better or worse, we’ve stuck with ever since). This sort of examination makes the subject matter seem almost irrelevant, but we should not forget that either – Herodotus gives us insight into early Greek history, both in eastern influences and in his various tangents about the founding of various cities and the general formation of Greek culture.
More recognised, on the other hand, is the Greco-Persian War narrative, always the same story we know and yet never tiresome. He observes, but doesn’t dismiss, making his own judgement when he needs to. He hates tyrants, but tolerates cultural differences; he condemns arrogance, but is amused by cunning. There’s room for the supernatural and the divine, but he holds himself back from too clear an endorsement where the unseen world can’t be historically examined. Balance is key, in every case – we might learn from this when we are too hung up on the exact word-for-word recounting of an event. This might be useful in a time when we always seem to be questioning our ‘relationship’ with the truth, and whether other people are too far parted from it: the Histories are true, in the sense of being ‘true’ to their own world and the story they have to tell – just perhaps not always in a way that we immediately understand.
Where history and story meet in a fantastic array of episodes. Funny, witty, and at the same time filled with wise words. Very enjoyable.
The original version of the 300 story but because Herodotus evidently wants to be 130% thorough, you will have to read through hundreds of pages and years worth of history before you get to the actual Persian war which takes up probably less than one-fifth of the book..
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Re: the Purvis translation -- with a plethora of annotations, diagrams, maps and complementary essays, I can't think of a better way to absorb this material than in this specific edition. A dense, dense read unless you're intimately familiar with Greek/Persian history going in, but its place in the canon of Western literature is pivotal, and for what it is and when it came out, it is an exceptional achievement. Herodotus's attention to detail and his detailed descriptions of events, peoples and places are invaluable, even if some of his claims clearly don't stand the test of time.
Talk about an on point beard!
A surprisingly fun read and certainly worth it for historical significance alone.
A surprisingly fun read and certainly worth it for historical significance alone.
This is, without a doubt, one of the greatest books ever written! That said, the only reason to read this particular edition is the wonderful translation rendered by David Grene, who attempts to preserve as much as possible the strangeness of Herodotus' Ionic Greek. This translation is, indeed, superior to those of Aubrey de Selincourt and Andrea L. Purvis, whose own editions are still quite readable if somewhat bland. Unfortunately, the index, maps, and supplementary material are not nearly as helpful as those in The Landmark Herodotus, and so for the reader who has the time and the money, it may be best to do what I did and just BUY & READ BOTH. For all the strangeness and beauty of his language, reading a description of a place is simply not the same as a looking at a map.
But if you can only buy ONE, then I suppose it would be better to buy The Landmark Herodotus. (But find a way to read Grene's translation later!)
But if you can only buy ONE, then I suppose it would be better to buy The Landmark Herodotus. (But find a way to read Grene's translation later!)