The ancient rivalry between Europe and Asia. The subjugation of the Greek cities by Croesus. The Persians conquer Lydia and Cyrus establishes the Persian state.

Herodotus, born into a wealthy family from Halicarnassus, was likely born around 484 BC. Among the various verified details of his life, it is known 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 Thurii, the city where he died around 430 BC.

Herodotus' writing, for which he was called the 'father of History', was divided by Alexandrian scholars into nine books (each titled after 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 land 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, and also utilizing mythological data, Herodotus composes his History in the Ionic dialect, characterized by honesty, objectivity, and an unbiased approach to individuals, peoples, and events.