Trans, from the Greek.

Weaving together the accounts of the ancient historian Herodotus with other ancient sources, this is the engrossing story of the triumph of Greece over the mighty Persian Empire. The Persian War is the name generally given to the first two decades of the period of conflict between the Greeks and the Persians that began in 499 BC and ended around 450. The pivotal moment came in 479, when a massive Persian invasion force was defeated and driven out of mainland Greece and Europe, never to return. The victory of a few Greek city-states over the world's first superpower was an extraordinary military feat that secured the future of Western civilization. All modern accounts of the war as a whole, and of the best-known battles of Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis, depend on the ancient sources, foremost amongst them Herodotus. Yet although these modern narratives generally include numerous references to the ancient authors, they quote little directly from them. This is the first book to bring together Herodotus' entire narrative and interweave it with other ancient voices alongside detailed commentary to present and clarify the original texts. The extracts from other ancient writers add value to Herodotus' narrative in various ways: some offer fresh analysis and credible extra detail; some contradict him interestingly; some provide background illumination; and some add drama and colour. All are woven into a compelling narrative tapestry that brings this immense clash of arms vividly to life. 'Distinguished military historian of the Persian Wars William Shepherd [...] shows himself to be also a most sensitive interpreter of those Wars' original historian Herodotus. With Shepherd as our guide and Herodotus by our side this key moment in West-East relations is given its full cultural and strategic due.' Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Senior Research Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge

The two great Persian invasions of Greece, in 490 and 480-79 B.C., both repulsed by the Greeks, provide our best opportunity for understanding the interplay of religion and history in ancient Greece. Using the Histories of Herodotus as well as other historical and archaeological sources, Jon Mikalson shows how the Greeks practiced their religion at this pivotal moment in their history. In the period of the invasions and the years immediately after, the Greeks--internationally, state by state, and sometimes individually--turned to their deities, using religious practices to influence, understand, and commemorate events that were threatening their very existence. Greeks prayed and sacrificed; made and fulfilled vows to the gods; consulted oracles; interpreted omens and dreams; created cults, sanctuaries, and festivals; and offered dozens of dedications to their gods and heroes--all in relation to known historical events. By portraying the human situations and historical circumstances in which Greeks practiced their religion, Mikalson advances our knowledge of the role of religion in fifth-century Greece and reveals a religious dimension of the Persian Wars that has been previously overlooked.

Translated by George Rawlinson, Introduction by Francis R.B. Godolphin

Annotation Herodotus the great Greek historian was born about 484 BCE, at Halicarnassus in Caria, Asia Minor, when it was subject to the Persians. He travelled widely in most of Asia Minor, Egypt (as far as Assuan), North Africa, Syria, the country north of the Black Sea, and many parts of the Aegean Sea and the mainland of Greece. He lived, it seems, for some time in Athens, and in 443 went with other colonists to the new city Thurii (in South Italy), where he died about 430. He was 'the prose correlative of the bard, a narrator of the deeds of real men, and a describer of foreign places' (Murray).Herodotus's famous history of warfare between the Greeks and the Persians has an epic dignity which enhances his delightful style. It includes the rise of the Persian power and an account of the Persian empire; a description and history of Egypt; and a long digression on the geography and customs of Scythia. Even in the later books on the attacks of the Persians against Greece there are digressions. All is most entertaining and produces a grand unity. After personal inquiry and study of hearsay and other evidence, Herodotus gives us a not uncritical estimate of the best that he could find.The Loeb Classical Library edition of Herodotus is in four volumes.

Greece and Rome: Texts and Contexts provides students with direct access to the ancient world by offering new translations of extracts from the key texts of its literature, history and civilization, and by setting them in their historical, social and cultural contexts. The series is suitable for both advanced secondary school and undergraduate study, giving translations that are accurate and accessible, accompanied by notes that will enable all students to engage with the primary sources. Key features of the series include: questions which prompt students to develop their own informed opinions, and to consider the relevance of ancient texts to the modern world notes alongside the texts for easy reference stimulating illustrations throughout. Herodotus, writing in the second half of the 5th century BC, is the first historian of western civilization. His narrative tells of the expansion of the Persian Empire in the 6th and 5th centuries BC and the wars between Greece and Persia in 490, 480 and 479 BC. Some of the most famous battles of history Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis - are dramatically described in his work. However, Herodotus' greatness lies not only in the momentous nature of the events he describes. His purpose is to explain why the wars happened, and his sophisticated and complex answer encompasses the relation of gods to men, the nature of different peoples and the character of individuals. Herodotus says that he will write equally about the two sides of the war, and his narrative of the clash between East and West, between democracy and autocracy, has striking and disturbing modern resonances. Book jacket.