The History of Herodotus

The volumes are in near fine condition externally and internally. The volumes are bound in the original 19th century publisher’s cloth, as they appeared at publication. The hinges and book-block are strong (the book-blocks are only very mildly shaken), and the bindings show only mild wear. The pages are clean, with clear text and ample margins throughout. The plates and maps are excellent impressions in all cases. The folding maps are in remarkable condition. A very pleasing set.

George Rawlinson

George Rawlinson (23 November 1812 – 7 October 1902) was a 19^th century English scholar, historian, and Christian theologian. He was born at Chadlington, Oxfordshire, and was the younger brother of Sir Henry Rawlinson.

Having taken his degree at the University of Oxford (from Trinity College) in 1838, he was elected to a fellowship at Exeter College, Oxford, in 1840, of which from 1842 to 1846 he was fellow and tutor. He was ordained in 1841, was Bampton lecturer in 1859, and was Camden Professor of Ancient History from 1861 to 1889.

In his early days at Oxford, he played cricket for the University, appearing in five matches between 1836 and 1839 which have since been considered to have been first-class.

In 1872 he was appointed canon of Canterbury, and after 1888 he was rector of All Hallows, Lombard Street. In 1873, he was appointed proctor in Convocation for the Chapter of Canterbury. He married Louisa, daughter of Sir RA Chermside, in 1846.

His chief publications are his translation of the History of Herodotus (in collaboration with Sir Henry Rawlinson and Sir John Gardiner Wilkinson), 1858–60; The Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, 1862–67; The Sixth Great Oriental Monarchy (Parthian), 1873; The Seventh Great Oriental Monarchy (Sassanian), 1875; Manual of Ancient History, 1869; Historical Illustrations of the Old Testament, 1871; The Origin of Nations, 1877; History of Ancient Egypt, 1881; Egypt and Babylon, 1885;History of Phoenicia, 1889; Parthia, 1893; Memoir of Major-General Sir HC Rawlinson, 1898. His lectures to an audience at Oxford University on the topic of the accuracy of the Bible in 1859 were published as the apologetic work The Historical Evidences of the Truth of the Scripture Records Stated Anew in later years. He was also contributor to the Speaker’s Commentary, the Pulpit Commentary, Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, and various similar publications. He was the author of the article “Herodotus” in the 9th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Herodotus of Halicarnassus

Herodotus is of course the earliest and in many ways the greatest of the Ancient Greek historians. Indeed, his 9 books, each named after a different muse, constitute the oldest known western historical literature.

Herodotus of Halicarnassus (c. 484-425 BC) was called by Cicero the ‘Father of History.’ Famously, the ‘Histories’ of Herodotus is the earliest extant work of history in the Western tradition. The ‘Histories’ tells of the reigns of four Persian kings: Cyrus; Cambeses; Darius; and Xerxes. Together, these reigns cover the years 557 to 479 B.C., although the frequent digressions for which Herodotus is famous extend the history to far earlier eras. Necessarily, the ‘Histories’ focus upon the wars between the Persians and the Greeks, particularly during the reign of Xerxes. Herodotus portrays the wars as a contest between the Persian culture of slavery and the Greek culture of freedom.

The work itself is composed in a manner that shows a close study of Homer, generally employing the technique of ‘ring composition’ to tell stories within stories. The ‘Histories’ are divided into nine books, named according to the nine Muses. This division was probably the creation of later scholars in Alexandria, but it has for roughly the past two millennia been the accepted manner of organizing the great masterwork of Herodotus. Herodotus’ purpose in writing his ‘Histories’ is given as follows in the remarkable opening of the work:

“This is the showing-forth of the inquiry of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, so that neither what has come to be from man in time might become faded, nor that great and wondrous deeds, those shown forth by Greeks and those by barbarians, might be without their glory; and together with all this, also through what cause they warred with each other.”