Book I

E581585

Book I is the opening section of Herodotus’s *Histories*, introducing the background, causes, and early events of the conflicts between Greeks and non-Greeks.

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Label Occurrences
Book I canonical 1

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Statements (43)

Predicate Object
instanceOf book section
historical narrative
author Herodotus NERFINISHED
contains accounts of customs of non-Greek peoples
ethnographic digressions
geographical descriptions
culturalContext 5th-century BCE Greek world
focusesOn Lydian kingdom under Croesus NERFINISHED
expansion of Cyrus the Great
rise of the Persian Empire
followedBy Book II (Herodotus, Histories) NERFINISHED
follows none (opening book)
genre historiography
history
historicalPeriodCovered Archaic period of Greek history
rise of the Achaemenid Empire
includesCharacter Astyages NERFINISHED
Croesus NERFINISHED
Cyrus the Great NERFINISHED
Harpagus NERFINISHED
Solon NERFINISHED
includesEvent Cyrus’s overthrow of Astyages
Persian conquest of Lydia NERFINISHED
early campaigns of Cyrus the Great
fall of Croesus
includesStory Candaules and Gyges NERFINISHED
Harpagus’s revenge on Astyages
Solon’s visit to Croesus
dreams and omens about Croesus’s son Atys
mythical abductions leading to East–West hostilities
language Ancient Greek
literaryFeature blend of myth and history
use of speeches and anecdotes
mainTheme background to the Greco-Persian conflicts
origins of conflict between Greeks and non-Greeks
narrativeScope from mythical causes of conflict to the rise of Persia
originalMedium oral prose historiography
partOf Histories (Herodotus) NERFINISHED
positionInSeries 1
purposeDescribedByHerodotus to explain causes of conflict between Greeks and barbarians
to preserve the memory of human achievements
setsUp later narrative of the Greco-Persian Wars
workContext classical Greek literature

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Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Histories hasPart Book I