num_pages: 816
description: Herodotus is not only the father of the art and the science of historical writing but also one of the Western tradition's most compelling storytellers. In tales such as that of Gyges—who murders Candaules, the king of Lydia, and unsurps his throne and his marriage bed, thereby bringing on, generations later, war with the Persians—he laid bare the intricate human entanglements at the core of great historical events. In his love for the stranger, more marvelous facts of the world, he infused his magnificent history with a continuous awareness of the mythic and the wonderful.
language: English
title: The Histories
titlecomplete: The Histories
characters: Psamtik I, Kleombrotos, Massagetai, Mardonius, Kandaules, Labda, Candaules of Lydia, Hydarnes II, Mardonlos, Amasis II, Artabazos I of Phrygia, Hermotimos, Thales of Miletus, Leonidas, Artemisia I of Caria, Gyges of Lydia, Tomyris (Massagetean Queen), Gorgos, Apollo (Greek god), Histiaios, Bagaios, Leotychidas, Eurybiades, Pausanias of Sparta, Cambyses I, Croesus, Themistocles, Cyrus the Great, Leutychides, Aphrodite (Greek Goddess), Adrastos, Hekataios, Megabazus, Xerxes I of Persia, Maeandrius, Harpagos, Solon (of Athens), Artyphius, Artaphrenes, Kepheus, Psamtik III, Necos, Ister, Kypselos
genres: Greece, Mythology, Historical, Philosophy, Ancient History, Literature, Classics, Nonfiction, History, Ancient
ratings_count: 50374
places: Sparta, Babylon, Ecbatana, Cappadocia, Sardis (now: Sart), Delphi, Halys River, Egypt, Marathon, Salamis, Corynth, Athens, Cytherea, Lydia, Ascalon (now: Ashkelon)
publisher: Everyman's Library 234