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A transporting anthology of ancient Greek and Roman travel writings that capture the thrill of exploration and discovery—from Europe to the Holy Land and Egypt to India At long last, a travel guide to the ancient world for the modern tourist—written by the ancients themselves. How to Travel gathers classic texts from Greek and Roman writers to explore what today’s audiences can learn from ancient encounters with unfamiliar peoples, places, and customs. The Greek historian Herodotus (ca. 484-425 BCE) is one of the most famous travelers of antiquity. His Histories, which chronicle his and others’ encounters with foreign peoples and places, have fascinated readers for millennia, and have much to teach about the secrets of good travel. In How to Travel, Herodotus and Tacitus take us on tours of Central Asia, Egypt, and Germania, while pilgrims like Pausanias and the Christian nun Egeria guide us through Greece and the Holy Land. Listeners are whisked away to India to experience the ways of forest-dwelling sages and to the far reaches of Africa. And as if Earth weren’t enough, the satirist Lucian takes us to the Moon. But this whirlwind tour of antiquity is more than a pleasure cruise. Seneca cautions travelers that, go as far as we may, we can never escape ourselves. Gratitude, Egeria says, is the traveler’s proper response for the privilege. And Homer reminds us that, ultimately, there’s no place like home. Featuring vivid new translations, an inviting introduction, and the original Greek and Latin texts, How to Travel captures the thrill of exploration and discovery—and how new experiences, fresh vistas, and foreign cultures can change the traveler.
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Herodotus (greek: Ηρόδοτος) was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey) and lived in the fifth century BCE (c. 484–425 BCE). He has been called "The Father of History", as well as "The Father of Lies." He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent, and arrange them in a well-constructed and vivid narrative. The Histories—his masterpiece and the only work he is known to have produced—is a record of his "inquiry" (or ἱστορία historía, a word that passed into Latin and acquired its modern meaning of "history"), being an investigation of the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars and including a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information. Although some of his stories were fanciful and others inaccurate, he claimed he was reporting only what had been told to him. Little is known of his personal history. It was not until the time of Herodotus that gods began to have less influence upon history that was written, yet it was still implied because of the largely accepted view of the Greeks and the expectations that they may have had of how The Histories would be written. History was becoming more of a “knowledge” rather than an amusement. Because of Herodotus wanting people to accept what he had to write, he implemented stories that may have not directly correlated to gods, but rather implemented the idea that miracles or supernatural events took place. As was the story of Arion and the dolphin. While on a boat the men found out that Arion, who was a musician, was worth lots of money and decided to have him killed. The crew gave him two options, that either he jump ship or they kill him on the spot. Arion flung himself into the water and a dolphin carried him to shore. Herodotus was more concerned with putting pleasure before knowledge, unless he did not believe that the gods had a dramatic influence on history and was rather just trying to please his audience. Like the story of the king having his servant look upon his naked wife, and when spotting him hiding, asked him to kill her husband.[78] This, like many stories of Herodotus, are told in great detail, and for the simplicity of dramatic effect. This refers back to the way bards used to tell their poems or stories to their audience. Herodotus was accused by many because of such detailed accounts, and even called a liar by some. In his writing we can already see that there was no direct association with gods.
