Kids learn about the art, religion, history, architecture and culture of ancient Greece.
Herodotus' Histories, the first masterpiece of European prose, is built around the great struggle between Greek freedom and oriental despotism. During the early fifth century BC, a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city-states united to repel a mighty Persian army. While the story of this heroic drama forms the main theme of Herodotus' narrative, the author's curiosity fleshes out the text with dozens of digressions. He describes, for example, the monuments, crocodile-hunters and natural wonders of Egypt, the warriors of the Sudan, the northern nomads and lake-dwellers of Europe. Endlessly entertaining, he recounts many superb stories and folk tales about amazing escapes, ambiguous prophecies, gold-digging ants, and dog-headed men. And he conveys vividly the fragility of wealth and happiness, and the unexpected moral patterns in our lives.
This edition is a revised version of Aubrey de Sélincourt's celebrated translation and includes a new introduction, additional notes, glossary, chronology and bibliography.
Written by Herodotus. Translated by Aubrey de Selincourt. Revised, notes, and introduction by John M. Marincola. 672 pages. Recommended for ages 15 and up. | 
