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[Paisley Hedgehog]

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[Michelle in AL]

I tried to read another edition of Herodotus and became very confused. I couldn't keep track in my mind all the places he was reporting on. Then I got the Landmark edition and loved it. The maps are what really helped me. I could look at where he'd been and where he was now. It did make a total difference to me. I think Amazon had it for the least amount. Maybe Books a Million with a coupon would be better.

[danielle]

I bought the Herodotus, too, after reading the reviews on this board. I already had the Great Books edition, so it was a splurge. This is just my personal reaction, but I wish I'd saved the money. The translation isn't any more readable (Herodotus is fairly easy reading anyway), the book is huge (can't balance it on my tummy while lying on the couch) and I find the dozens of footnotes per page VERY distracting. I mean, do you need to locate Egypt on the map on EVERY page? Often the maps are several pages away. I don't really care to be distracted by such minutiae as the name of every mouth of the Nile in the delta.

 

I'm normally a really fast reader, but it's taking me FOREVER to get through this darn book. All those little numbers on every single page cannot be ignored--it's like a fly buzzing in your vision every three lines.

 

My advice: get a good map of the ancient Mediterranean from the appropriate time. Then enjoy Herodotus. Of course, YMMV:001_smile:

Danielle

[Hilary]

Shari, I just finished the Landmark Herodotus and I'm almost done with the Teaching Company lectures. She recommends the De Selincourt or Waterfield translations, but my guess is that the Landmark edition wasn't out then (the course guide is dated 2002).

 

Okay, I agree that the Landmark is big. There's no way that I could read it lying in bed, but in an armchair with good armrests, it was fairly comfortable :001_smile: Personally, I really liked having the maps on each page. I don't like flipping back and forth when I read. Many of the footnotes just referred to parts of the map, so I didn't bother to read them all. Also, they can be repetitive ... every time Herodotus referred to a "guest-friendship" relationship, there would be a footnote defining it. So if you read the footnote once, you didn't have to bother again. One thing I really liked was the short description of each paragraph in the sidebar. When my mind was wandering, this was always a good way to get me back on track ... "oh yeah, THAT was what I just read."

 

Anyway, I thought it was worth the money. It may be out in a paperback edition by now, which would make it lighter and less expensive too. And the lectures have been great. I'm not going to have my 15YO son read all of Herodotus, I've decided after reading it myself, but we will definitely do the lectures. Dr. Vandiver rocks!!

[In The Great White North]

I found them both on the shelf of my local Border's. You can flip through them and see if you like it.

[kate in seattle]

I thought the Landmark edition was the only way to go when reading Thucydides. the timeline at the top of the page, the maps, the notes, were all very helpful. I haven't seen the Landmark edition of Herodotus but I imagine it is much the same (based on comments here). I think it would be useful; I was continually flipping to the back of the book to see the outline and remember where I was in the grand scheme of things (to the point where I finally copied the outline and used it as a bookmark). I will probably upgrade to the Landmark edition of Herodotus when we do ancients next year.

 

And I agree, Dr. Vandiver DOES rock. Her lectures on the Iliad and the Odyssey were WONDERFUL!

 

Kate in Seattle