- 01Persian account of the origins of the quarrel
- 02Croesus of Lydia
- 01Heracleidai rule and the Mermnadai succession
- 02Candaules, Gyges, and the queen's revenge
- 03Delphi confirms Gyges as king
- 01Gyges and the rise of the Mermnadai
- 02Ardys, Sadyattes, and Alyattes against Miletos
- 03Periander and Arion of Methymna
- 04Alyattes' death and Croesus' accession
- 01Croesus and the islanders' ships
- 02Solon visits Sardis and Croesus asks about happiness
- 01Tellos of Athens as the happiest man
- 02Cleobis and Biton and the lesson of happiness
- 03Solon's warning about human fortune
- 01Solon's warning about human fortune
- 02Croesus's dream and Atys's marriage
- 03Adrastos, the boar hunt, and Atys's death
- 01Croesus mourns his son and turns against Persia
- 02Testing the oracles and Delphi's response
- 01Croesus recognizes Delphi's oracle
- 02Croesus' offerings to Delphi
- 01Croesus's dedications at Delphi and Amphiaraos
- 02The renewed oracle inquiry about Persia
- 03Croesus's third consultation on his kingdom's duration
- 01Pelasgian and Hellenic origins
- 02Pelasgian language and migration
- 03Growth of the Hellenic race
- 04Peisistratos and the Athenian faction
- 01Peisistratos' first seizure of power
- 02Exile, Phya's ruse, and second return
- 03Third restoration and consolidation of rule
- 01Lycurgos and the Spartan constitution
- 02The oracle and the Tegean war
- 03The bones of Orestes at Tegea
- 01Croesus seeks Spartan alliance
- 02The bronze mixing-bowl and its fate
- 03Croesus prepares to march against Persia
- 01Croesus's reasons for invading Cappadokia
- 02The Halys crossing and battle at Pteria
- 01Croesus disbands his army and reads the serpent omen
- 02Cyrus rushes to Sardis and defeats the Lydian cavalry
- 03The siege of Sardis and Croesus’s appeals to his allies
- 04The Spartan-Argive war over Thyrea
- 05The capture of Sardis by Hyroiades
- 06Croesus’s mute son and the Delphic prophecy
- 01Croesus on the pyre and Apollo's rescue
- 02Croesus advises Cyrus on the plunder
- 01Croesus's votive offerings at Greek sanctuaries
- 02Alyattes's sepulchral monument and Lydian customs
- 01Assyrian rule and the Medes' revolt
- 02Deïokes wins trust as judge
- 03The Medes choose Deïokes as king
- 01Deïokes' fortified Agbatana and royal protocol
- 02Phraortes' conquests and death
- 03Kyaxares, the Scythian domination of Asia, and Median recovery
- 01Astyages’ ominous dreams
- 02Harpagos ordered to kill Cyrus
- 03The herdsman Mitradates and Spaco
- 01The herdsman's wife's substitution of the dead child
- 02Cyrus's boyhood recognition by Astyages
- 01Astyages interrogates Harpagos
- 02The banquet of Harpagos’ son
- 03Cyrus restored to his parents
- 04Harpagos’ plot against Astyages
- 05Cyrus recruits the Persians
- 06The reaping-hooks and the feast
- 07Persian revolt and Astyages' response
- 01Persian religious customs and sacrifice
- 02Persian social customs, education, and taboos
- 01Cyrus rebukes the Ionian and Aiolian envoys
- 02The twelve Ionian cities and their dialects
- 03Ionian identity and the Panionion
- 04The Dorian Triopian temple and the Halicarnassian exclusion
- 05Why the Ionians formed twelve cities
- 01Ionian descent and the Apaturia
- 02Panionion and the Ionian cities
- 03Aiolian cities and the loss of Smyrna
- 04Aiolian settlements in the islands
- 01Spartan refusal to aid the Ionians
- 02Pactyas’ revolt and Croesus’ counsel
- 03Kyme consults the oracle at Branchidai
- 01Pactyas’ flight and surrender
- 02Harpagos’ campaign in Ionia
- 03Phocaean seafaring and Arganthonios
- 01Harpagos besieges Phocaea and the evacuation to Chios
- 02Settlement at Alalia, the sea battle, and departure to Rhegion
- 03The stoning of the survivors and the curse at Agylla
- 01Bias and Thales advise the Ionians
- 02Harpagos marches against the Carians, Caunians, and Lykians
- 03Origins and customs of the Carians, Caunians, and Lykians
- 01Cnidian isthmus and the Delphic oracle
- 02Pedasian resistance and Lycian destruction at Xanthos
- 01Babylon's size and outer wall
- 02Euphrates, city divisions, and inner wall
- 03Palace and temple of Zeus Belos
- 01Babylonian temple of Zeus and its sacred precincts
- 02Semiramis and Nitocris: Babylonian works and defenses
- 03Nitocris's tomb and Dareios's greed
- 01Cyrus's march and the river Gyndes
- 02Siege and capture of Babylon by the Euphrates
- 01The wealth and customs of the Babylonians
- 01These customs then are established among the Babylonians
- 01Tomyris, queen of the Massagetai
- 02Cyrus's bridge-building and Tomyris's challenge
- 03Croesus advises Cyrus to invade Massagetai territory
- 01Croesus's counsel and Cyrus's decision
- 02Cyrus's dream of Hystaspes's son
- 01Tomyris's warning and Cyrus's refusal
- 02Battle of the Massagetai and death of Cyrus
- 03Massagetai customs and weapons
- 01Massagetai marriage, burial, and diet customs
- 01Textual and translation notes
- 01Persian customs and social divisions
- 01Textual notes on the Ionian cities
- 01Atarneos and the Mysian coast
- 02Corsica and Carthaginian prisoners
- 01Babylon's fortifications and temple precincts
- 01Capture of Babylon by the Euphrates
- 01Babylonian marriage customs and temple prostitution
- 02River navigation and steering-oars
- 01Notes on customs and sacrifice
The Histories
by Herodotus · c. 440 BCE · 4 chapters · 24/7 tutor
Early historical inquiry and cultural comparison.
4Chapters
271Lessons
784Topics
Certificate of completion included
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
Skills this course leaves you with.
- Summarize the major narratives in Herodotus' Histories
- Explain the causes and consequences of the conflict between Persians and Hellenes
- Compare the customs, beliefs, and political structures of Lydia, Persia, Babylon, and Egypt
- Identify key rulers and events in the rise of Lydian, Median, Persian, and Egyptian power
- Describe Herodotus' methods of historical inquiry and cultural observation
Curriculum
The full table of contents.
Every chapter, every lesson, every topic — laid out before you enroll. Click any chapter to expand it.
- Chapters
- 4
- Lessons
- 271
- Topics
- 784
- 01Cambyses succeeds Cyrus and marches on Egypt
- 02Psammetichos's experiment on the first language
- 03Priestly accounts from Memphis, Thebes, and Heliopolis
- 01Egyptian calendar and religious origins
- 02The shape and measurements of Egypt
- 03Egypt as a river-made land
- 04Nile flooding, fertility, and future famine
- 01Egypt as the land of the Egyptians
- 02The Nile Delta and the river mouths
- 01Oracle of Ammon on Egypt's boundaries
- 02Herodotus' inquiry into the Nile's flood
- 03Rejected explanation: the Etesian Winds
- 04Rejected explanation: the Ocean source theory
- 01Refutation of the snow theory
- 02Herodotus' explanation of the Nile's summer flood
- 01The Nile’s seasonal behavior and dryness of Libya
- 02The scribe’s account of the Nile’s sources at Crophi and Mophi
- 03Journey upstream from Elephantine to Meroe
- 04The Asmach deserters and Egyptian garrisons
- 05Nasamonian expedition into the Libyan desert
- 06Herodotus’ comparison of the Nile and the Ister
- 01Egyptian customs contrasted with other peoples
- 02Priestly purity and religious practices
- 01Egyptian priestly food taboos and priestly succession
- 02Testing and sealing sacrificial bulls
- 03Egyptian bull sacrifice and treatment of heads
- 04Bull sacrifice for the greatest goddess and Isis
- 01Theban Zeus and the sacred ram
- 02Heracles as an ancient Egyptian god
- 03Tyre, Thasos, and the temples of Heracles
- 04Egyptian sacrifice and the Mendesian cult of Pan
- 01The pig as an abominable animal
- 02Swine sacrifice to the Moon and Dionysos
- 03Melampus and the Egyptian rites of Dionysos
- 01Egyptian origins of Greek divine names
- 02Pelasgian naming of the gods and Dodona
- 01Origins of oracles at Dodona and Libya
- 02Egyptian solemn assemblies and festival customs
- 01Egyptian purity rules and sacred animals
- 02Crocodiles and the river-horse
- 03Other sacred creatures and the phoenix
- 01The ibis and sacred animals
- 02Egyptian diet, health, and funerary custom
- 03Linos song and social manners
- 01Mourning rites and embalming customs
- 02Three methods of embalming
- 01Perseus at Chemmis and athletic contests
- 02Fen-land food, fish, oil, gnats, and boats
- 01Nile inundation and river routes
- 02Min, Memphis, and Nitocris
- 03Moris, Sesostris, and Egyptian traces abroad
- 01Colchians and Egyptian flax-working
- 02Sesostris's pillars and rock carvings
- 03Sesostris's return, revenge, and canal works
- 01Sesostris's land division and monuments
- 02Pheros's blindness and restoration
- 03Proteus of Memphis
- 01Proteus and the foreign Aphrodite at Memphis
- 02Alexander's seizure and Proteus's judgment
- 03Homer, the Cyprian Epic, and the Egyptian version of Helen
- 04Menelaos in Egypt and the priests' account of Helen
- 01The king's stone treasury and the brothers' theft
- 02The corpse, the guards, and the mother's demand
- 03The wine-skins ruse and recovery of the body
- 04The king's daughter, the arm trick, and the pardon
- 01Egyptian rites and the soul's immortality
- 02Cheops's oppression and pyramid construction
- 03Step-like pyramid and lifting machines
- 01Cheops and the Great Pyramid
- 02Chephren and the second pyramid
- 03Mykerinos: the cow, oracle, and revelry
- 01Rhodopis, Aesop, and the pyramid legend
- 02Rhodopis in Egypt and her memorial at Delphi
- 03Asychis and the temple gateway of Hephaistos
- 01Sabacos and the Ethiopian rule over Egypt
- 02Sethos and the mouse miracle at Pelusion
- 01Egyptian priestly genealogies and the succession of gods
- 01Egyptian kings and the Labyrinth at Moiris
- 02Psammetichos, the bronze men, and foreign mercenaries
- 01The Oracle of Leto at Buto
- 02Chemmis and the floating island tradition
- 03Psammetichos, Azotos, and Necos's canal project
- 01Necos's unfinished canal to the Erythraian Sea
- 02Necos's wars, triremes, and death
- 03Psammis and the Eleians on Olympic justice
- 04Psammis's Ethiopian expedition and Apries's accession
- 01Egyptian social classes and warrior districts
- 02Privileges and duties of the warrior class
- 03Battle of Momemphis and Apries' fall
- 01Saïs burial-place and Egyptian mysteries
- 02Amasis wins the Egyptians
- 03Amasis's daily rule and the bow metaphor
- 01Amasis's attitude toward gods and oracles
- 02Temple-gateway and colossal dedications at Saïs
- 03Monolith chamber from Elephantine
- 04Great temple works at Memphis and Saïs
- 01Amasis's prosperity law and census
- 02Naucratis and Hellenic sanctuaries
- 03Naucratis as Egypt's sole trading-place
- 04Delphic temple contributions from Egypt
- 05Alliance with Kyrene and Ladike
- 01Amasis’s dedications in Hellas
- 02Herodotus’s notes on Egypt and the Nile
- 03Homeric evidence for Helen in Egypt
- 04Herodotus' notes on Egyptian customs and chronology
- 01Cambyses' demand for Amasis' daughter
- 02Egyptian claim about Cambyses' parentage
- 01Phanes of Halicarnassus defects to Cambyses
- 02The route into Egypt and the waterless frontier
- 01Arabian pledges and water supply for the Persian march
- 02Psammenitos at Pelusium and the Theban rain prodigy
- 03Battle with the Egyptian mercenaries and the siege of Memphis
- 01Cambyses tests Psammenitos's grief
- 02Psammenitos's explanation and Cambyses's mercy
- 01Cambyses' planned expeditions
- 01The table of the Sun and Ethiopian customs
- 02Crystal burial receptacles
- 01Cambyses' failed expedition against the Ethiopians
- 02The Ammonian army lost in the desert
- 03Apis festival and Cambyses' sacrilege
- 04Cambyses' madness and murders
- 01Cambyses' family murders and omens
- 02Prexaspes, Croesus, and the Persians' madness
- 03Desecration at Memphis and Hephaistos
- 01Cambyses and the sanctity of custom
- 02Polycrates' rise to power in Samos
- 03Amasis warns against unbroken good fortune
- 04The signet-ring cast into the sea
- 05Amasis ends the guest-friendship
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01How many chapters are in the Histories course?
The Histories course has 4 chapters, each with its own lessons and topics.
02How many lessons are in the Histories course?
There are 271 lessons across the course, and you can ask your 24/7 tutor about any of them.
03Can I see what the Histories course covers before I start?
Yes. The full curriculum is listed on this page, beginning with "THE FIRST BOOK OF THE HISTORIES, CALLED CLIO".
04Do I get a certificate for the Histories course?
Yes. Finishing the course earns a personal Cavua certificate of completion.
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