Widely considered one of the first serious works of history, historieswritten in the 5th century bce by the greek scholar herodotus is a highly influential account of the grecopersian wars. The history of herodotus volume 2 kindle edition by herodotus, macaulay, g. He was born in the essentially dorian hellenic or greek, yes. Read the excerpt from the history of herodotus, book 2. Books iv describe the background to the grecopersian wars. Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Herodotus made a trek to the egypt of his day 400s b. The pig is regarded among them as an unclean animal, so much so that if a man in passing accidentally touch a pig, he instantly hurries to the river, and plunges in with all his clothes on. The role of oracles and dreams in herodotus the history. Herodotus 484425 bce the greek historian who wrote extensively on the persian empire, here describes persian customs as they would have been practiced around the year 430 bce at susa and other persian communities. Herodotus attempts to relate the whole history of the kings of egypt, although he does not describe all 350 pharaohs he claims have ruled the country.
In the first logosof book two, he gives a description of the country, the desert, and the river nile. In particular, passage eightysix describes the practice of an ancient ritual that has fascinated people for millennia. Herodotus histories book ii the second book of the histories, called euterpe 1. To read the history herodotus only book is to seek ones roots as a member of western democratic civilization. We may think all the famous ancient greeks came from athens, but its not true. Thalia the abovementioned amasis was the egyptian king against whom cambyses, son of cyrus, made his expedition. Herodotus s account of egyptian history is thorough, and probably rests on egyptian records and stories about their rulers. It is in part a gripping and much revered tale of colossal confrontation between freedomloving greekspeaking peoples the athenians, spartans, and others and the seemingly unstoppable forces of the persians.
Godley, read by librivox volunteers, proofed, coordinated, and produced by karen merline. The writings of herodotus concerning ancient egypt contain a great deal of information about the particulars of egyptian society, geography, and religion. This quotation from herodotus, a greek who traveled in egypt, is about how the nile river enabled ancient egyptian civilization to develop and succeed. Cambyses, the son of this lady and of cyrus, regarding the ionian and aeolian greeks as vassals of his father, took them with. Herodotus s subject in his history is the wars between greece and persia 499479 bce and their preliminaries. Herodotuss subject in his history is the wars between greece and persia 499479 bce and their preliminaries. His book about the wars between the persians and the greek city states was a collection of his historiahis inquirieswhich is where we get the very word history from yet he is also known to some as the father of lies. Cambyses becomes king of the persian empire 530522 bc. Egyptian monuments were brought by roman legionnaires, officials, servants etc. Called the father of history by cicero, the greek historian herodotus born in 484 b. Creation, by gore vidal, interpreting many scenes from the persian viewpoint.
There is a custom, too, which no greeks except the lacedaemonians have in. Then, herodotus returns to the egyptian customs, and explains. The project gutenberg ebook of an account of egypt, by herodotus this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. Herodotus book also contains ethnographic descriptions of the. Euterpe on the death of cyrus, cambyses his son by cassandane daughter of pharnaspes took the kingdom. Thucydides, the younger man by about 15 years, produced a forthright account. Egyptians did practice some of the most commonly known acts like circumcision and immersion the preritual self washing. Gates of fire, by stephen pressfield, has the battle of thermopylae book vii as its centrepiece. The greek historian herodotus specifically uses it to describe all of subsaharan africa.
In the first place, if an egyptian touches a hog in passing, he goes to the river and dips himself in it, clothed as he is. A major impression herodotus wishes to get across is that egypt is very old. Quite a few comments have been posted about the history of herodotus. And its actually on topic because its an exploration of. Herodotus book 2 discussion questions reading odyssey. The level of trustworthy detail improves as the account gets closer to the time in which herodotus lived. Translator tom holland argues that the father of history is not only hugely entertaining but has an amazing capacity to. The histories also stands as one of the earliest accounts of the rise of the persian empire, as well as the events and causes of the grecopersian wars between the achaemenid empire and the greek citystates in the 5th century bc.
Herodotus s histories dealt with the clash of civilisations east v west. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus. Book i 299k book ii 249k book iii 221k book iv 230k book v 162k book vi 174k book. Moreover the naming of almost all the gods has come to hellas from egypt. In the history itself, herodotus ranges widely geographically, and considers many different countries. Herodotus claims that since this legendary king 330 pharaohs have ruled he does not mention all of them, but gives some attention to the great conqueror sesostris, who has conquered the whole world. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. These words uttered and this occasion having arisen, led cambyses the son of cyrus against egypt, moved to very great anger. Herodotus describes the birth and rise to power of cyrus, who liberated persia from the medes, and the subsequent expansion of the persian empire until cyrus death during a war with the massagetae.
As it has survived, the history is divided into nine books the division is not the authors. Herodotus was a greek historian who lived in the 5th century bc from 484 b. Unlike book 1, book 2 s recollections of kings were less specific and more sparse but he does include descriptions of animals and their role in egyptian society which i found interesting and new. The following is comprised of excerpts from his book. Two of herodotus histories consists mainly of a discussion of the cultures and.
Strange stories of early egypt by herodotus audiobook. Cassandane had died in the lifetime of cyrus, who had made a great mourning for her at her death, and had commanded all the subjects of his empire to observe the like. In book 2 herodotus takes us on a travel tour of egypt. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the history of herodotus volume 2. With these, he discusses in detail such varied matters as hygiene, sex, culture, animals, religion, geographical features, and so on. This may seem like a diversion from his topic of the great wars between the greeks and the persians, but its a pleasant diversion. The history of herodotus by herodotus, part of the internet classics archive. Herodotus was born at halicarnassus modern day bodrum, a city of mixed peoples including greeks and carians, on the fringe of the persian empire. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy and arrange them in. During this whole time there had never been a god in manshape, and the sun only rose differently four times twice rising in the west, and twice setting in the east. Many scholars refer to him as the father of history in western culture.
The story of how the egyptians known as asmacks, or deserters, came to. The history of herodotus by herodotus, part of the internet. The history of herodotus has been divided into the following sections. Cambyses, by the advice of a certain egyptian, who was angry with amasis for having torn him from his wife. His plan to conquer egypt gives herodotus the opportunity. This is the story which i heard from the priests of hephaestus temple at memphis.
The history of herodotus book i the first book of the histories, called clio this is the showing forth of the inquiry of herodotus of halicarnassos, to the end that1 neither the deeds of men may be forgotten by lapse of time, nor the works 2 great and marvellous, which have been produced some by hellenes and some by barbarians, may. When cyrus had brought his life to an end, cambyses received the royal power in succession, being the son of cyrus and of cassandane the daughter of pharnaspes, for whose death, which came about before his own, cyru. The priests told me that min was the first king of egypt, and that first he p387. Connecting egyptian religion and customs to that of the greeks in which herodotus friendly manner towards egypt can be felt. The egyptians in agreement with their climate, which is unlike any other, and with the river, which shows a nature different from all other rivers, established for themselves manners and customs in a way opposite to other men in almost all matters. The egyptians in agreement with their climate, which is unlike any other, and. Histories book 2 the history of egypt summary course hero. Like many important ancient greeks, herodotus was not only not born in athens but wasnt even born in what we think of as europe. Hellenon, commissioned the building of the third and smallest of the three pyramids at the site now known as giza. The historian, herodotus wrote about flying reptiles. Herodotus often accepted stories and reputations uncritically and reported them as facts. Books viix contain the history of the wars, culminating in an account of the. The third logos of herodotus histories is entirely devoted to egyptian history.
Herodotus, later famous as a historian to the point of becoming known by his admirers as the father of history, was born in halicarnassus, now bodrum, turkey, in about 484 b. Nov 14, 2018 reading the histories of herodotus, book ii, i was truly surprised to see the direct link between the rituals. The history book ii book 2 is named after the greek muse euterpe. This woman, according to the reportage of some greeks as opposed to others metexeteroi. The histories of herodotus of halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in western literature. The thebans, and such as imitate them in their practice, give the following account of the origin of the custom. Dec 11, 2002 the writings of herodotus concerning ancient egypt contain a great deal of information about the particulars of egyptian society, geography, and religion. In book 2, herodotus discusses the geography, culture, and history of egypt. Nov 21, 2017 im going to be telling you stories from the oldest book of history that we have. He traveled over much of the known ancient world, making trips to places such as southern italy, lower egypt, and the caucasus. Herodotus traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book. Herodotus was a greek writer and geographer credited with being the first historian.
The heliopolitans have the reputation of being the best skilled in history of all the egyptians. Elizabeth eltze herodotus histories, book 2, section 86 amphora. His plan to conquer egypt gives herodotus the opportunity to dedicate three logoi to the ancient kingdom on the. Pharaoh, by boleslaw prus, incorporating the labyrinth scenes inspired by herodotus description in book ii of the histories. Book 2 of the history, which describes the egyptian land and people, illustrates herodotuss skill as a narrator as well as his weaknesses as a historian. He appears to have tried to ascertain as best as he could what the actuality was and what hearsay or rumor was. His plan to conquer egypt gives herodotus the opportunity to dedicate three logoito the ancient kingdom on the boards of the nile. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus by.
You may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at. Written in 440 bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, the histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known in western asia, northern. As herodotus introduces his long digression on egypt with a reference to the conquest of the greeks c. Book 2 of the history, which describes the egyptian land and people, illustrates herodotus s skill as a narrator as well as his weaknesses as a historian. The subject of the history of herodotus is the struggle between the greeks and the barbarians, which he brings down to the battle of mycale in 479 b. Apart from that, say the priests, nothing else was different. Strange stories of early egypt by herodotus audiobook youtube. I owe it to tell what is being told, but i by no means owe it to believe it. There is, however, a great deal of information that can be gained from looking at what the writings suggest about herodotus of harlicannassus himself, as well as his greek culture. This is the main reason why clearly identifiable peoples like the assyrians gradually enter the account. In recorded egyptian history there have been 341 generations, each one producing a king and a high priest.
Ii, 1089, the sesostris logos also exemplifies the culturehero motif. In egyptian, the goat and pan are both called mendes. As with the earlier mentions of egypts cultural and economic bounty, the point is to. The history book ii great books of the western world. The numbers in the text are the chapters from which the quotes are taken. The explanation is that the ancient greeks believed that the barbarians on the edges of the earth were the opposite of the civilized people in the middle of the terrestrial disk. Oct 31, 2018 get 2 free audible books this is the third volume of the 15volume series of the worlds story. In the next logos, herodotus tells us about the customs of the egyptians. Herodotus lays out the history of egypt until the reign of amasis, the pharaoh that cambyses will defeat in histories. The work, as we have it, is divided into nine books, named after the nine muses, but this division is probably due to the alexandrine grammarians.
The history of herodotus volume 2 kindle edition by. Gathering research from his travels around egypt, africa, and asia, herodotus recorded his observations and. The history of herodotus by herodotus the internet classics archive. Its simply called, the histories, and it was written two and a half thousand years ago by a greek, named herodotus. He has become known as the father of history for his major work the histories. Herodotus on the egyptians ancient history encyclopedia. Herodotus and a courtesan from naucratis classical inquiries. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy and arrange them in a vivid narrative. His great history, the first major prose work in world literature, is an account of his world at the time of the persian wars. The passage, from book i of his histories, is interesting in the way herodotus contrasts the behavior and values of the persians with those of the greeks, with the.
An account of egypt, by herodotus project gutenberg. Herodotus histories book ii classical wisdom weekly. It is a temple of latona, situated in the midst of a great city on the sebennytic mouth of the nile, at some distance up the river from the sea. As a son of a prominent family herodotus received a good education sufficient to allow him to eventually gain an extensive familiarity with the literature of. Herodotus portrays the conflict as one between the forces of slavery the persians on the one hand, and freedom. Jan 18, 2012 the egyptians in agreement with their climate, which is unlike any other, and with the river, which shows a nature different from all other rivers, established for themselves manners and customs in a way opposite to other men in almost all matters. This is the story which i heard from the priests of hephaestus2 temple. Get 2 free audible books this is the third volume of the 15volume series of the worlds story. Mar 27, 2018 herodotus is fascinated by the interplay of nature and culture. Now the egyptians, before the reign of their king psammetichus, believed themselves to.
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