Herodotus, The History

The Histories of Herodotus, translated from the Greek by G. C. Macaulay. 9 books.

Pick a book, then a part.

An Ancient Reference Book, not part of the Bible. Herodotus was a Greek writer of the fifth century B.C. Each of his nine books carries the name of one of the nine Muses, as Macaulay prints it. Macaulay’s preface and notes are not shown. It is free to use.

Part I

What it is

What the book holds and why it is read.

The first Greek history. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Herodotus “has been called the ‘father of history.’” It also calls him “the leading source of original historical information” for the period he wrote about.
Its subject. Britannica: the work “chronicles the Greco-Persian Wars (499–479 BCE)” and the growth of the Persian Empire, its lands and its peoples, up to Xerxes’s march on Greece and the Greek victory.
Written in the fifth century B.C. Britannica: “written during the 5th century bce.”
How it is laid out. Nine books, each in numbered sections. Here each book is split into pages of 25 sections.

Part II

Where it meets the Bible

Places where the history touches the kings and lands of Scripture. Verses are quoted from the ASV.

Cyrus of Persia. Book 1 tells of Cyrus’s rise and of his taking Babylon. Compare Ezra 1:1: “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia.”
Sennacherib. Book 2, section 141 names “Sanacharib king of the Arabians and of the Assyrians” and his march against Egypt. He is the Sennacherib of 2 Kings 18 and 19.
Pharaoh Necho. Book 2, section 159: “Necos engaged battle at Magdolos with the Syrians.” Compare 2 Kings 23:29: “Pharaoh-necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria.”
Darius and Xerxes. Books 3 to 9 follow the Persian kings Darius and Xerxes. A king Darius of Persia is named in Ezra 4 to 6, Haggai and Zechariah.

Part III

The nine books

Tap a book to open its parts. Each part holds 25 of Herodotus’s numbered sections.

Book 1: Clio215 sections, on 9 pages

Book 2: Euterpe182 sections, on 8 pages

Book 3: Thaleia160 sections, on 7 pages

Book 4: Melpomene203 sections, on 9 pages

Book 5: Terpsichore125 sections, on 6 pages

Book 6: Erato140 sections, on 6 pages

Book 7: Polymnia235 sections, on 9 pages

Book 8: Urania142 sections, on 6 pages

Book 9: Calliope120 sections, on 5 pages

Sources

Where these facts come from

Encyclopaedia Britannica, “History” (by Herodotus) and “Why is Herodotus important?”, checked 30 October 2026. Herodotus’s own words: Macaulay’s translation, Project Gutenberg ebooks 2707 and 2456. Bible verses: American Standard Version (1901), checked by machine.