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An Account of Egypt
Herodotus
Book Overview:
The subject of the history of Herodotus is the struggle between the Greeks and the barbarians, which he brings down to the battle of Mycale in 479 B. C. The work, as we have it, is divided into nine books, named after the nine Muses, but this division is probably due to the Alexandrine grammarians. His information he gathered mainly from oral sources, as he traveled through Asia Minor, down into Egypt, round the Black Sea, and into various parts of Greece and the neighboring countries. The chronological narrative halts from time to time to give opportunity for descriptions of the country, the people, and their customs and previous history; and the political account is constantly varied by rare tales and wonders.
Among these descriptions of countries the most fascinating to the modern, as it was to the ancient, reader is his account of the marvels of the land of Egypt. From the priests at Memphis, Heliopolis, and the Egyptian Thebes he learned what he reports of the size of the country, the wonders of the Nile, the ceremonies of their religion, the sacredness of their animals. He tells also of the strange ways of the crocodile and of that marvelous bird, the Phoenix; of dress and funerals and embalming; of the eating of lotos and papyrus; of the pyramids and the great labyrinth; of their kings and queens and courtesans.
The subject of the history of Herodotus is the struggle between the Greeks and the barbarians, which he brings down to the battle of Mycale in 479 B. C. The work, as we have it, is divided into nine books, named after the nine Muses, but this division is probably due to the Alexandrine grammarians. His information he gathered mainly from oral sources, as he traveled through Asia Minor, down into Egypt, round the Black Sea, and into various parts of Greece and the neighboring countries. The chronological narrative halts from time to time to give opportunity for descriptions of the country, the people, and their customs and previous history; and the political account is constantly varied by rare tales and wonders.
Among these descriptions of countries the most fascinating to the modern, as it was to the ancient, reader is his account of the marvels of the land of Egypt. From the priests at Memphis, Heliopolis, and the Egyptian Thebes he learned what he reports of the size of the country, the wonders of the Nile, the ceremonies of their religion, the sacredness of their animals. He tells also of the strange ways of the crocodile and of that marvelous bird, the Phoenix; of dress and funerals and embalming; of the eating of lotos and papyrus; of the pyramids and the great labyrinth; of their kings and queens and courtesans.
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Community Reviews
An interesting account of the travels of Herodotus..I enjoyed the details about Egypt and mummification practices. This has a lot of info regarding the size or area in which he traveled. Some things are an eye opener and I'm glad I read this. It is a section from his larger textbook which is all ava
An excellent and informative read. Wish I’d read it before.
When looking at history, it's curious to think where it all comes from. History is a story, and one of the first storytellers was Herodotus. I chose An Account of Egypt because I wanted to see how he told stories, and maybe see how accurate he was. I’m sad to say his stories aren’t too compelling, a
The Pelasgian was the first name of the Hellenic people and other small details related to how they saw Egyptians. Detail description of dimensions of buildings, who made them, who came first on this planet. Customs, ethics, border policies for traffic between countries, all those details are includ
Only 20% is Herodetus' eye witness account of daily Egyptian life and customs. Most of the book describes Greco-Egyptian monarchies, so it's tedious and tiresome. Had no idea Egyptians revered cows, or had an annual festival of lights... ala another polytheistic civilization :)
Notes:
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"Of Egypt
What a blessing this has survived thousands of years for us to read today!
Things that stood out:
-mention of flying reptiles among a list of other common animals seen in the area
-mention of Aesop
-accounts of mystical religious practices
Antiquated, but mostly correct and basic information on the subject of Ancient Egypt. !!!