Commentary

[in chronological order]

Herodotus and the Scythians: Images and the Inquiry into the Soul

- Leo Paul S. De Alvarez, "Herodotus and the Scythians: Images and Inquiry into the Soul," Ramify (University of Dallas), Winter: 2015.
Leo Paul S. De Alvarez on Herodotus’ treatment of the Scythians, the nomadic people he claims he “does not admire,” with one important exception.

“Herodotean Realism” by Joel Schlosser

- Schlosser, Joel Alden. “Herodotean Realism.” Political Theory. 42-3 (2014): 239–61.
Abstract: With the renaissance of political realism has come an insistence that the study of politics be historically located. While many political realists trace their conception of historical inquiry to Thucydides, this article shows how Herodotus can offer… More

Herodotus: Histories Book V

- Hornblower, Simon, ed. Herodotus: Histories Book V. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
From the Publisher: “Considered one of the most important works of history in Western literature, Herodotus’s Histories is a key text for the study of ancient Greece and the Persian Empire. Book V not only describes the revolt of the east Greeks… More

Herodotus: Volume 2 Herodotus and the World

- Munson, Rosaria Vignolo, ed. Herodotus: Volume 2 Herodotus and the World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
From the Publisher: “The ancient historian Herodotus, the Father of History, is also considered a great anthropologist. In his account of the Persian invasions of Greece in the fifth century BCE, he searches for the forces that transformed Persians from… More

Herodotus: Volume 1 Herodotus and the Narrative of the Past

- Munson, Rosaria Vignolo, ed. Herodotus: Volume 1 Herodotus and the Narrative of the Past. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
From the Publisher: “Herodotus’ Histories is a fascinating account of the interactions between the Greeks and their powerful Near-Eastern neighbours. In it he explores the long-term causes for the Persian invasions of Greece in the early fifth… More

Thucydides and Herodotus

- Foster, Edith and Donald Lateiner, eds. Thucydides and Herodotus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
From the Publisher: “This edited collection looks at two of the most important ancient Greek historians living in the 5th Century BCE who are considered to be the founders of the western tradition of historiography. Thucydides and Herodotusexamines the… More

Myth, Truth, and Narrative in Herodotus

- Baragwanath, Emily, and Mathieu de Bakker, ed. Myth, Truth, and Narrative in Herodotus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
From the Publisher: “Herodotus, the ‘Father of History’, is infamously known for having employed elements more akin to mythological tales than to unvarnished ‘truth’ in translating his historical research into narrative form.… More

The Way of Herodotus: Travels with the Man who Invented History

- Marozzi, Justin. The Way of Herodotus: Travels with the Man who Invented History. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2008.
From the Publisher: “Intrepid travel historian Justin Marozzi retraces the footsteps of Herodotus through the Mediterranean and Middle East, examining Herodotus’s 2,500-year-old observations about the cultures and places he visited and finding echoes… More

Herodotean Inquiries by Seth Benardete

- Benardete, Seth. Herodotean Inquiries. South Bend: St. Augustine’s Press, 2008.
Seth Benardete’s work is a must-read for anyone interested in Herodotus. From the Publisher: Herodotus’ Inquiries should be regarded as our best and most complete document for pre-Socratic philosophy. Without being a work of philosophy, its plan… More

Herodotus and the Philosophy of Empire by Ann Ward

- Ward, Ann. Herodotus and the Philosophy of Empire, Waco: Baylor University Press, 2008.
From the publisher: In Herodotus and the Philosophy of Empire, Ann Ward treats the classical writer not as a historian but as a political philosopher. Ward uses close textual analysis to demonstrate that Herodotus investigates recurring themes in the most… More

Reading Herodotus. A Study of the Logoi in Book 5 of Herodotus’ Histories

- Irwin, Elizabeth and Emily Greenwood. Reading Herodotus. A Study of the Logoi in Book 5 of Herodotus’ Histories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
From the Publisher: “Reading Herodotus is a 2007 text which represented a departure in Herodotean scholarship: it was the first multi-authored collection of scholarly essays to focus on a single book of Herodotus’ Histories. Each chapter studies a… More

Travels with Herodotus

- Kapuszinski, Ryszard. Travels with Herodotus. Trans. Klara Gloczewska. London: Allen Lane, 2007.
From the Publisher: “From the renowned journalist comes this intimate account of his years in the field, traveling for the first time beyond the Iron Curtain to India, China, Ethiopia, and other exotic locales. In the 1950s, Ryszard Kapuscinski finished… More

A Commentary on Herodotus Books I-IV

- Asheri, David, Lloyd, Alan, Corcella, Aldo. A Commentary on Herodotus Books I-IV. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
From the Publisher: “Herodotus, one of the earliest and greatest of Western prose authors, set out in the late fifth century BC to describe the world as he knew it – its peoples and their achievements, together with the causes and course of the… More

“Democracy in Motion: Some Reflections on Herodotean Politics”

- Orwin, Clifford. “Democracy in Motion: Some Reflections on Herodotean Politics.” In Nalin Ranasinghe, ed., Logos and Eros: Essays Honoring Stanley Rosen. South Bend: St. Augustine’s Press, 2006, pp. 118-133.
Clifford Orwin, a Professor of political philosophy at the University of Toronto, explores Herodotus’ outlook within the history of political thought.

The Cambridge Companion to Herodotus

- Dewald, Carolyn and John Marincola, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Herodotus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
From the Publisher: “Popularly known as the ‘Father of History’, Herodotus is the first major prose writer in the history of Western literature whose work has survived in full. At a time when the ancient Greeks’ knowledge of the past… More

Herodotus: Histories Book IX

- Flower, Michael A. and Marincola, John, eds. Herodotus: Histories Book IX. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Herodotus and Religion in the Persian Wars

- Mikalson, J.D. Herodotus and Religion in the Persian Wars. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003.
From a Review: “Jon Mikalson’s book will surely prove an invaluable resource for any student working in the area of Herodotus, Greek religion, or the Persian War period. Rigorous in the standards it applies to the study of this complex subject, it… More

Brill’s Companion to Herodotus

- Bakker, Egbert J, Irene J. F. de John Hans van Wees. Brill’s Companion to Herodotus. Leiden: Brill, 2002.
From the Publisher: “Herodotus’s “Histories” can be read in many ways. Their literary qualities, never in dispute, can be more fully appreciated in the light of developments in the study of pragmatics, narratology and orality. Their… More

The Ship of State: Statecraft and Politics from Ancient Greece to Democratic America

- Thompson, Norma. The Ship of State: Statecraft and Politics from Ancient Greece to Democratic America. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001.
From the Publisher: “This provocative and illuminating book provides a new perspective on the development of political thought from Homer to Machiavelli, Tocqueville, and Gertrude Stein (who is introduced here, for the first time, as a writer of… More

Telling Wonders: Ethnographic and Political Discourse in the Work of Herodotus

- Munson, Rosaria Vignolo. Telling Wonders: Ethnographic and Political Discourse in the Work of Herodotus. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2001.
From a Review: “Rosaria Vignolo Munson’s (henceforth M) recent book on Herodotean ethnography and narrative is a must for every classicist’s and ancient historian’s bookshelf. M establishes, once and for all, Herodotus as a directed,… More

The Historian’s Craft in the Age of Herodotus

- Luraghi, Nino. The Historian’s Craft in the Age of Herodotus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
From a Review: “Review from previous edition Everyone who works on early Greek poetics, history and culture will find much of interest in this rich volume … provocative and exciting book … The contributors and in particular Professors… More

Herodotus Book VI

- McQueen, E.I., Herodotus Book VI. ed. Bristol: Bristol Classical Press, 2000.
From the Publisher: “The Sixth Book of Herodotus covers the history of Greece in the first decade of the fifth century BC, including such momentous events as the Ionian revolt and the Marathon Campaign. This commentary, aimed at undergraduates and… More

Herodotus in Context: Ethnography, Science, and the Art of Persuasion

- Thomas, Rosalind. Herodotus in Context: Ethnography, Science, and the Art of Persuasion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
From the Publisher: “This book examines the Histories of Herodotus within the context of the intellectual climate of the mid to late fifth century BC. Herodotus is read widely for his accounts of archaic Greek history but his descriptions of Egypt,… More

Divinity and History: the Religion of Herodotus

- Harrison, Thomas J. Divinity and History: the Religion of Herodotus. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 2000.
From the Publisher: “This book is a study of the religious beliefs of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus–his beliefs in divine retribution, in oracles and divination, in miracles or in fate. It seeks to show not only how such beliefs were… More

Herodotus: Book II

- Waddell, W.G., Herodotus: Book II. ed. Bristol: Bristol Classical Press, 1998.

Herodotus

- Romm, James S. Herodotus. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.
From the Publisher: “Herodotus, widely known as the father of history, was not only a historian but also a master story-teller, argues the author of this insightful book. James Romm gives general readers a fresh appreciation of the Histories and shows… More

Herodotus and the Origins of the Political Community by Norma Thompson

- Thompson, Norma. Herodotus and the Origins of the Political Community. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.
From the Publisher: “Norma Thompson opens a new angle of political vision in this imaginative and engaging interpretation of Herodotus’ History. She claims for the ‘father of history’ a position in the canon of political thought,… More

Discourses on the First Book of Herodotus

- Arieti, James A. Discourses on the First Book of Herodotus. Lanham, Md.: Littlefield Adams Books, 1995.
From the Publisher: “As scholars have observed and analyzed Herodotus’s sophistication, the father of history has been recognized as a complex and profound moral historian. How would Herodotus’s contemporaries have responded to his… More

A Short History of Greek Literature by Jacqueline de Romilly

- De Romilly, Jacqueline. A Short History of Greek Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.
The late, distinguished French historian of Greek literature Jacqueline de Romilly introduces several Greek authors in this introduction. The Herodotus chapter is notable. From the Publisher: Offers profiles of ancient Greek writers, including Homer, Hesiod,… More

Herodotus Book I

- Sheets, George A., Herodotus Book I. ed. Bryn Mawr: Bryn Mawr Commentaries, 1993.

De Malignitate Herodoti

- Plutarch. Trans. with intro and commentary Bowen, Anthony. De Malignitate Herodoti. Warminster, Wiltshire: Aris & Phillips, 1992.
Excerpt: “The style, O Alexander, of Herodotus, as being simple, free, and easily suiting itself to its subject, has deceived many; but more, a persuasion of his dispositions being equally sincere. For it is not only (as Plato says) an extreme… More

“Herodotus Reconsidered”

- Rosen, Stanley. “Herodotus Reconsidered.” In Herodotus: The Histories. Ed. Walter Blanco and Jennifer T. Roberts, 332-356. W.W. Norton, 1992.

Herodotus, Explorer of the Past: Three Essays

- Evans, J. A. S. Herodotus, Explorer of the Past: Three Essays. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991.
From the Publisher: “Why does a power expand and become an empire? Writing in the early years of the Peloponnesian War, Herodotus gave Athens full credit for saving Greece from Persia, but also identified the city’s expansion as a new… More

The Historical Method of Herodotus

- Lateiner, Donald. The Historical Method of Herodotus. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1989.
From the Publisher: “Herodotus was the first writer in the West to conceive the value of creating a record of the recent past. He found a way to co-ordinate the often conflicting data of history, ethnology, and culture. The Historical Method of… More

Herodotus and his Sources: Citation, Invention and Narrative Art

- Fehling, D., Herodotus and his Sources: Citation, Invention and Narrative Art. Trans J.G. Howie. Leeds: F. Cairns, 1989.
From the Publisher: “Professor Fehling’s important study of source-citations in Herodotus first appeared in German in 1971 ( Die Quellenangaben bei Herodot ). It proved controversial at the time, setting its face as it did against the general… More

“Philosophy and Revolution” by Stanley Rosen

- Rosen, Stanley. “Philosophy and Revolution.”  In The Quarrel Between Philosophy and Poetry: Studies in Ancient Thought.  New York and London: Routledge, Chapman & Hall, 1988.
From the Publisher: Now available in paperback, The Quarrel Between Philosophy and Poetry focuses on the theoretical and practical suppositions of the long-standing conflict between philosophy and poetry. Stanley Rosen—one of the leading Plato scholars… More

The Archaic Smile of Herodotus

- Flory, Stewart. The Archaic Smile of Herodotus. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1987.
From the Publisher: “Although Cicero called him the “father of history,” Herodotus is a problematic historian for the modern reader. His Histories, though generally historical in theme and content, seems to be history only intermittently.… More

Herodotus Book III

- Newmyer, Stephen T. Herodotus Book III. Bryn Mawr: Bryn Mawr Commentaries, 1986.

The Persian Empire

- Cook, J. M. The Persian Empire. London: J. M. Dent and. Sons Ltd., 1983.

A Commentary on Herodotus

- How, W.W. and J. Wells. A Commentary on Herodotus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1912.
Excerpt: “The life of Herodotus in tradition. The main source of our information as to H., apart from his works, is the notice in Suidas¹ (s.v.): “H., the son of Lyxes and Dryo, a man of Halicarnassus, was born of parents in good position, and had a… More

Herodotus: The Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Books

- 2 vols., with Introduction, Text, Apparatus, Commentary, Appendices, Indices, Maps by Reginald Walter Macan. Herodotus: The Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Books. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Herodotus: The Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Books

- With Introduction, Text, Apparatus, Commentary, Appendices, Indices, Maps by Reginald Walter Macan. Herodotus: The Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Books. London: Macmillan and Co., 1895.