100 must-read books for college students

Chapter 11 The Earliest Historical Writings in the West
Chapter 10 The earliest historical work in the West: "History"

"Teaching future generations" is the purpose of ancient Greek historians to write history.Herodotus is no exception.He himself said that the author of "History"
The purpose "is to preserve the great achievements of mankind from oblivion due to age, and to make

The heroic feats of Greeks and Gentiles are not to lose their glory, especially in order to bring their
Record the reasons for the wars between them, so that they will last forever.” This work mainly records the Greeks from the 6th century BC to the 5th century BC.
The war between the city-states and the Persian Empire is also called "Greek-Persian War History".it came out around 430 BC

, has long been considered the earliest historical work in the West.

"History" comes out to teach future generations

"History" written by Herodotus (484-424 BC) is the earliest historical masterpiece in the history of western historiography.

The author was once hailed as the "father of historiography" in the West by the orator Cicero in ancient Rome, and enjoyed a high reputation in the history of ancient historiography.

Herodotus was born in a famous family in Halicarnassus, the city-state of Ionia in Asia Minor.

The company has considerable assets and a high reputation in society.Herodotus was familiar with the writings of ancient Greek prose chroniclers since he was a child, and he loved epics
, interested in historical writing.In his youth, he participated in the struggle against the tyrant of the city, and was forced to emigrate to the island of Samos.Since then, he

Traveled twice in the surrounding areas of Greece, almost all the cities in Asia Minor - the mainland of Greece, and also visited Macedonia, Egypt,

Syria, Babylon, the Black Sea coast, southern Italy, and Sicily.Under the influence of his predecessors in ancient Greek historiography, he was very
I have paid attention to historical allusions for a long time, and inspected historical sites, visited local customs and customs, and collected old news and anecdotes every time I went to a place.this is

Accumulated a wealth of information for his later writing.In 447 BC, he came to Athens, a city with prosperous economy and prosperous culture.exist
There, he had close contacts with the Athenian politician Pericles and the tragedy writer Sophocles, and the Athenian slaves

The democratic system of slavery and the prosperous economy and culture left an indelible impression on his thoughts.From this he germinated to write Hippo

The idea of ​​war history.In 443 BC, he participated in the establishment of the colonial stronghold of Thurii, and at the same time he was engaged in writing there.
Until his death in 424 BC.

From 492 BC to 479 BC, Greek city-states headed by Athens and the Persian Empire competed for hegemony in the Mediterranean.
The famous Hippo-Persian War in history.Herodotus' "History" is mainly written about this Hippo War, so "History"

Also known as "History of the Hippo-Persian Wars".

The author declares clearly at the beginning of the book:

What is published here is the research result of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, so he put these research results

Published in order to preserve the work of mankind, so that it will not be forgotten in the ages, so that the Greeks and
The admirable feats of the Gentiles must not lose their splendor, especially in order to make the cause of their strife
Write it down.

The original work was first published around 430 BC, and it began to circulate in Greece from the 10th to the 15th centuries, and there are more than 10 manuscripts.modern

The better version that has been circulated is the Greek-English bilingual version compiled by Stein in the Loeb Classics Series.

The pioneering work of the father of history

"History" is divided into 9 volumes. The 1 chapters of volumes 5 to 28 describe the history, geography and ethnic customs of West Asia, North Africa and Greece,

Customs and customs; starting from Chapter 5 of Volume 29, it mainly describes the Hippo-Persian War before 478 BC.Each volume is titled by a muse
God's name, so later generations also called it "Muse Book".It is rich in content and is a very important material for studying the history of ancient Greece.
.

The current version has 9 volumes, each with a theme.After explaining the purpose of writing, the first volume mainly describes Lydia and
The situation in Persia and the military conquest of Lydia by King Cyrus of Persia, and the first mention of the Lydian tyrant Croesus
The attack of the Persians as a foreshadowing of the later immersion of the Persians in Greece; the second book introduces the situation in Egypt;
Conditions in the Time of Sith and Darius; Book IV on Scythia and Libya and Darius'
the invasions of the above-mentioned regions; the fifth book recounts the Ionian revolt against Persian rule; the sixth book depicts Darius' invasion of Greece, and
The Battle of Marathon among the Athenians; the seventh book records the invasion of Greece by Xershes and the battle with Thermopylae;
The decisive victory of the Greek navy at Salamis; the ninth book records the battles of the Greeks at Platae and Mycale;
The capture of Sestos in 478 BC ends the book.However, looking at the whole book, it can actually be summarized into two parts.

The first part, from Volume I to Section 28 of Volume V, summarizes the situation in Asia Minor, Egypt, Libya, Scythia and other regions

And the rise and expansion of Persia are basically the historical background before the Hippo-Persian War.The latter part is from Section 29 of Book Five to Book IX,
A comprehensive account of the history of the Hippo-Persian War.From the point of view of style and content, the first part of the text is loose, the content is complex, interspersed with many

Hearsay stories reflect the author's influence on the writings of ancient prose chronicles.The latter part is rigorously structured, descriptive
They are all historical facts that have been verified, which fully demonstrate the author's historical talent and realistic spirit.

As the founder of Western historiography, Herodotus' History has the following characteristics:

First, the attitude towards history is serious and critical.He said in the book: "My responsibility is to report everything that people say, but

Myself

It is not necessary to believe that these things are true. ——This declaration of mine applies to all my works. "Although the author's narrative

His narration is sometimes credulous, but he does not indiscriminately record what he hears, but strives to follow the critical spirit that is consistent with the facts.

.He is a serious historian in collecting historical materials and examining historical facts, with a rigorous attitude and dare to doubt.for some not
He distinguishes between different statements, and carefully examines them so that they can be used for mutual reference without making judgments.After his narration,
Readers can know which are unquestionable historical facts after his personal investigation, and which are hearsay and cannot be verified.

Which ones are up for debate and which ones might or might not happen.Herodotus' critical spirit of seeking truth and doubting, later
Developed into a fine tradition of Greek historiography.

Second, it draws rich materials and has a broad field of vision.Herodotus traveled extensively for more than ten years in his life, which made him experience rich,

pool of knowledge

Bo.His "History" is an encyclopedia-style work, which not only records political, military, diplomatic and other related aspects of the Hippo War
It also extensively records the natural geography, folk customs, religious culture, and social and economic conditions of various countries, leaving a legacy for future generations.

A wealth of knowledge in all aspects.

"History" not only focuses on the historical facts of the Hippo-Persian War, but also has a broad field of vision, expanding the scope to what the author knew at that time.

The history and culture of Greece and its surrounding "world".In addition to Greece, the book also records Egypt, Babylon, Syria, Poland
The race, customs, history, and culture of Sri Lanka and the countries of Asia Minor.Western scholars therefore regard this book as the first worldwide
sociocultural history.

Third, praise slave-owner democracy, appreciate democratic freedom and equal rights.Herodotus favored slave-owner democracy politically
system, because

Therefore, he wrote "History" with great enthusiasm.He believes that Persia is an autocratic country, and the reason why Athens can defeat
In Persia, Athens practiced a slave-owner democracy, and citizens enjoyed democracy and freedom.In his book, he pointed out that the citizens of Athens "

When they are under tyranny, everything is for one master, then they don't fight hard, but let themselves
They were defeated; but once they were free, each tried to be the first to serve as best he could, and made the state his own.

". This shows that Athenian democracy is a guarantee of victory.

Fourth, the writing style is gorgeous, vivid and touching.Herodotus is not only a master of history, but also a master of literature.he is good at using
Diversity

It takes the history of war as the main line and can be interspersed with many fascinating interjections; the book also uses aphorisms and famous sentences to make the

The writings are more philosophical.His descriptions of the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis are majestic, lifelike, and become a masterpiece.

A famous article that has been recited for a long time by later generations.Legend has it that he once recited chapters from "History" in Olympia, which made the young audience
Thucydides was moved to tears.

The style of this history book is fluent and full of literary talent. Although there are many characters in the book, they have distinctive personalities and vivid language, so many people
Read it as a literary work, it is one of the most popular works in the history books of ancient Greece.

As the pioneering work of ancient Greek historiography, "History" plays an irreplaceable and important role in the development history of European historiography.
The impact is far-reaching.

In the European history arena, Herodotus was the first to adopt a certain degree of analytical and critical attitude towards historical materials.

Due to the limitations of the times and ideology, there are also some shortcomings in the book.For example, divination, oracle, omen, and miracle often appear in the book.
There are traces and records of some absurd rumors, which make the original work a bit superstitious.Another example is due to the lack of military experience of the author,
The description of the war process in the book is somewhat inaccurate and unclear.

Nevertheless, because the original work not only has important historical value, but also has a high degree of literary charm, it has become one of the most important works in the history of Western historiography.
Immortal masterpiece.It far surpasses its predecessors in terms of historical thought, writing method and artistic value, and is a great example for the later generations of western historiography.

The development has opened up a broad road.Herodotus traveled to Egypt, Babylon, the Black Sea coast and many other places, so later generations

He is also known as the "Father of Travellers".

In short, the book "History" is the earliest historical masterpiece in the history of western historiography, and enjoys a high reputation in the history of ancient historiography.
reputation.

(End of this chapter)