Description: The narrative art of Herodotus' Histories has always been greatly admired, but it has never received an in-depth and systematic analysis. This commentary lays bare the role of the narrator and his effective handling of time, focalization, and speech in all the famous and much-loved episodes, from Croesus, via the Ionian Revolt, to the climax of Xerxes' expedition against Greece. In paying close attention to the various ways in which Herodotus structures his story, it offers crucial help to get a grip on the at first sight bewildering structure of this long text. The detailed analysis of Herodotus' narration shows how his masterful adoption and expansion of the epic toolbox endowed the new genre of historiography with the same authority as its illustrious predecessor. The commentary is suitable for all readers of Herodotus' Greek text: students, teachers, and scholars.
Brief description: IRENE J. F. de Jong is Professor Emeritus of Greek at the University of Amsterdam. She has published extensively on Homer, Herodotus, and Euripides, and is the editor of a multi-volume history of ancient Greek narrative. Her publications include A Narratological Commentary on the Odyssey (Cambridge, 2001), Homer: Iliad Book XXII (Cambridge, 2012), and Narratology and Classics: A Practical Guide (2014). She is a member of the Royal Dutch Academy, the Norwegian Academy, the Academia Europaea, and the British Academy.