Read the histories book 7, by herodotus online on bookmate herodotus was an ancient greek historian who lived in the fifth century bc c. 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 works 2 great and marvellous, which have been produced some by hellenes and some by barbarians, may lose their renown. The history of herodotus by herodotus, part of the internet classics archive. Herodotus is called the father of history, since rather than write history as an epic, he approached his work as a research project. Its mostly history of king xerxes and the persians, which tells basically how crazy xerxes was. Herodotus presents xerxes retreat as a humiliating flight. Epialtes son of eurydemus, a malian, came to speak with him, thinking so to receive a great reward from xerxes, and told him of the path leading over the mountain to thermopylae. Much of herodotuss information on the persian wars was collected toward the close of this period from 444 b. But mardonius son of gobryas, xerxes cousin and the son of darius sister, was with the king and had more influence with him than any persian. Xerxes according to herodotus encyclopaedia iranica. Xerxes the biblical king ahasverus, known from the book esther became king in november 486. Greek researcher, often called the worlds first historian.
Book seven herodotus seventh book brings together many of the strands developed in previous books of hubris, greek development and the clash of civilizations. Herodotus, the father of history, set about trying to find out the cause and course of the great war between greeks and persians. Cassandane had died in the lifetime of cyrus, who had made a great mourning for her at her death, and had commanded all the subjects of his empire to observe the like. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus. Moreover, the insistence that alexander is a greek, and descendant from greeks, rubs against the spirit of herodotus 7. In the summer, he suppressed a rising in babylon maybe the one which herodotus mentions in book one, chapter 184. What occurred from this affair, i believe, along with the riggers of war, helped to turn xerxes mind back to vashti. I suggest you access the history of herodotus online at. The quarrel over succession by two of darius sons, artabazanes and xerxes 2. According to this account, what are the differences between the greeks and the persians. Xerxes was to march his army to hellas with great pomp and pride, but to come back to the.
Now when tidings of the battle that had been fought at marathon reached the ears of king darius, the son of hystaspes, his anger against the. The histories book 7 ebook by herodotus 9781627550161. He has adapted homer, herodotus, thucydides and virgil for the bbc, and is the presenter of bbc radio 4s making history. Xerxes i khshayarsha, 486466 bce in books 7, 8, and 9. Xerxes srourges the water with 300 lashes and has the bridge rebuilt. Written in 440 bc in the ionic dialect of classical greek, the histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. His most recent book, in the shadow of the sword, describes the collapse of roman and persian power in the near east, and the emergence of islam. Read the histories book 7 polymnia by herodotus available from rakuten kobo. This rests on an interpretation of herodotus which states he was a purposeful, subtle historian, one which i agree with. Greek text with facing vocabulary and commentary under a creative commons license. King xerxes lay encamped in trachis in malis and the hellenes in the pass.
The young king inherited a solid empire, which was greater than any before in history. The asiatic great king xerxes, who followed in the footsteps of. The quarrel between which son should succeed darius in which xerxes i of persia is chosen. The role of oracles and dreams in herodotus the history. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections. Here begins book vii called polymnia of herodotus histories. Artemisia advises that he leave mardonius in command, since then xerxes will have nothing to lose even if mardonius fails. Xerxes invades greece ebook by herodotus rakuten kobo. Information on his life is very late, primarily derived from two articles in the suda, a byzantine lexicon. Xerxes consults artemisia about mardonius offer 101. Finally he worked on xerxes and persuaded him to do this, and other things happened that helped him to persuade xerxes. The battle of salamis was the first great and unexpected victory of the greeks over the persian forces under xerxes, whose defeat had important consequences for the subsequent history and selfimage of europe. Now xerxes was at first by no means eager to march against hellas.
This abridged excerpt from herodotus the histories is an interesting read. Herodotus already understood, over two millennia ago, a lesson we struggle with in modern times. After the conquest of egypt, intending now to take in hand the expedition against athens, xerxes held a special assembly of the noblest among the persians. Start studying important characters from herodotus. Darius and atossa were both achaemenids as they were both descendants of achaemenes. In this section, herodotus relates the invasion of the greek mainland by the persian king xerxes in 480 b. Book seven begins with darius anger at the loss of the battle of marathon, covers the buildup for xerxes invasion of greece, and ends with the persians costly victory at thermopylae. The importance of the chorus in aeschylus presentation of the. Xerxes invades greece by herodotus nook book ebook. Herodotus book also contains ethnographic descriptions of the peoples that. Do a search for xerxes in the downloaded copy, and you will have all the detail you need. In the histories, he describes the expansion of the achaemenid empire under its kings cyrus the great, cambyses, and darius i the great, culminating in xerxes expedition to greece 480 bce.
This logos opens with evil omens, which xerxes prefers to ignore. Herodotus book 7 commentary beta edition 14 mb pdf aug 2012 rightclick on pc, ctrlclick on mac for option to download directly this link contains a free pdf copy of an unrevised draft of herodotus histories book 7. Herodotus pace slows down dramatically at this point as he seems to relish building up the tension in his narrative. Talthybios 1 darius xerxes precursor once sent men to demand submission from the athenians and spartans but they killed his men. Luckily, moments of intrigue and excitement are spaced out quite reasonably throughout the text and they are. In the histories, he describes the expansion of the achaemenid empire under its kings cyrus the great, cambyses, and darius i the great. In 2007, he was the winner of the classical association prize awarded to the. To read the history herodotus only book is to seek ones roots as a member of western democratic civilization. Herodotus of halicarnassus was a greek historian of the 5th century bc.
Like its original, xerxes invades greece can be an extremely boring and tedious experience for those uninterested in archaic styles of history that like the bible catalog things endlessly. He wrote a history of the persian invasion of greece in the early fifth century b. While darius was preparing for another war against greece, a revolt spurred in egypt. This place is called thermopylae by most of the hellenes, but by the natives and their neighbors pylae. The story of xerxes eunuch hermotimus, and the horrible revenge he got on the man who castrated him 1046. This work was recognized as a new form of literature soon after its publication.
I plan on finishing this series with posts centered around other historians analysis of herodotus so as to reach an informed conclusion. Herodotus provides detail on many aspects of this conflict, which the greeks eventually won, after battles at thermopylae, salamis, and platea. Herodotus the persian wars godleybook vii wikisource. This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. While the gods have almost no presence throughout the book, the oracles andor dreams are linked to many of the major events.
This battle forms the centrepiece of book viii of herodotus histories. Now when the report came to dareios the son of hystaspes of the battle which was fought at marathon, the king, who even before this had been greatly exasperated with the athenians on account of the attack made upon sardis, then far more than before displayed indignation, and was far more desirous of making a. His goal no longer is the punishment of athens, but the subjugation of europe. Xerxes srourges the water with 300 lashes and has the bridge. Artabazanes was the eldest of the first family, and xerxes of the second. The histories book 7 by herodotus read online on bookmate. Book 1 book 2 book 3 book 4 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8 book 9 2. Sincerely, andre herodotus book six discussion questions 1. When xerxes, king of persia, crosses the hellespont at the head of a formidab.
Xerxes was born to darius i and atossa daughter of cyrus the great. According to this source herodotus was born in halicarnassus and emigrated in 444 to thurii in southern italy, where he died. Read xerxes invades greece by herodotus available from rakuten kobo. Herodotus excerpts from book vii of the histories translated and edited by a. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc.
How does herodotus describe the persian emperor xerxes for. The book moves ahead in a majestic trajectory to ultimately describe the persiangreek war, with xerxes leading his great force into greece. Darius i, the great, darayavahush, 522486 bce in books 3, 4, 5 and 6. Important characters from herodotus flashcards quizlet. After xerxes comes home we know of one major event in his life from the writings of herodotus, the greek historian, his affair with his daughterinlaw. Comedy 0 the gospels of jesus christ 0 the great gatsby 0 the histories. Xerxes is convinced that greece will fall and even fantasizes that the persian empire will extend over the whole earth and reach to the sky of zeus 7. So darius sent a great armament by sea against eretria and athens, led by datis and. The history of herodotus rawlinsonbook 7 wikisource, the free.