/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.10295442]

What am I in for? I've read Mythology, Iliad, and Odyssey so far, just following the Start with the Greeks chart.

[Anonymous No.10295833]

The misssing link between myth and history and a lot of digressions

[Anonymous No.10296037]

This picture from a previous thread is pretty accurate

[Anonymous No.10296240]

It's an incredible book, but very difficult to figure out. He doesn't even get to the Persian War until Book V or VI, but there's a ton of stuff before that. Just keep on going through it, you're in for a ride.

[Anonymous No.10296249]

>>10296240
>but very difficult to figure out.
How so?

[Anonymous No.10296264]

>>10296249
It's very eclectic: stories, history, political debates, anthropology, religious material, and some speculations on natural science. We split all these things up, but you get the sense that they're all one for Herodotus. It's just such an incredibly rich book. Read at least the first 150 pages or so. If you get bogged down in the Egypt stuff in Book II, I suggest skipping ahead to Darius in Books III and IV. If you're looking for the stuff that got turned into the 300 movies, that's in V-End.

One of my favorite characters is Themistocles, who almost single-handedly sets up classical Athens for the rest if the century by turning a bunch of poor rock farmers into an unstoppable maritime power.

[Anonymous No.10296277]

>>10296240
The Histories is probably one of the easiest things to read from the Greeks and still be able to come out richer for the experience. It has a fair bit of depth, and requires effort to truly appreciate, but it's honestly not a very difficult book.

[Anonymous No.10296596]

>>10296264
Ive read it, its not all that difficult though as it tends to be tied to geography/individuals.

I found the story of Croesus and the Lydians to be really interesting as well as all the ionian shenanigans.

That said by the the time of the second invasion the absolute petty and mypoic actions of the Greek city states made me root for Persians.

[Anonymous No.10296613]

>>10295442
folklore and history, good comfy times

[Anonymous No.10296638]

>>10296037
That's my pic! I'll explain it a bit for you, OP. The second pic down on the left is Xerxes ordering his men to flog the ocean of the Hellespont after a storm destroyed his bridge. The pic on the top right refers to Hippocleides (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocleides)) ruining his marriage by getting drunk and dancing on his head in front of his brides father. The 3 bottom pics represent the alleged gigantic Persian ants that dig up gold and attack (and even pursue at high speed) those who try to steal it.

The only thing really difficult about the book, as others have said, is the massive scope. He tends to go on long digressions and give multiple conflicting accounts of events. Remembering all the names, nations, regions, wars, etc. makes Homer look like child's play. >>10296264 This anon put it very well.

Herodotus is really fun to read. What surprised me the most was the humor. Herodotus doesn't really care about hard facts, he's much more interested in what people think or say happened. He traveled and talked to various peoples and recorded what they told him for the most part without bias and represents their views fairly. Although he is very open about his methods, many accuse him of being a liar. He almost reminds me of postmodern authors with his treatment of "truth". I read Histories immediately after Mason & Dixon and was surprised to find Pynchon's and H's "truth" to be similar.

Also, read the Landmark Herodotus! Do not even think about penguin. I read the Penguin version with a few skimpy maps at the back only to later thumb through the Landmark in a bookstore and realize how badly I fucked up. The landmark seems to have secondary material like maps and shit alongside the text and MUCH higher print quality.

[Anonymous No.10296645]

He was the original shitposter.

[Anonymous No.10297059]

>What am I in for?

Fart jokes and horse pussy grabbing