Herodotus, referred to by Cicero and others as "the father of history," was the first to make the events of the past the subject of research and verification, and to relate their consequences to the present. In this commentary on Histories, an account of the struggle between Persia and Greece from the time of Croesus to that of Xerxes, How and Wells show that there are frequent digressions that give a wealth of information about the customs and cultures of peoples foreign to the Greeks. Providing a standard commentary of the Histories, this two-volume work will interest scholars as well as students. The authors offer short summaries introducing the subject matter of each section, a full introduction on Herodotus's life and style, and fifteen appendices that cover problems of text and content.

W. W. How, late Fellow and Tutor, Merton College, Oxford, and J. Wells, late Warden, Wadham College, Oxford