Histories

Herodotus, “the Father of History,” researched and wrote the Histories in the middle of the 5th century BCE. Composed in the Ionic dialect of ancient Greek, this expansive account of the Greco-Persian war that occurred during the first two decades of the 5th century is the first prose masterpiece in European literature. The work traces the conflict between the Greek city-states and the Persian empire from its origins in the conquest of the Hellenic settlements of western Asia Minor to the successful repulse of the Persian invasions of mainland Greece in 490 and 480 BCE by a small and quarrelsome alliance of cities led by Athens and Sparta.

The heroic drama of Greek freedom triumphing over oriental despotism forms the main theme of Herodotus’ narrative, but he supplements this story with dozens of digressions treating the geography, zoology, botany, religion, and ethnography of the many lands and cultures encompassed in the broad sweep of his history. The ambitious breadth of his subject, concern with rationally explaining the causes of human action, and critical and empirical attitude he displays toward his sources of information have led to the distinction Herodotus enjoys of being considered the pioneer of the historical method. At the same time, Herodotus is also a master storyteller. The Histories incorporate folklore, legend, mythic motifs, and literary patterns in a grand narrative that reveals the influence of fate and the divine, as well as individual agency, in human affairs and emphasizes the instability of human happiness and fortune.

The Histories are divided into nine Books. In Book 1, Herodotus announces his purpose to memorialize the great and marvelous deeds of the Greeks and their barbarian neighbors, and, more particularly, to show why they came into conflict. He describes the rise of the Lydian empire under Croesus, who first subdued the Greek settlements on the western coast of Asia Minor. Turning his sights toward the Persian empire of Cyrus the Great, Croesus sought the assistance of Sparta and Athens for a campaign intended to punish Cyrus for mistreating the king of Media. Encouraged by the Delphic oracle, Croesus attacked the Persians but was defeated. 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.

In Book 2, Herodotus discusses the geography, culture, and history of Egypt. This lengthy digression sets the stage for his description of the conquest of Egypt by the Persian emperor Cambyses, Cyrus’ successor, in Book 3. Cambyses, succumbing to madness, killed his wife, executed his brother, and committed sacrilege against the Egyptians that incurred the wrath of the gods. After his death, a group of conspirators ousted a Median usurper to the Persian throne, and Darius became emperor of Persia. Darius expanded the territory of the Persian empire, crushing a revolt by Babylon and seizing the Greek island of Samos. Herodotus recounts the career of Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, the most powerful Greek ruler in the Aegean.

In Book 4, Herodotus describes Darius’ invasion of Scythia, its geography, and the customs of its inhabitants. The nomadic and warlike Scythians repelled the Persian army, but Darius’ general Megabazus subdued the Greek towns on the neighboring Hellespont. The Persians besieged Cyrene, a Greek city in Libya; Herodotus describes the geography of Libya and the customs of the Libyan tribes. In Book 5, Herodotus recounts the subsequent revolt of the Ionian city-states against Persian domination, led by the tyrants of Miletus. The Athenian support of the Ionian rebellion dovetails to a discussion of the founding of democracy in Athens after the tyrant Hippias is expelled from the city with the help of the Spartans. The Ionian Revolt was quickly suppressed by the Persians, and its leader, Aristagoras, was killed in Thrace.

Book 6 focuses on Darius’ expedition against mainland Greece in 490 BCE, intended to punish Athens for supporting the Ionian rebellion. The Athenians and Plataeans faced the Persian army at Marathon, winning a victory that resulted in the retreat of the Persians. In Book 7, Xerxes, having succeeded his father Darius on the Persian throne, launches a massive invasion against Greece with the goal of subjecting Europe to the Great King. Bridging the Hellespont, the Persians enter Greece, demanding earth and water—the tokens of subjection to the emperor—from the Hellenic cities. A small force of Greek allies, led by the Spartan king Leonidas, defend the coastal pass at Thermopylae but are flanked by the Persians and massacred.

The subsequent naval battles at Artemisium and Salamis, and the burning of Athens, are the focus of Book 8. The Greek alliance, on the verge of fracturing, is convinced by the Athenian general Themistocles to engage the Persian fleet and wins a decisive victory at Salamis, an island south of Athens. Xerxes flees Greece, leaving his general Mardonius behind to continue the campaign the following spring. In Book 9, Mardonius tries unsuccessfully to make an alliance with Athens. The Greek and Persian forces meet at Plataea, resulting in another victory for the Hellenic confederacy. Mardonius is killed, along with most of his army. On the same day, the Greek fleet destroys the Persian fleet at Mycale in Ionia, and the Ionian cities are liberated. A squadron of Athenian ships proceeds to the Hellespont with the intent of freeing Greek cities on the Chersonese from Persian rule. Herodotus ends with a moralizing anecdote about Cyrus the Great, who advised the Persians that soft countries make soft men, while hardship and poverty nurture independence and the strength to defend it.