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jsjammersmith 's review for:
The Histories
by Herodotus
I suppose I'm slightly biased by the fact that I've met Herodotus in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, but Herodotus is simply an intriguing figure to me. This book was largely sold to me through popular culture and mass rhetoric as the foundation of the concept of history, and I'm sure several actual historians would disagree with that statement, especially Asian historians who would note that Herodotus really wouldn't be that relevant to anyone East of the Himalayan mountains. Nevertheless, Herodotus endures and this narrative is an insightful opportunity to dig into the concept of what history is, how it's constructed, and how a writer's bias and personality can influence the work to its benefit and detriment.
The Histories is not a straight narrative, in fact, it's a rambling account filled with digressions as Herodotus interrupts his political analysis to describe the histories of regions and peoples, their behaviors, their customs, their myths, their diets, etc. and all of these digressions only build the larger narrative. Herodotus is telling the lives and cultures of these people establishing the model that such stories are worth writing down for posterity, and also including whether or not such stories can always be believed. I might be a fanboy, but reading this book was a blast largely because it felt like I was reading someone discovering new territory while also reflecting upon the realities of their experience.
The Histories is a chance to see the birth of historical writing and analysis in Western civilization, or at least the birth of a refined method of it. Any reader who wishes to dig into the culture and history of ancient Greece or anyone who simply wishes to learn more about ancient cultures in the Mediterranean should take the time to read this book. And, honestly, anyone interested in narrative and stories should read this book, if for nothing else, it's a chance to observe a clear narrative voice and observe how Herodotus turns himself into a character and witness at the same time he's apparently listing, without bias, according to him, the facts, as he had been told.
The Histories is not a straight narrative, in fact, it's a rambling account filled with digressions as Herodotus interrupts his political analysis to describe the histories of regions and peoples, their behaviors, their customs, their myths, their diets, etc. and all of these digressions only build the larger narrative. Herodotus is telling the lives and cultures of these people establishing the model that such stories are worth writing down for posterity, and also including whether or not such stories can always be believed. I might be a fanboy, but reading this book was a blast largely because it felt like I was reading someone discovering new territory while also reflecting upon the realities of their experience.
The Histories is a chance to see the birth of historical writing and analysis in Western civilization, or at least the birth of a refined method of it. Any reader who wishes to dig into the culture and history of ancient Greece or anyone who simply wishes to learn more about ancient cultures in the Mediterranean should take the time to read this book. And, honestly, anyone interested in narrative and stories should read this book, if for nothing else, it's a chance to observe a clear narrative voice and observe how Herodotus turns himself into a character and witness at the same time he's apparently listing, without bias, according to him, the facts, as he had been told.