An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

The Histories

Author: Herodotus

Referenced in 18 episodes

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Episodes Referencing This Book

February 22, 2024

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Referenced multiple times as a source for events like the Battle of Himera in 480 BC and the story of the Phocaeans. A passage from his work about Hamilcar's death is read aloud.

February 19, 2024

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Referenced multiple times as a historical source, described as 'the first work of history that we have' and containing information about Tyre and the Phoenicians.

May 08, 2023

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The main subject of the entire podcast episode - described as 'the first work of history ever written' and discussed extensively throughout as the foundational text of historical writing.

March 20, 2023

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Referenced multiple times as Herodotus's history of the Persian Wars - Tom notes 'I've translated him and everything' and discusses how Plato drew on 'Herodotus' history of the Persian Wars' for his Atlantis narrative

November 17, 2022

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Referenced when discussing the origins of the Phoenicians - Herodotus reports that the Phoenicians claimed to have come from the region of Qatar and Bahrain. The hosts mention this as 'one interesting detail that comes from Herodotus.'

September 06, 2022

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Referenced when discussing that the Phoenicians had previously sailed around Africa, as reported by Herodotus. Tom mentions 'if he'd been reading his Herodotus, he would have known that' in the context of Bartholomew Diaz's voyage around the Cape of Good Hope.

March 24, 2022

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Tom references 'Herodotus, in his great history' as the first historian to mention oil, describing how Herodotus wrote about a city destroyed by the Persians and the people being taken to a region of Iran where there was 'a kind of black liquid' that was black and gave off a 'revolting stench.'

February 28, 2022

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Referenced when discussing how Greeks understood that empires rise and fall: 'Herodotus, the very first historian, in the opening of his book, he says that, you know, powers that were great are now small and vice versa.'

February 23, 2022

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Referenced as 'the very first work of history ever written' when discussing how the land now called Ukraine first appears in historical records, describing the Persian king Darius trying to conquer the Scythians

November 29, 2021

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Mentioned as part of Napoleon's library that he brought with him on the expedition to Egypt - 'he takes his library with him. Herodotus, all kinds of stuff.'

November 08, 2021

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Referenced when discussing the story about Cambyses being rude to the Apis bull in Egypt. Tom says 'it's in Herodotus' when discussing this historical account.

September 21, 2021

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Referenced multiple times as a primary source for the Persian Wars narrative. Tom mentions 'we have Herodotus's account' and later discusses Herodotus as 'the classic that's accompanied me through my life most of all.'

September 20, 2021

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Referenced throughout as the foundational historical source for the Persian Wars. Tom describes Herodotus as 'the father of history' and quotes from his work about the Spartans at Thermopylae and various other events.

July 26, 2021

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Referenced at the beginning of the episode when discussing the story of the Battle of Thermopylae and the Greek response about the Olympic Games

April 08, 2021

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Tom quotes Herodotus at the beginning of the episode about Persian education, discussing what young Persian boys were taught

February 08, 2021

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Referenced as Herodotus's great work describing how Greeks consulted oracles, including the story of Croesus

November 30, 2020

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Referenced as Thucydides' predecessor's work, discussing his ideas about historical patterns of hungry people on peripheries moving in on wealthy empires

November 23, 2020

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Discussed as the first work of history ever written, which 'begins with an account of different people raping each other's women' and rationalizes Helen's abduction.