The Histories of
Herodotus of
Halicarnassus is considered the first work of
history in
Western literature. Written about
440 BC in the
Ionic dialect of
classical Greek,
The Histories tells the story of the war between the Persian Empire and the
Greek city-states in the
5th century BC. Herodotus travelled extensively around the
ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book. At the beginning of
The Histories, Herodotus sets out his reasons for writing it:
The Histories is divided into nine books, each named after one of the
Muses. The rise of the Persian Empire is chronicled, and the causes for the conflict with
Greece. Herodotus treats the conflict as an ideological one, frequently contrasting the absolute power of the Persian king with the democratic government of the Greeks.
The Histories contains a famous account of the
Battle of Marathon, of which Herodotus wrote:
Storyline
- The rulers of Lydia (on the west coast of modern Turkey): Candaules, Gyges, Sadyattes, Alyattes, Crœsus
- How Gyges took the kingdom from Candaules
- The singer Arion's ride on the dolphin
- Solon's answer to Crœsus's question that Tellus was the happiest person in the world
- Crœsus's efforts to protect his son Atys, his son's accidental death by Adrastus
- Crœsus's test of the oracles
- The answer from the Oracle of Delphi concerning whether Crœsus should attack the Persians (famous for its ambiguity): If you attack you will destroy a mighty empire
- Pisistratus' rises and falls from power as tyrant of Athens
- The rise of Sparta
- Crœsus's defeat by Cyrus II of Persia, and how he later became Cyrus's advisor
- The rulers of the Medes: Deioces, Phraortes, Cyaxares, Astyages, Cyrus II of Persia
- The rise of Deioces over the Medes
- Astyages's attempt to destroy Cyrus, and Cyrus's rise to power
- Harpagus tricked into eating his son, his revenge against Astyages by assisting Cyrus
- The culture of the Persians
- The history and geography of the Ionians, and the attacks on it by Harpagus
- Pactyes' convinces the Lydians to revolt. Rebellion fails and he seeks refuge from Mazares in Cyme (Aeolis)
- The culture of Assyria, especially the design and improvement of the city of Babylon and the ways of its people
- Cyrus's attack on Babylon, including his revenge on the river Gyndes and his famous method for entering the city
- Cyrus's ill-fated attack on the Massagetæ
