Hide browse bar your current position in the text is marked in blue. I really enjoyed this book because it is the first book of history ever written by man. Herodotus histories book ii the second book of the histories, called euterpe 1. He then sought out the ancient graeae and stealing their single eye compelled them to reveal the location of the gorgons. In another version of the myth, medusa had asked athena if she might leave the. The nicomachean ethics, excerpts from book 1, at this site back to index. He is clear in stating that they are the same, but different names. We wrote about them in the first book of the genealogiae. In the second book of his histories he describes ancient egypt and in this episode im going to be talking about the egyptian gods. Refusing to believe the story of perseus conceiving, the king locked danae and the. The histories, however, is one of those books where an audiobook helps. Written in the fifth century bc, the histories is a wideranging inquiry into the grecopersian wars and beyond. One of these was electryon, the father of alcmene, whose union with zeus. Cadmus was the first greek hero and, alongside perseus and bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the days of heracles.
Perseus, in greek mythology, the slayer of the gorgon medusa and the rescuer of andromeda from a sea monster. Histories is an important work because it gives us a glimpse into the worldview of an educated and well traveled man in the. The history of herodotus volume 2 kindle edition by. He was, alongside cadmus and bellerophon, the greatest greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of heracles. Smiths dictionary of greek and roman biography and mythology. A new translation of an important text for greek mythology used as a source book by classicists from antiquity to robert graves, the library of greek mythology is a complete summary of early greek myth, telling the story of each of the great families of heroic mythology, and the various adventures associated with the main heroes and heroines. He very rarely uses egyptian names, but does mention that the greeks took hercules name from the egyptian name, as well as his parents names, which may give light to the idea that. When i arrived there, i saw innumerable bones and backbones of serpents.
But perseus does not accomplish any early tests that i know of, and, most importantly, perseus is the only one of all the greek heroes who has a happy life. The history of herodotus book i the first book of the histories, called clio this is the showing forth of the inquiry of herodotus of halicarnassos, to the end that neither the deeds of men may be forgotten by lapse of time. Pdf the complete world of greek mythology download full. Herodotus histories book ii classical wisdom weekly. Its simply called, the histories, and it was written two and a half thousand years ago by a greek, named herodotus.
And im here with some more ancient history based on the writings of herodotus. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. High quality herodotus inspired tshirts by independent artists and designers from around the world. One of the masterworks of western civilization from the ancient greek author and orator known as the father of history. Nongreeks tend from the greek point of view to be less civilized, but the essential contrast here is greek vs. What role did persia and persians play in greek mythology. The history of herodotus, parallel english greek, tr. His book, histories, was the first attempt at documenting historical events in the context of eyewitnesses and secondhand accounts. Perseus is, of course, the hero of greek mythology who famously killed the gorgon, medusa, among many other things.
The history of herodotus volume 2 kindle edition by herodotus, macaulay, g. Written in 440 bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, the histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known in western asia, northern. Aithiopia also known as ethiopia, first appears as a geographical term in classical documents in reference to the upper nile region, as well as certain areas south of the sahara desert. Inspired designs on tshirts, posters, stickers, home decor, and more by independent artists and designers from around the world. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. The biblical writers borrowed from it to create characters such as the judges samson. Perseus is perhaps the oldest of the greek heroes with depictions of his beheading of. But when xerxes was told that they were about to be executed, he disapproved of his generals decision and sent men from his bodyguard with. The perseus digital library is a partner and supporter of open greek and latin, an international collaboration committed to creating an open educational resource featuring a corpus of digital texts, deepreading tools, and opensource software. Herodotus was a greek writer and geographer credited with being the first historian.
Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in. Learn more about the traditional story of perseus in this article. The history of herodotus, parallel englishgreek index. Herodotus, the earliest greek historian in the proper sense of the term, and the father of history, was according to his own statement, at the beginning of his work, a native of halicarnassus, a doric colony in caria, which at the time of his birth was governed by artemisia, a. Biocrawler herodotus is the author of the histories. Gathering research from his travels around egypt, africa, and asia, herodotus recorded his observations and interviews with locals in a thorough, consistent way. I dont think there really was any goddess like bastet in greek mythology, but herodotus skips over that. Im going to be telling you stories from the oldest book of history that we have. King polydectes commanded he fetch the head of medusa. Herodotus ancient greece history, mythology, art, war. Perseus is one of the greatest heroes of greek mythology. When cyrus had brought his life to an end, cambyses received the royal power in succession, being the son of cyrus and of cassandane the daughter of pharnaspes, for. The story of perseus, like the story of the exodus includes an episode of extensive wandering over african desert sands.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the history of herodotus volume 2. The man who was responsible for this, was, according to herodotus, king croesus of lydia, a country in the west of. Factual accounts of military matters on land and at sea, commanders, governments, and rulers are juxtaposed with greek mythology. The people of chemmis say that perseus often appears to them, sometimes within the sacred enclosure, sometimes in the open country. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Despite herodotus historical significance, very little is known of his personal life and academic history. Perseus was the son of zeus and danae, the daughter of acrisius of argos. Perseus was one of the most celebrated heroes of greek mythology.
His aim, he tells us, was to keep alive the astounding events, and the glorious deeds on both sides of the persian wars. Herodotus, the histories, book 1, chapter 1, section 0. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The rise of the persian empire is chronicled, and the causes for the conflict. In book ii of the histories, herodotus uses greek gods names in reference to egyptian gods. In greek mythology, perseus is the legendary founder of mycenae and of the perseid dynasty. Prior to that were the illiad and the oddyse by homer during the 700s b. This is not a historical book but also a geographers view, a sociologist view, will even dare to say the first spy book. He is most notably known for his writing of the histories. A phoenician prince, son of king agenor and queen telephassa of tyre and the brother of phoenix, cilix and europa, he was. Reading herodotus, one can often get bogged down in the loops of geography, people, history, culture and meandre through miles of esoterica. Herodotus, a greek from the city of halicarnassus in asia minor todays bodrum in turkey, published his histories sometime between. With the help of the gods, perseus obtained winged sandals, an invisible helm and a magical sword. The histories open with a prologue in which the author announces that he will describe the conflict between the greek and the non greek peoples persians and will explain how they came into conflict.
Herodotus traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book. The man who was responsible for this, was, according to herodotus, king croesus of lydia, a. The first six books deals with the growth of the persian empire under the rulers of croesus and later cyrus the great. Comparing egyptian and greek myth through herodotus. Herodotus the father of history, also known as the father of lies for reasons youll shortly deduce. The greek historian herodotus specifically uses the. He was the first writer that we know of who tried to find out exactly what happened in the past so that what people did will be remembered later, so that the great and admirable monuments that the greeks and the barbarians made would be famous, and, among other things, to write down the reasons. The audiobook gives you a good pace and forcemarches you through to the end.
There is a place in arabia not far from the town of bouto buto where i went to learn about the winged serpents ophies pteretoi. Called the father of history by cicero, the greek historian herodotus born in 484 b. For more ancient history subscribe to ancient times. Perseus was the demigod offspring of the unusual union between zeus and danae. Perseus, wanderings and exodus comparisons joshua and. The second book is largely concerned with egypt and the annexing of it by cyruss successor cambyses. But perseus, with the snakehaired monsters head, that famous spoil, in triumph made his way on rustling pinions through the balmy air and, as he hovered over libyas sands, the blooddrops from the gorgons head dripped down. Macaulay, 1890, full text etext at the history of herodotus, parallel english greek index sacred texts classics.
Perseus was one of the greatest and oldest panhellenic heroes of greek mythology. All search options view abbreviations home collectionstexts perseus catalog research grants open source about help. Perseus compared to moses and the danites of jaffa by. In book 1 of the iliad, thetis visits olympus to meet zeus, but the meeting is postponed, as zeus and. He beheaded the gorgon medusa for polydectes and saved andromeda from the sea. The word history meant inquiry in ancient greek, and if it acquired its present meaning it is because of herodotus, the father of history, as cicero called him. Inside this precinct is a temple, and in the temple an image of perseus. Greek and roman arabic germanic 19thcentury american renaissance richmond times italian poetry. The history of herodotus book i the first book of the histories, called clio this is the showing forth of the inquiry of herodotus of halicarnassos, to the end that 1 neither the deeds of men may be forgotten by lapse of time, nor the works2 great and marvellous, which have been produced some by hellenes and some by barbarians, may.