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Herodotus: Persian Empire
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Herodotus sailed north from Samos, following the coast of Asia minor and to the Hellespont. After sailing to various spots in the Sea of Mamara, he then traveled through the Bosphorus, visiting the city of Byzantium, barely a hundred years old at this time, and Chalcedon.<9> Byzantium was already a city eight miles in circumference by the time Herodotus visited it, and it had been liberated from the Persians only thirteen years before. The time spent in this area must have been very exciting to Herodotus. He saw the straights of the Hellespont where Xerxes constructed his bridge of boats for the invasion of Europe, the spot where Darius made his crossing of the Bosphorus on his way to Marathon, and various other sights rich in legend and tradition.<10>
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The Modern Library edition of Rawlinson's text, published under the title of The Persian Wars by Herodotus, 1942, included paragraph indexing. These were added to the Internet ASCII source, along with HTML links, to aid in cross referencing the text.
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One of the largest problems that many historians have with Herodotus is his use of direct speeches in the later books of the History. It is clear that there is no way Herodotus or his sources could have obtained word for word transcripts of the speeches of local Greek leaders, much less Xerxes and the other Persian emperors. Therefore we must accept that these speeches were made up by Herodotus (or his "sources") for some greater purpose.<82> It is possible that the dramatic speech is ... a throwback to the epic days of yore, but it far more likely that they serve a serious purpose.<83> Recent scholars have pointed out that in Greek history, the narrative is used to relate historical events, and the personal speeches are reserved to provide rational explanation for the events.<84> These dramatic speeches are used (and composed?) by Herodotus to reveal character, to explain a policy, and, most importantly, to keep the audience interested in the progress of the tale.
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The quotation Neither rain, nor snow, nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds is attributed to Herodotus, describing the Persian "postal" system. The quotation is inscribed on the facade of the New York Post office building, and was ... used as part of the lyric in Laurie Anderson's 1981 hit, O Superman.
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Persian Empire