Group Read **Herodotus** Book 2

Here we go for the second book. Hope everyone is enjoying what they have read so far.

Sorry I haven't been more active on the Book 1 thread. I'll try and post some more thoughts there soon.

Just stopping by to mark the thread.

I just finished book 2. Anybody else?

I do like how he combines things he has seen with the histories people tell about themselves.

I had the thought a couple of times that he was at least as interested in telling a good story as in relating the facts.

"Facts" is a tricky one. IMO he travelled around seeing the sights and listening to stories. So at least part of what he writes has to be story telling because that is what he has been told.

I think it is also one of the things that makes it still interesting - his looking at how the different stories match and differ, trying to find out where they originated and who has borrowed or influenced what is told between the different cultures.

That he spent so much time on Egypt does show that the audience he was addressing was very interested in Egypt. I found his descriptions of the geography and customs enjoyable.

I was confused as to why he spent so much time talking about Egypt (a whole chapter!) and I definitely think he likes telling a good story as much as (if not more than) relating facts. In general, I didn't expect Herodotus to be as readable as he is - not at all dry and boring. I'm reading the Landmark edition, and I really appreciate the footnotes that explain where Herodotus is wrong, and where scholars think he made things up.

Finished with Book 2. It wasn't nearly as interesting as Book 1, or it might just be the winter blahs setting in.

Maybe I liked book 2 because I like ancient Egypt.

I've also finished Book 2.

The description of the hippopotamus makes me really question his claims to have actually seen things.

I'm totally confused about the gods. I thought the Egyptians had their own pantheon of gods, but Herodotus seems to think they're the same and uses the Greek names, though sometimes saying the Eqyptians call him/her by the name ____. Is he doing is own equivalency or did they really have the same gods (sometimes with different names)? And what is it with Osiris, that he declines to use his name?