Translator's Preface: Herodotus, the first historian and the first storyteller
Note

[Volume 1]
Chapters 1-5 Preface.
The origin of the conflict between the Hellenes and the non-Hellenic peoples: the abduction of Io, Europa, Medea, and Helen.
Chapter 6-94: The Story of Croesus, King of Lydia
Chapter 6-28: Croesus's Family
Chapter 29-92 The Reign of Croesus
Chapters 29-33: Solon and Croesus
Chapters 34-45: Attys, son of Croesus, dies.
Chapters 46-74: Preparations and background for Croesus' invasion of Persia.
Reflections on Athens and Sparta (chapters 56-68)
Chapters 75-86: The Persian invasion and the defeat of Croesus
Chapters 86-92: The Aftermath
Chapters 93-94: The Customs of the Lydians
The Story of Jangkyrus, 95-216
Chapters 95-107: The Rise of Media Power
108-130 The birth and accession of Cyrus
Chapters 131-140: Persian Customs
141-200 Conquest of Ionia, Asia Minor, and Babylon by Cyrus.
Customs of the Babylonians (chapters 192-200)
201-214 The expedition and death of the Massagetae under Cyrus
Chapters 215-216: Customs of the Massaghetai Tribe

[Volume 2]
Chapter 1: Cambyses' accession to the throne and his decision to invade Egypt.
Chapter 2-182 Aegibtos
Chapter 5-34: Geography of Aegyptus and the Nile River
Chapters 35-98: Customs and Religion of the Aegyptus People
Chapter 99-182: The History of Aegyptus

[Volume 3]
Chapters 1-38: The Reign of Cambyses
Chapter 1-3: Why Cambyses Attacked Aegyptus
Chapter 4-13: Cambyses succeeds in conquering Aegyptus.
Chapters 14-16: Cambyses insults King Aegyptus and the Apis bull after defeating him.
Chapters 17-26: Failed expeditions against the Carthaginians, Ethiopians, and Ammonites
Chapters 27-38 Cambyses abuses his family (chapters 27-33) and other Persian officials (chapters 34-38) in Egypt.
The story of Jang Samos from 39 to 60.
Why the Spartans Attacked Samos
Chapters 39-43: The Story of Polycrates' Fortune and Ring
Chapters 44-47: The exiled Samians ask Sparta for help.
Chapters 48-53: Why the Corinthians joined the attack on Samos.
Periander's family problems
Chapters 54-59: The Spartan attack on Samos ends in failure.
60 Amazing Structures of Samos: Tunnels, Breakwaters, and Temples
Chapters 61-87: Cambyses dies and Darius ascends the throne.
61-73 Usurpation of the throne by the Jangmagos.
7 contestants
Chapters 74-79: The Death of Praxaspes and the Magi
Chapter 80-87 Discussion on the political system.
Darius's scheme
Chapters 88-116 The reign of Darius
Chapter 88: Darius's Conquest of Asia and Marriage
List of districts ruled by the governors of Jangtaesu (太守) and districts paying tribute
Chapters 98-105: Indians and Their Customs
Some Thoughts on the Countries at the End of the Earth 106-116
117-160 Reign of Darius
Chapters 117-119: Darius executes one of the Seven.
Chapters 120-125: Polycrates's tragic death at the hands of Oroites
Chapters 126-128: Darius eliminates Oroites
Chapters 129-138: Darius becomes interested in Hellas under the influence of the Greek physician Democedes.
Chapters 139-160: The Expedition of Darius
Chapters 139-149: The Conquest of Samos
Chapters 150-160: Darius reconquers Babylon, which has revolted.

[Volume 4]
Chapter 1-144: The Expedition of Scythians and Darius
Chapter 1-82: Customs of the Scythians
Chapters 1-4: Cause of the Expedition: The Scythian Invasion of Asia
Chapters 5-16: The Origin of the Scythians
Chapters 17-36: The various tribes and geography of Scythus.
tribes living in the north
Chapters 37-45: World Map
Chapter 46: The Scythians as Nomads
Chapters 47-75: Rivers of the Scythian region (Chapters 47-58).
Customs of the Scythians (chapters 59-75)
Chapters 76-80: The Scythians and the Gentiles.
Anacharsis and Scylles
Chapters 81-82: Population of the Scythians
Chapters 83-142 Darius's expedition to Scythia
Chapters 83-98: The March from Susa to the Istros River
Chapters 99-101: The Appearance of the Land of Squity
Chapters 102-120: The Scythians Appeal to Neighboring Tribes for Help
Chapters 121-142: Darius's failed expedition to Scythia
Chapters 143-144: Darius retreats to Asia, leaving Megabazus behind to conquer the Hellespont region.
Chapters 145-205: Persia dispatches an expeditionary force to Libya.
Chapter 145-167: The founding and early history of the city of Cyrene
Chapters 168-199: The Tribes and Their Customs
Chapters 168-180: The Libyans who live east of Lake Tritonis
Chapters 181-190: Oases from Thebes in Egypt to Atlas.
The customs there
Chapters 191-196: The Libyans who live west of Lake Tritonis
Chapters 197-199: The soil of the Riviera, especially the three-cropping of Cyrene
Chapters 200-205: The Persians' failed attempt to capture Cyrene.

[Volume 5]
Chapters 1-22: The Persian Megabazus conquers Thrace and Macedonia.
Chapters 1-22 Macedonia
Chapters 1-2: The Pioneers Defeat the Perinthosians
Chapters 3-10: Trachean Customs
Chapter 11: Myrcinos
Chapters 12-16: Pioneers Moved to Asia
Chapters 17-22: The Persians Send an Envoy to Macedonia
Chapter 23-126 Ionian Revolt
Chapters 23-35 Histiaeus and Aristagoras
Chapters 36-38: The Ionians rise up and overthrow their tyrants.
Chapters 39-96: Aristagoras visits Sparta and Athens to seek help.
Chapters 39-51: Aristagoras in Sparta
Chapters 52-54: The Road from Sardis to Susa
Chapters 55-96: Aristagoras in Athens
Chapters 55-65: The End of the Athenian Tyranny
Chapter 66: Cleisthenes and his enemy Isagoras
Chapters 67-69: Cleisthenes, Tyrant of Sicyon
Chapters 70-73: Cleomenes of Sparta comes to the aid of Isagoras of Athens but is repulsed.
Chapters 74-76: The Peloponnesians invade Attica, but are unsuccessful.
Chapters 77-81: Athens wages war against Chalcis, Boeotia, Thebes, and Aegina.
Chapters 82-89: The Cause of the Conflict Between Athens and Aegina
Chapters 90-96: Sparta's failed attempt to restore Hippias to power.
Chapter 97: Athens gives Aristagoras twenty ships.
Chapters 98-103: The Ionians and Athenians advance and set Sardis on fire.
Chapters 104-116: Cyprus rebels and is subjugated.
Chapters 117-123: Persia Takes the Offensive: Hellespont, Caria, Aeolian, and Ionia
Chapters 124-126: Aristagoras dies in Thrace

[Volume 6]
Chapters 1-33: The Crushing of the Ionian Revolt
Chapters 1-5: Histiaeus joins the rebellion
Chapters 6-21: The Persian fleet wins at Lade and Miletus falls.
Chapters 22-25: The Samians migrate to Sicily
Chapters 26-30: The Death of Histiaeus
Chapters 31-33: The Persians and Phoenicians conquer and punish the Ionians.
Chapters 34-42: Miltiades and the Thracian Chersonese
Chapters 43-45: Mardonius's failed expedition to Hellas
Chapters 46-131: The Expedition of Datis and Artaphrenes to Hellas
Chapters 46-47: Thasos is defeated
Chapters 48-49: Darius demands earth and water from the cities of Hellas.
The Aeginians respond
Chapter 50: The feud between the two kings of Sparta, Cleomenes and Demaratus
Chapters 51-60: The Story of the Two Kings of Sparta and the Privileges of the Kings
Chapters 61-66: Cleomenes deposes Demaratus.
Chapters 67-72: Demaratus flees to Persia
Chapters 73-84: The Story Behind Cleomenes
Chapters 85-93: The hostility between Athens and Aegina
Chapters 94-101: The Persians conquer the Aegean islands and Eretria.
Chapter 102: The Persians Land at Marathon
Chapters 103-117: The Battle of Marathon and Miltiades
Chapters 118-120: The Persians Return to Asia
Chapters 121-131: The Alcmeonidae Family
Chapters 132-140: Miltiades' expedition to the Aegean islands and his death

[Volume 7]
Chapters 1-19: Darius dies and Xerxes ascends to the throne.
Discussion of the Hellenic Expedition
Chapters 20-25: Preparing for the Expedition.
Construction of the Athos Canal.
The bridges of the Hellespont
Chapters 26-131: Xerxes advances into Thessaly
Chapters 26-32: Xerxes leaves Cappadocia and marches to Sardis.
Pythios's dedicated proposal
Chapters 33-37: After the missions are destroyed by a storm, Xerxes imposes a scourge on the Hellespont and builds new missions.
Chapters 38-39: The Cruelty Against Pythius
Chapters 40-43: The March from Sardis to Abydos
Chapters 44-53: Fleet review at Abydos.
Dialogue between Xerxes and Artabanus
Chapters 54-58: The Persians Cross the Bridge
Chapters 59-60: Review of the Troops at Doriscus
Chapters 61-88: Size and Organization of the Persian Army
Chapters 89-100: Size and Organization of the Persian Navy
Chapters 101-104: Dialogue between Xerxes and Demaratus
Chapters 105-127: The Persian army leaves Doriscus and advances through Thrace and Macedonia to Thermae.
Chapters 128-131: Xerxes on the Peneus
Chapters 132-178: The Greeks Prepare for War
Chapters 132-137: Xerxes demands donations of earth and water from the cities of Hellas.
Chapters 138-142: It was the Athenians who protected the freedom of the Greeks.
Chapters 143-144: Themistocles advocates the construction of a fleet.
Chapters 145-171: The Hellenes form alliances and seek new allies, while sending spies into Asia.
Argos, Syracuse, Kerkyra, and Crete did not join the Hellenic League.
Chapters 172-174: The Thessalians join the Persians
Chapters 175-177: The Hellenes decide to guard the Thermopylae Pass and send a fleet to Artemision.
Chapter 178: The Delphians erect an altar to the wind gods.
Chapters 179-183: The Persian fleet advances from Terme to the Magnesian Peninsula.
Chapters 184-187: Size of the Persian Army and Navy at the Time
Chapters 188-191: The Persian fleet suffers heavy damage from a storm.
Chapters 192-201: The Persian Army Advances to Thermopylae
Chapters 202-239: Battle of Thermopylae.
The end of the 300 Spartan warriors led by Leonidas.
Discussion of Xerxes' strategy

[Volume 8]
Chapters 1-20: The Battle of Artemision
Chapters 21-26: The Hellenic fleet, defeated at Thermopylae, withdraws south.
Chapters 27-39: The Persian army advances through Boeotia to Delphi, but is defeated.
Chapters 40-125: Battle of Salamis
Chapters 40-49: The Hellenic Fleet at Salamis
Chapters 50-55: The Persians advance into Attica and destroy Athens.
Chapters 56-65: The Greek generals' plan to return from Salamis to Isthmus is thwarted by Themistocles.
Chapters 66-69: The Persians' war council and Artemisia's advice
Chapters 70-83: The Hellenes reinforce the Isthmus walls.
Themistocles' Ruse
Chapters 84-96: Battle of Salamis
Chapters 97-107: Xerxes decides to withdraw, leaving Mardonius behind.
Chapters 108-112: The Hellenes After Their Victory
Chapters 113-120: The Flight of Xerxes
Chapters 121-125: The Greeks pay homage to Themistocles.
Chapters 126-135: Artabazus returns to Mardonius.
Mardonius winters in Thessaly
Chapter 136: Mardonius sends Alexander, king of Macedonia, as an envoy to persuade the Athenians to side with Persia.
Chapters 137-139: History of the Macedonian Royal Family
Chapters 140-144: The Athenians reject Mardonius's offer.

[Volume 9]
Chapters 1-11: Mardonius marches south from Thessaly to Attica and again proposes an alliance, but is rejected and sets Athens on fire.
The Spartans finally advance to Isthmus
Chapters 12-16: Mardonius withdraws from Athens to Boeotia
Chapters 17-18: The Phocians Join the Persians
Chapters 19-24: The Hellenes advance to Mount Kithairon.
The death of the Persian cavalry commander Masistios
Chapters 25-89: Battle of Plataea
Chapters 25-30: Size and Disposition of the Hellenistic Army
Chapters 31-32: Size and Deployment of the Persian Army
Chapters 33-38: The oracle received after the two armies offered sacrifices.
Chapters 39-43: Mardonius decides to fight.
Chapters 44-45: Alexander of Macedon informs the Athenians of Mardonius' decision.
Chapters 46-48: The Spartans attempt to change their battle positions.
Chapters 49-57: The entire Hellenic army moves its camp.
Chapters 58-79: Battle of Plataea.
Mardonius is killed in battle
Chapters 80-85: Distribution of the Spoils
Chapters 86-88: Punishment of the Thebans for their active service to Persia
Chapter 89: Artabazus Flees to Persia
Chapters 90-107: Battle of Mycale
Chapters 90-98: The Hellenes form an alliance with the Samians.
The Hellenic fleet advances to Mycale in Asia Minor.
Chapters 99-105: The Battle of Mycale
Chapter 106: Admission of the Aegean Islands to the Hellenic League
Chapter 107: The Persians Flee
Chapters 108-113: Xerxes loves his brother Masistes' wife and daughter.
Chapters 114-121: The Athenians capture Sestos and crucify Artaictes.
Chapter 122: A Recollection of the Wise Advice of Cyrus the Great to the Ancestors of Artahyctes and to Other Persians

References
Weights and Measures Conversion Table
Search
map

Herodotus's "History," the world's first historical book written in the 5th century BC, has been translated and published in its original form in Korea for the first time.
This is a translation by Professor Emeritus Cheon Byeong-hee of Dankook University, who is considered one of the best in Korea in translation of Greek and Latin literature.
Most of the books he translated into Korean over the past 40 years are the first original translations in Korea.
Even after retirement, Professor Chun's work concentration and speed are so high that it's hard to believe he's a veteran.
As a product of the freedom of old age, which allows us to shake off the burdens of youth and immerse ourselves in our own world, and the attachment and passion to never let go of the Greek classics until we can work on them, we now have another list of classics translated from the original.


Misconceptions about Herodotus_ When people who have been to Seoul fight with those who haven't...
Here there was a serious misunderstanding of Herodotus, the author of 『History』.
He traveled extensively throughout the known world at the time, gathering various materials with grandiose ideas and writing his "History." However, until folklore and geographical discoveries were made, later historians considered his travels to be false and dismissed him as nothing more than a tall tale-teller.
So he was outside the mainstream of ancient historiography, and it was not until the 18th century that he regained his honor as the “father of history.”
The reason is that in the time and space covered in Herodotus's "History," there were too many records of worlds that his contemporaries had not experienced and of unbelievable unknown lands.
The kings and commoners of distant lands, their customs and habits, geography and climate, legends and relics...
His writings are a history of human life itself, presenting a large amount of geographical, ethnological, folkloristic, and historical data in the form of digressions.
This book describes many countries and peoples, and their rise and fall, whether one believes it or not.
“I have a duty to report what I hear, but I am not obliged to believe everything.” This was the principle of his historiography, and he recorded as many different perspectives and opinions as he could.
Now, with the advancement of scholarship and science, it has been revealed that Herodotus was a great traveler and geographer with outstanding powers of observation.
He was the first Greek to take an inexhaustible interest in human customs and past history, and to make them the object of empirical study.


The era he lived through
Herodotus was a pioneer in the field of historiography in the intellectual life of the Greek world, but he was not the first author to write works of a historical nature.
He had one foot in tradition and one foot in innovation, inheriting the traditional elements of previous writers.
In the Homeric era before Herodotus, history was a mixture of facts, myths, and legends, and was written in verse, like epic poetry, rather than prose.
He separated history from literature by writing in prose.
He was a man who lived in the intermediate period when he was trying to move from the Homeric mythological tradition to a new era of intellectual revolution.
A serious history of that era had to describe not distant countries but the people living there, in a way that they could clearly understand, not past facts but current facts from the perspective of their contemporaries.
This dominant view made Herodotus' pioneering historical writing appear immature.


The elders either chronicled local events that occurred over a long period in a single city or comprehensively described the story of the world already known.
None of them created a complete unity with organic relationships, a single entity with overall consistency.
Herodotus's unparalleled scholarly achievement lies in his ability to compile the history of the Persian Wars into a unified body like his "History" from a mishmash of diverse and sometimes conflicting oral traditions gathered from numerous cities and people in a wasteland where there were no other written sources.


Living and Seeing as a Historian
He was similar to Sima Qian of the East.
Such is the weight he holds in history, and such is the extent of his unfortunate life.
He was not from mainland Greece, but was born in Halicarnassus, a colonial city in southern Asia Minor.
He was exiled in connection with an incident in which he plotted a rebellion against the tyrant who had been appointed there by Persia, and it is believed that his expedition began at this time.
This led to his long stay in Athens, which had a profound influence on his thoughts and writings.


At that time, Athens was in a unique position intellectually as well as in other fields, and numerous thinkers flocked there.
There, he met the tragic playwright Sophocles and maintained a constant exchange of views, broadening his horizons and leading him on the path to becoming a scholar.
And he wrote 『History』, paying attention to the Persian War, which the Athenians spoke of with pride.


The Greeks were intoxicated by the small city-state's victory over the Persian Empire and were inspired by local patriotism and national spirit.
But Herodotus saw more than that.
He was amazed by the vast size of the Persian Empire and was impressed by its diverse army of soldiers who spoke many languages, yet had a single command structure.
Despite a common language, religion, way of thinking, and agreement on the aims of war, the Greek army was politically divided, and its commanders often argued.
The Persian and Greek armies were in stark contrast.
However, he saw in the Persian Wars a clash between despotism, that is, the Persian king with absolute power, and constitutionalism, that is, the Greek ideology that advocated democracy.
Furthermore, it saw a challenge to Greek freedom from the enslavement of barbarians.


The motif of 『History』 is freedom
The hearts of the Greeks, including Athens and Sparta, who stood up against the great Persian Empire, were filled with a free will that would not allow any restraint.
Therefore, they fought against Persia regardless of their social status or rank.
Herodotus saw in the Persian Wars the desperate struggle and struggle of mankind for freedom.
We also saw that there is a law in history that despotic powers are bound to eventually fall, and that the Greek struggle for freedom has historical significance.


Therefore, Herodotus is the “father of history” not only in the sense that he founded the writing of history, but also in the sense that he presented the concept of “man’s struggle for freedom.”


The composition of 『History』
While 『History』 deals with the history of war, it is by no means limited to stories of war.
Before dealing with the Persian Wars, which was the original focus, it is very interesting and informative to summarize the history of the Near East before that, and the way in which anecdotes and the overall flow of events are harmoniously woven together is admirable.
The old stories and folktales inserted throughout the book fully display his unique charm and innate talent for narrative history.


In the preface to Book 1, Herodotus reveals his name and states that he wrote this book to ensure that the great achievements of humans, Greek or non-Greek, will not be forgotten and to reveal the causes of the war between East and West.
Books 1-6 explain the background of the Persian Wars.
Lydia lost its hegemony to the rising power of Persia during the reign of Croesus.
The Persian Empire emerges as a representative power of the East, and the East-West conflict that took place before the Persian Wars is described.
At the same time, non-Greeks who were trying to subjugate Greece, such as Croesus, Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius, emerged as key figures in the development of the story.
In between, there are introductions to individual peoples and countries that clashed with or were subjugated by Persia.
Meanwhile, in the West, the history of mainland Greece, especially Athens and Sparta, which faced off against Persia, is divided into several stages.
From the time Athens joined the Ionian Revolt and destroyed Sardis, the hostilities between Persia and Greece reached a critical stage.


Books 7-9 cover the history of war, and the "History" reaches its climax with scenes depicting the battle of Darius' expedition, which was wrecked at Marathon, followed by his son Xerxes' resolution to go to war, the review of the army, the Battle of Thermopylae, made famous by the film "300," the Battle of Artemision, and the great Greek victories at Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale.
The narrative speed increases and the amount of explanations that are off-topic decreases.
Herodotus's perspective as a historian, his narrative style, and his evaluation of history are presented.
The Persian Wars effectively ended with the Battles of Salamis and Plataea, but several other engagements followed.