A review by iguessthisisme
The Histories by Herodotus

4.0

It’s absurd for me to give a rating out of 5 stars to a seminal piece of recorded human history (and to the first real History book with a capital ‘H’) but this is a trying read, given the weight it gives prophecy and omens as causal forces. That’s natural given the state of human knowledge in Herodotus’ time, but makes for exhausting stretches for readers who aren’t historians and don’t have the context necessary to conjure a strong enough image of the time and place, or who aren’t personally fascinated with ancient mysticism and its role in ancient peoples’ understanding of the world.