The Giant Gold-Mining Ants Were My Favorite Part

The Histories by Herodotus

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Herodotus gets a bad rap.

Calling him the "Father of Lies" is really inaccurate, as all through The Histories he's pretty upfront about when he's merely reporting what others have told him. Yes, he invents conversations, but remember, he wasn't a peer-reviewed modern historian, he was writing to be read by the average Greek. In this, The Histories are magnificent.

The overarching story is that of the Persian wars with Greece. We start with Croesus (yeah, the "rich as" guy) who famously asked the oracle at Delphi what would happen if he attacked the Persians. The oracle answered, "if Croesus attacks the Persians, he will destroy a great empire." Of course, the empire was Croesus' own.

Herodotus tracks the expansion of the Persian Empire, and here's where the real jot of reading the book comes from. At every turn, Herodotus goes off on long descriptions of states, people, their history, famous battles, and so on, before finally returning to the plot! This is where the meat is. The Histories provide a snapshot of the Greek known world in the 6th Century BCE. As a budding fantasy author, what he writes is pure gold as source material.

But it's also the view of how lives were lived at the time that's fascinating. The reliance on oracles and omens, the brutality of justice, just knowing how these city-states lived and grew, it's an education in itself. By the end of the book, you know these places and people. That's the magic.

This is a two bookmark book. You'll need to not only mark where you are reading but where you are in the wonderfully detailed endnotes. Trust me, this is a must as you go, because the endnotes provide additional detail, clarity, and help tie the meandering themes together. There are also timelines, a glossary, and a comprehensive index. Don't skip the multiple introductions, as they are very important in getting the material in the right light.

One final thing, as a player of Civilization VI I was amused to see how many of the leaders in that game can be found in The Histories. Cyrus of Persia, Gorgo of Sparta, Tomyris of Scythia, and, briefly appearing as a newborn, Pericles of Athens.

This is essential for anyone with even a passing interest in classical history. Also, writers and gamemasters will find plenty to mine here.



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