希罗多德（约公元前484-425年）是古希腊的历史学家兼作家。中国读者常常将他与写出历史著作的《史记》的作者司马迁（公元前145 –90年）相提并论。司马迁子承父业，担任太史令，并漫游各地，了解风俗，采集传闻；希罗多德同样用生动的笔触，将自己一生中远行时的所闻所见，以及波斯等国的历史记录下来，写成影响后世两千多年的书 ——《希罗多德历史》。

      “*经典英语文库”自2013年8月上市至今，整套图书已出版六辑共90部作品。图书选本方面，皆来自世界经典名著，涉及政治、艺术、人文、诗歌、小说等各个领域，原文呈现名著原貌，满足不同读者的阅读需求，《了不起的盖茨比》《哈姆雷特》等经典读本更是为广大读者所追捧。图书设计上，完全遵循国外名著图书的经典流行开本规范，掌中书的大小便携、易读；封面设计、正文版式、印刷材质等方面更是精益求精，力求将*经典、*纯粹的外国文学带给广大的中国读者，更新大家的英文图书阅读习惯。

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　　与司马迁齐名的西方史学大师——希罗多德
　　——“最经典英语文库”第六辑之《希罗多德历史》导读
　　李修利
　　希罗多德（约前484—前425）是古希腊最伟大的历史学家兼作家。中国读者常常将他与写出伟大历史著作《史记》的作者司马迁（前145—前90）相提并论。司马迁子承父业，担任太史令，并漫游各地，了解风俗，采集传闻；希罗多德同样用生动的笔触，将自己一生中远行时的所闻所见，以及波斯等国的历史记录下来，写成影响后世两千多年的书——《希罗多德历史》。
　　古罗马著名的政论演说家西塞罗称希罗多德为
　　“历史之父”（pater historiae），可以说，一点都不为过，正如司马迁可以作为“中国历史之父”。
　　《希罗多德历史》这本书中，主要记录了希罗多德听说的很多历史故事。的确，这与司马迁有相似之处。事实上，《史记》里也有很多故事都是司马迁听来的。但这并不妨碍司马迁成为伟大的历史记录者。正因为他的记录，哪怕是道听途说来的故事，也都是完整地被记录下来，并通过书籍形式，传到两千多年后的今天。这本身不就是个奇迹么！设想没有司马迁的记录，则中国历史上的很多精彩故事，可能就会陷入黑暗之中，不被人所知。
　　希罗多德在其书中记录了或者说口述了很多场战役、历史以及很多有趣的故事。也正是因为希罗多德的记录，才使得后世有了研究伯罗奔尼撒战争的基础，有了可资借鉴的历史资料。希罗多德曾如此说，他之所以要把这些东西记录下来并传给后世，其目的就是“为了保存人类的功业，使之不致由于年深日久而被人们遗忘，为了使希腊人和异邦人的那些值得赞叹的丰功伟绩不致失去它们的光彩，特别是为了把他们发生纷争的原因给记载下来”。
　　当然，不可否认的是，他的这本影响世界的书里，有很多故事内容都是他想象出来的，也有很多故事严重失真。但终究这是一本留给世界的最早的关于人类历史方面的记录的书，我们不读它，又能读什么呢？同理，我们不读司马迁的《史记》，来了解他所了解的哪怕是道听途说来的历史，又能读谁的呢？可选择的余地是没有的，因此，我们只能按希罗多德的历史眼光来看当时的人和事，只能按司马迁的历史眼光来观察他提供给我们的历史第一手资料，而别无他选。
　　还有一点，希罗多德与司马迁很相似，就是两人都只写就了一本书。司马迁写《史记》，希罗多德写《希罗多德历史》。另外，司马迁的个人历史状况，我们所知并不很多，基本上是《史记》里记载了什么，我们就知道什么，记录了多少，我们就了解多少。希罗多德的个人历史，则比司马迁更惨，根本就是一片空白，没有任何记录。司马迁的父亲是个史官，司马迁追随其父业，算 名正言顺。而希罗多德则是个游侠客，没人知道其父亲是做什么职业的。一个记录了之前朝代的重要历史人物、历史事件，一个则记录了古希腊城邦、近东、中东等地的历史文化与风土人情，同时也记述了希腊与波斯之间的战争。两人相形对比，司马迁远没有希罗多德那样游历很远的地方。希罗多德到过利比亚、巴比伦、埃及、小亚细亚，甚至到过黑海以及爱琴海。基本上把他这部书称作“古代人旅行记”都不为过。而司马迁的足迹则不能与希罗多德相比较。
　　希罗多德对雅典民主制度无限推崇，对专制制度表现出极度厌恶感，他认为，大凡不可一世的专制暴君，尽管可以横行一时，最终毕竟难逃覆灭的下场，不得善终。而司马迁则并没有对秦代的专制提出过任何批评。大概是缘于他为人处世的谨小慎微吧。他只是记录历史，没发表过激烈言辞，否则，恐怕连身家性命都难保。
　　“最经典英语文库”在第六辑收入了希罗多德的这部传世经典之作，这是一个很好的尝试。因为篇幅所限，第六辑只收入其一部分，编辑为“第一卷”，希望在接下来的“最经典英语文库”中将其出齐。这是第一次将原书的原来模样呈现给中国读者。希望中国读者在了解司马迁后，能更多地将视角拓展，去试着了解与司马迁齐名的西方历史记录大家——希罗多德。
　　近代历史学家J.W.汤普森对希罗多德有最中肯的评价：“希罗多德著作最引人注目的事实就是它的统一性，其次就是他所表现的精神。尽管他有过于轻信、除本国语外不懂其他语言，而且缺乏科学方法等缺点，但他这部著作还是有许多突出的优点：聪明的好奇心、诚挚的态度和良好的判断力，等等。”
　　“ 聪明的好奇心、诚挚的态度和良好的判断力”，这是希氏写作的动机，同时也是我们窥视这个伟大心灵的一把钥匙。
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　　Herodotus，was a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey) and lived in the fifth century BC (c. 484–425 BC), a contemporary of Socrates. He is widely referred to as “The Father of History”. The Histories (this book is so call as The Histories of Herodotus) is the only work which he is known to have produced, a record of his “inquiry” on the origins of the Greco -Persian Wars, including a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information. Some of his stories were fanciful and others inaccurate; yet he states that he was reporting only what was told to him and was often correct in his information. Despite Herodotus’ historical significance, little is known of his personal history.

CONTENTS
BOOK 1 / 1
BOOK 2 / 146
BOOK 3 / 266
BOOK 4 / 372

　　《最经典英语文库：希罗多德历史（第一卷）》：
　　105. Thence they went on to invade Egypt; and when they were in Syria which is called Palestine,Psammetichos king of Egypt met them; and by gifts and entreaties he turned them from their purpose, so that they should not advance any further: and as they retreated, when they came to the city ofAscalon in Syria, most of the Scythians passed through without doing any damage, but a few of them who had stayed behind plundered the temple ofAphrodite Urania. Now this temple, as I find by inquiry, is the most ancient of all the temples which belong to this goddess; for the temple in Cyprus was founded from this, as the people of Cyprus themselves report, and it was the Phenicians who founded the temple in Kythera, coming from this land of Syria. So these Scythians who had plundered the temple at Ascalon, and their descendants for ever,were smitten by the divinity with a disease which made them women instead of men: and the Scythians say that it was for this reason that they were diseased,and that for this reason travellers who visit Scythia now, see among them the affection of those who by the Scythians are called /Enarees/.
　　106. For eight-and-twenty years then the Scythians were rulers of Asia, and by their unruliness and reckless behaviour everything was ruined; for. on the one hand they exacted that in tribute from each people which they laid upon them, and apart from the tribute they rode about and carried off by force the possessions of each tribe. Then Kyaxares with the Medes, having invited the greater number of them to a banquet, made them drunk and slew them; and thus the Medes recovered their power, and had rule over the same nations as before; and they also took Nineveh, - the manner how it was taken I shall set forth in another history, - and made the Assyrians subject to them excepting only the land of Babylon.
　　107. After this Kyaxares died, having reigned forty years including those years during which the Scythians had rule, and Astyages son of Kyaxares received from him the kingdom. To him was born a daughter whom he named Mandane; and in his sleep it seemed to him that there passed from her so much water as to fill his city and also to fiood the whole of Asia. This dream he delivered over to the Magian interpreters of dreams, and when he heard from them the truth at each point he became afraid. And afterwards when this Mandane was of an age to have a husband, he did not give her in marriage to any one of the Medes who were his peers, because he feared the vision; but he gave her to a Persian named Cambyses,whom he found to be of a good descent and of a quiet disposition, counting him to be in station much below a Mede of middle rank.
　　……
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