Herodotus

by George C. Swayne

Herodotus by George Carless Swayne is presented here as part of the Ancient Classics for English Readers series. The volume offers an accessible introduction to Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian often called the father of history. Swayne sketches Herodotus’s life, travels, and method—combining eyewitness reports, oral traditions, and careful inquiry into causes and effects—while contrasting him with Thucydides. The text surveys The History of Herodotus, outlining its nine books and tracing its central the clash between Europe and Asia, the rise and expansion of the Persian Empire, and the great Greco-Persian conflicts at Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale. The editor emphasizes Herodotus’s wide regard for other cultures, his religious sensibility, and his habit of weaving miracle and legend into historical narrative to illuminate universal themes such as freedom and justice. The introduction also discusses the work’s transmission, its methodological beginnings, and the historical contexts of Egypt, Babylon, and Scythia. This volume thus serves as a readable gateway to the founder of historical inquiry.

394 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1870

About the author

George Carless Swayne (1818-1892). English cleric.