Death of Darius. Xerxes campaigns against Greece. Battle of Thermopylae.
Herodotus, a descendant of a wealthy family from Halicarnassus, was probably born around 484 B.C. Among the various confirmed details of his life are that he spent part of his youth in Samos, that he traveled to Greece, Scythia, Pontus, and the East, and that he participated in the colonization of Thourioi, the city where he died around 430 B.C.
Herodotus's writing, for which he was called the "father of History," was divided by Alexandrian scholars into nine books (each titled with the name of a Muse) based on their content.
The historian begins his narrative with the rise of the Persian Empire, continues with the history and anthropology of Egypt, the conquest of this country by the Persians, their relations with the Western world, and culminates his work with the Persian Wars.
Drawing information from oral tradition, written sources, and archaeology, as well as utilizing mythological data, Herodotus composes his History in the Ionic dialect, characterized by sincerity, objectivity, and an unbiased approach to individuals, peoples, and events.
[Excerpt from a text on the publisher's website]
