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The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories

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It's been 10 years in the making, ever since Robert B. Strassler first published "The Landmark Thucydides" for us to get his edition of Herodotus' "The Histories" and Mr. Strassler does not disappoint! A wonderful translation of Herodotus, footnotes, maps, appendices, this is THE edition to have if you want to fully absorb and understand the world and epic's within it, that Herodotus is relating. An absolute masterpiece! where anyone from a trained classicist to a person with no prior knowledge about Herodotus or the ancient greeks, can sit down with this book and learn about a time in history which still reverbrates to this day.

This is a story about the struggle of east vs west, a struggle which even today still rages on! With Herodotus we can live the battle of Thermopylae with the great Spartan King Leonidas or travel the vast kingdoms of Egypt, Lydia, or Persia! We learn of the customs and rites that each of the major civilizations which made up the ancient greek world and through this can have a greater understanding of the reasons and ramifications of the struggle between not just Greece and Persia, but the continuing struggle between east and west in our own day. Are we all the same, all human beings just trying to live our lives? Or are there other factors which govern and seperate the differing cultures of east vs west? Is Democracy and Freedom or security and safety (read servitude) that man really wants? These are questions raised up by Herodotus and questions which are still being asked this day.

In the end, for a full understanding of Herodotus' work and the world in which he lived and wrote about there is no better edition than "The Landmark Herodotus"!

Herodotus is well known as the 'father of history'. As the first writer to use the Greek 'historie,' meaning an inquiry, when speaking of examining the events of the past, his seminal work The Histories has never seen such a comprehensive, modern treatment as it has received in The Landmark Herodotus.

Long a favorite of budding historians wanting to dig into primary source documents of the Greek and Persian war rather than the regurgitations found in history textbooks, Herodotus has at the same time remained somewhat intimidating and inaccessible to those without a scholarly background in the classics. If there's a copy of The Histories sitting on your shelf that you've always meant to read, or wanted to assign to your students, but have given up due to confusion, pick up a copy ofThe Landmark Herodotus.

Andrea L. Purvis' new translation is accessible, easy to understand, and well footnoted and documented when variations and translation choices must be explained. A total of 127 historical maps set Herodotus' inquiries into history, culture, geography, and the natural world, firmly into space.

The extensive footnotes, side note summaries, page headings, and wealth of appendixes help modern readers ' lay readers in particular ' delve into Herodotus' work with the many helps that keep us immersed in cultural context and background details as needed. This is truly the Herodotus for beginners.

The index is a work of beauty ' nearly 100 pages in total. If you ever find yourself thinking, 'I know I've read this excerpt from Herodotus somewhere,' and would like to read it in context, you'll be ecstatic!

Reprinted in 2009 as a paperback, this 1024-page volume, thickly padded with detail, is better suited as a hardcover. The 2007 original volume will hold up better to the massive weight of this tome.

Whether for your own background reading, or for the use of your high school student, this masterful volume is hands-down the best modern version of The Histories to see how available today. It's truly difficult to see how Strassler could have improved this edition. There is more than enough fascinating detail included to lose yourself in the history of ancient Greece, Persia, and the surrounding nations.

In my high school in the Netherlands it was compulsory reading in our history course. We were told to read certain chapters,then read our news papers for a month, then write a paper showing parallels in political happenings during the Greek-Persian days and the present. Turned out the humane g-nome has not changed in the last 2200 years, meaning politics and politicians have not changed one iota in all this time.
Us students self-discovered our reality check and learned about politics,our parliamentary system, how it operates and devellop some interest in how our country is governed. Something lacking in present Canadian society.
The book has fascinating descriptions of how people lived and thought in those days, detailed battle descriptions, debates in the Athenian parliament that are almost identical to those conducted today. Treason, behind the scenes deals, well the usual parliamentary procedures.
Great book everyone should read.