was alive at the commencement of the Peloponnesian war, and was therefore a contemporary of Herodotus, though probably a little older. He was by far the most eminent and most voluminous writer of history before the time of Herodotus, and seems to have been the author of at least ten or twelve works of considerable size. Many others were ascribed to him which in all probability were spurious. Like his predecessors, a large portion of his labors was dedicated to imaginary pedigrees, but some of them were historical and chronological. He seems to have been acquainted with the early history of Italy and Rome. He must be regarded as forming the chief link between the earlier logographers and Herodotus; but his works were probably very far from exhibiting the unity of design which we find in that of the latter writer. § 7. According to the strict order of chronology, neither Herodotus nor some others of the authors just mentioned belong to the period which we are now considering; but the subject of Herodotus connects him so intimately with the Persian wars, that we have preferred to give an account of him here, rather than in a subsequent book. Herodotus was born in the Dorian colony of Halicarnassus in Caria, in the year 484 B.C., and accordingly about the time of the Persian expeditions into Greece. He was descended from a distinguished family, but respecting his youth and education we are totally in the dark. One of the earliest events of his life with which we are acquainted is his retirement to Samos, in order to escape the tyranny of Lygdamis, a grandson of queen Artemisia, who had fought so bravely at Salamis. It was perhaps in Samos that Herodotus acquired the Ionic dialect. The celebrity of the Ionian writers of history had caused that dialect to be regarded as the appropriate vehicle for that species of composition; but though Herodotus made use of it, his language has been observed not to be so pure as that of Hecatæus, who was an Ionian by birth. Herodotus was probably rather more than thirty years of age when he went to Samos. How long he remained there cannot be determined. He seems to have been recalled to his native city by some political crisis; for on his return he took a prominent part in delivering it from the tyrant Lygdamis. The dissensions, however, which prevailed at Halicarnassus after that event, compelled Herodotus again to emigrate; and it was probably at this period that he undertook the travels of which he speaks in his work. The extent of them may be estimated from the fact that there was scarcely a town in Greece, or on the coasts of Asia Minor, with which he was not acquainted; that he had explored Thrace and the coasts of the Black Sea; that in Egypt he had penetrated as far south as Elephantiné; and that in Asia he had visited the cities of Babylon, Ecbatana, and Susa. The latter part of his life was spent at Thurii, a colony founded by the Athenians in Italy in B.C. 443; and it was probably at this place that he composed the greater portion of his history. The date of his settlement at Thurii cannot be accurately fixed. Some accounts make him accompany the first colonists thither; but there are reasons for believing that he did not take up his abode there till several years afterwards. According to a well-known story in Lucian, Herodotus, when he had completed his work, recited it publicly at the great Olympic festival, as the best means of procuring for it that celebrity to which he felt that it was entitled. Posting himself on the platform of the temple of Jove, he recited, or rather chaunted, the whole of his work to the assembled Greeks. The effect is described as immediate and complete. The delighted audience at once assigned the names of the nine Muses to the nine books into which it is divided; whilst the celebrity of the author became so great, that it even eclipsed that of the victors in the games. A still later author (Suidas) adds, that Thucydides, then a boy, was present at the festival with his father Olorus, and was so affected by the recital as to shed tears; upon which Herodotus congratulated Olorus on having a son who possessed so early such a zeal for knowledge. are many objections to the probability of these tales. But there The time and manner of the death of Herodotus are uncertain, but we know, from some allusions in his history, that he was alive subsequently to the year 408 B.C. According to one tradition he died at Thurii, according to another at Pella in Macedonia. The former account is hardly probable, since Thurii revolted from Athens in 412, when the old Athenian colonists who sided with the mother-country were driven into exile. Unless therefore we assume that Herodotus took part with the insurgents, it seems most likely that he quitted Thurii at this period, and it is not improbable that, like Lysias the orator, he returned to Athens. § 8. Herodotus interwove into his history all the varied and extensive knowledge acquired in his travels, and by his own personal researches. The real subject of that magnificent work is the conflict between the Greek race, in the widest sense of the term, and including the Greeks of Asia Minor, with the Asiatics. This is the ground-plan of the book, and was founded on a notion then current of an ancient enmity between the Greeks and Asiatics, as exemplified in the stories of Io, Medea, and Helen. Thus the historian had a vast epic subject presented to him, which was brought to a natural and glorious termination by the defeat of the Persians in their attempts upon Greece. He touches the ancient and mythical times, however, but lightly, and hastens on to a more recent and authentic historical period. Cræsus, king of Lydia, the earliest Asiatic monarch who had succeeded in reducing a portion of the Greek race to subjection, first engages his attention at any length. The quarrel between Croesus and Cyrus, king of Persia, brings the latter power upon the stage. The destruction of the Lydian monarchy by the Persians is related, and is followed by a retrospective view of the rise of the Persian power, and of the Median empire. This is succeeded by an account of the reduction of the rest of Asia Minor and of Babylonia; and the first book closes with the death of Cyrus in an expedition against the Massagetæ, a race inhabiting the plains beyond the Caspian Sea. Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, undertakes an expedition against Egypt, which gives occasion to a description of that country occupying the whole of the second book. In the third book the annexation of Egypt to the Persian empire is related, as well as the abortive attempts of Cambyses against the Ethiopians and Ammonians. The death of Cambyses, the usurpation of the false Smerdis, and the accession of Darius form the remainder of the third book. The fourth book is chiefly occupied with the Scythian expedition of Darius; whilst at the same time a Persian armament fitted out in Egypt for the conquest of Libya, serves to introduce an account of the discovery and colonization of the latter country by the Greeks. In the fifth book the termination of the Thracian expedition under the satrap Megabazus is related, and a description given of the Thracian people. This book also contains an account of the origin of the quarrel between Persia and the Greek colonies in Asia Minor. The history of the wars between the Greeks and Persians then runs on with little interruption in the remainder of this book, and in the four last books. The work concludes with the reduction of Sestos by the Athenians. 9. The love and admiration of Herodotus for Athens are apparent throughout his work; he sided with her with all his soul, and declared her to be the saviour of Grecian liberty. This attachment was not unrewarded by the Athenians, and a psephisma, or vote of the people, is recorded, granting him the sum of 10 talents out of the public treasury. It was this not unfounded admiration of Herodotus for Athens that gave occasion to Plutarch, or some writer who assumed Plutarch's name, to charge him with partiality, and malice towards other Grecian states. $10. The ease and simplicity of the style of Herodotus lend it an indescribable charm, and we seem rather to be conversing with an intelligent traveller than reading an elaborately com posed history. On the other hand a certain want of skill in composition may be observed in it. Prose style does not arrive at perfection till much has been written, and with Herodotus it was still in its infancy. Nor must we seek in him for that depth of philosophical reflection which we find in Thucydides. Sometimes, indeed, he exhibits an almost childish credulity. Yet he had formed a high notion of the value of history, and was evidently a sincere lover of truth. He may sometimes have received the accounts of others with too trusting a simplicity, yet he always gives them for what they are worth, leaving the reader to form his own judgment, and often cautioning him as to their source and value. On the other hand, where he speaks from his own observation, his accounts may be implicitly relied upon; and many of them, which were formerly doubted as improbable, have been confirmed by the researches of modern travellers. In short, Herodotus is the Homer of history. He has all the majesty and simplicity of the great epic bard, and all the freshness and vivacity of colouring which mark the founder of a new literary epoch. FROM THE EXPULSION OF THE PERSIANS TO THE DEATH OF THEMISTOCLES. § 1. Further proceedings against the Persians. § 2. Misconduct and treason of Pausanias. § 3. The maritime supremacy transferred to the Athenians. §4. Confederacy of Delos. § 5. The combined fleet under Cimon. 6. Growth of the Athenian power. Plans of Themistocles. §7. Rebuilding of Athens. The Lacedæmonians attempt to prevent its being fortified. § 8. Fortification of Piræus. § 9. Strife of parties at Athens. Misconduct of Themistocles. § 10. He is ostracised. § 11. Pausanias convicted of Medism. § 12. Themistocles implicated in his guilt. He escapes into Asia. § 13. He is magnificently received by Artaxerxes. His death and character. § 14. Death of Aristides. § 1. THE last campaign had effectually delivered Greece from all fear of the Persian yoke; but the Persians still held some posts |