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A review by archaeomancer
The Histories by Herodotus
4.0
Herodotus really is a pretty fun read for the most part! I especially enjoyed the parts about Egypt. He can be a fairly unreliable narrator; he has quite the funny hang up on the Nile origin source and doesn't believe it when he's told it starts from melted snow water I believe in Libya. He also doesn't have the nicest opinion about women and they are, as often times in ancient historical literature and even into some contemporary times, listed as chattel a d booty for the most part. But you don't go to ancient literature for enlightened feminist treatises :')
What this history *is* is a quite fascinating look into the times that he was researching and speaking about. He goes to Great Lengths to explicitly state when he is just reciting what he was told versus what he has seen which I appreciated. I think some of his bad rap is an unreliable narrator comes from him pointing out these stories and tales he is told from the people themselves, but I think it's an excellent addition. Stories like those he brings up are a good way to see into the minds and lives of the people he's talking about.
What this history *is* is a quite fascinating look into the times that he was researching and speaking about. He goes to Great Lengths to explicitly state when he is just reciting what he was told versus what he has seen which I appreciated. I think some of his bad rap is an unreliable narrator comes from him pointing out these stories and tales he is told from the people themselves, but I think it's an excellent addition. Stories like those he brings up are a good way to see into the minds and lives of the people he's talking about.