Many consider ancient Greece to mean ancient Athens, because of the rich legacy Athens left us in literature, philosophy, and history. A corollary view is that ancient Greece was a homogeneous society. Neither view is accurate. Ancient Greece, which the Greeks themselves called Hellas, was a conglomerate of fractious city-states, each with its own political system and customs. Although Greece was united by a common language, it was a language whose dialects differed markedly from one region to another, and the student of ancient Greek must learn to distinguish the dialectal differences among Homer, Pindar, Aeschylus,and Herodotus.
...
This Norton Critical Edition offers an introduction to Herodotus for students making their first approach to the history of Western Civilization or classical Greece. It features a new translation and selection of Herodotus's The Histories by Walter Blanco, supple- mented by critical works chosen by Jennifer Roberts.
Walter Blanco's translation captures the spirit and meaning of Herodotus and conveys these to students today. The selections from The Histories show Herodotus both as ethnographer and as narrative historian. They include his rich descriptions of Egyptian civilization and its contributions to Greek culture, and his dramatic account of the Persian wars. The background selections include works by Aeschylus, Thucydides, Aristotle, and Plutarch. Nine- teenth- and twentieth-century commentaries on Herodotus round out this edition.
Preface
Introduction
Chronology of Events
A Note on the Persian Wars
Map: The Persian Wars
THE HISTORIES
Book I
Book II, Chapters 1-98, 112-120
Book III, Chapters 39-43, 61-88, 98-105
Book IV, Chapters 36-44
Book V, Chapters 48-105
Book VI, Chapters 98-117
Book VII, Chapters 1-57, 89-1o5, 138-52, 17:2-239
Book VIII, Chapters 1-125
Book IX, Chapters 51-64
BACKGROUNDS
Aeschylus, The Persians, 11. 334-514
Bacchylides, Third Epinician Ode, 11. lO-62
Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, Book 1, Chapters 1-23,
89-117; Book 3, Chapter lO4
Aristotle, Politics, 1313a. 34-1314a. 14
Plutarch, On the Malice of Herodotus
COMMENTARIES
Early Modern Criticism
David Hume, Of Miracles
Isaac Taylor, [The Consequences of the Greek Victory
for Western Civilization: A Christian View]
John Stuart Mill, [The Consequences of the Greek Victory
for Western Civilization: A Secular View]
Thomas Babington Macaulay, [The Purpose and Method
of History]
Twentieth-Century Criticism
I. Background
R. G. Collingwood, History's Nature, Obiect, Method,
and Value
Christian Meier, The Origins of History in Ancient Greece
Oswyn Murray, Greek Historians
I1. Herodotus
Aubrey de Se1incourt, [The Life of Herodotus]
lames Romm, The Shape of Herodotus' World
Charles W. Fornara, Herodotus' Perspective
Stanley Rosen, Herodotus Reconsidered
Arnaldo Momigliano, The Place of Herodotus in the
History of Historiography
J. A. S. Evans, Father of History or Father of Lies: The
Reputation of Herodotus
II1. The Persian Wars
A. T. Olmstead, Persia and the Greek Frontier Problem
Arther Ferrill, Herodotus and the Strategy and Tactics of
the Invasion of Xerxes
IV. Aspects of Herodotus' Work
A. W. Gomme, Herodotos and Aeschylus
M. E. White, Herodotus' Starting Point
Rosaria Vignolo Munson, The Celebratory Purpose of
Herodotus: The Story of Arion
John Hart, Themistocles in History
Virginia Hunter, [Homer, Herodotus, and the Egyptian Logos]
Donald Lateiner, Five Systems of Explanation
Glossary
Bibliography
