希羅多德（約公元前484-425年）是古希臘的歷史學家兼作家。中國讀者常常將他與寫出歷史著作的《史記》的作者司馬遷（公元前145 –90年）相提并論。司馬遷子承父業，擔任太史令，并漫游各地，了解風俗，采集傳聞；希羅多德同樣用生動的筆觸，將自己一生中遠行時的所聞所見，以及波斯等國的歷史記錄下來，寫成影響后世兩千多年的書 ——《希羅多德歷史》。
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與司馬遷齊名的西方史學大師——希羅多德
——“最經典英語文庫”第六輯之《希羅多德歷史》導讀
李修利
希羅多德（約前484—前425）是古希臘最偉大的歷史學家兼作家。中國讀者常常將他與寫出偉大歷史著作《史記》的作者司馬遷（前145—前90）相提并論。司馬遷子承父業，擔任太史令，并漫游各地，了解風俗，采集傳聞；希羅多德同樣用生動的筆觸，將自己一生中遠行時的所聞所見，以及波斯等國的歷史記錄下來，寫成影響后世兩千多年的書——《希羅多德歷史》。
古羅馬著名的政論演說家西塞羅稱希羅多德為
“歷史之父”（pater historiae），可以說，一點都不為過，正如司馬遷可以作為“中國歷史之父”。
《希羅多德歷史》這本書中，主要記錄了希羅多德聽說的很多歷史故事。的確，這與司馬遷有相似之處。事實上，《史記》里也有很多故事都是司馬遷聽來的。但這并不妨礙司馬遷成為偉大的歷史記錄者。正因為他的記錄，哪怕是道聽途說來的故事，也都是完整地被記錄下來，并通過書籍形式，傳到兩千多年后的今天。這本身不就是個奇跡么！設想沒有司馬遷的記錄，則中國歷史上的很多精彩故事，可能就會陷入黑暗之中，不被人所知。
希羅多德在其書中記錄了或者說口述了很多場戰役、歷史以及很多有趣的故事。也正是因為希羅多德的記錄，才使得后世有了研究伯羅奔尼撒戰爭的基礎，有了可資借鑒的歷史資料。希羅多德曾如此說，他之所以要把這些東西記錄下來并傳給后世，其目的就是“為了保存人類的功業，使之不致由于年深日久而被人們遺忘，為了使希臘人和異邦人的那些值得贊嘆的豐功偉績不致失去它們的光彩，特別是為了把他們發生紛爭的原因給記載下來”。
當然，不可否認的是，他的這本影響世界的書里，有很多故事內容都是他想象出來的，也有很多故事嚴重失真。但終究這是一本留給世界的最早的關于人類歷史方面的記錄的書，我們不讀它，又能讀什么呢？同理，我們不讀司馬遷的《史記》，來了解他所了解的哪怕是道聽途說來的歷史，又能讀誰的呢？可選擇的余地是沒有的，因此，我們只能按希羅多德的歷史眼光來看當時的人和事，只能按司馬遷的歷史眼光來觀察他提供給我們的歷史第一手資料，而別無他選。
還有一點，希羅多德與司馬遷很相似，就是兩人都只寫就了一本書。司馬遷寫《史記》，希羅多德寫《希羅多德歷史》。另外，司馬遷的個人歷史狀況，我們所知并不很多，基本上是《史記》里記載了什么，我們就知道什么，記錄了多少，我們就了解多少。希羅多德的個人歷史，則比司馬遷更慘，根本就是一片空白，沒有任何記錄。司馬遷的父親是個史官，司馬遷追隨其父業，算 名正言順。而希羅多德則是個游俠客，沒人知道其父親是做什么職業的。一個記錄了之前朝代的重要歷史人物、歷史事件，一個則記錄了古希臘城邦、近東、中東等地的歷史文化與風土人情，同時也記述了希臘與波斯之間的戰爭。兩人相形對比，司馬遷遠沒有希羅多德那樣游歷很遠的地方。希羅多德到過利比亞、巴比倫、埃及、小亞細亞，甚至到過黑海以及愛琴海。基本上把他這部書稱作“古代人旅行記”都不為過。而司馬遷的足跡則不能與希羅多德相比較。
希羅多德對雅典民主制度無限推崇，對專制制度表現出極度厭惡感，他認為，大凡不可一世的專制暴君，盡管可以橫行一時，最終畢竟難逃覆滅的下場，不得善終。而司馬遷則并沒有對秦代的專制提出過任何批評。大概是緣于他為人處世的謹小慎微吧。他只是記錄歷史，沒發表過激烈言辭，否則，恐怕連身家性命都難保。
“最經典英語文庫”在第六輯收入了希羅多德的這部傳世經典之作，這是一個很好的嘗試。因為篇幅所限，第六輯只收入其一部分，編輯為“第一卷”，希望在接下來的“最經典英語文庫”中將其出齊。這是第一次將原書的原來模樣呈現給中國讀者。希望中國讀者在了解司馬遷后，能更多地將視角拓展，去試著了解與司馬遷齊名的西方歷史記錄大家——希羅多德。
近代歷史學家J.W.湯普森對希羅多德有最中肯的評價：“希羅多德著作最引人注目的事實就是它的統一性，其次就是他所表現的精神。盡管他有過于輕信、除本國語外不懂其他語言，而且缺乏科學方法等缺點，但他這部著作還是有許多突出的優點：聰明的好奇心、誠摯的態度和良好的判斷力，等等。”
“ 聰明的好奇心、誠摯的態度和良好的判斷力”，這是希氏寫作的動機，同時也是我們窺視這個偉大心靈的一把鑰匙。
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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
《最經典英語文庫：希羅多德歷史（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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