Herodotus, the Histories

Herodotus's Histories is the first great prose work of European literature? Its main theme is the heroic and successful struggle of a small and divided Greece against the mighty Empire of Persia -- with its underlying conflict between the absolutism of the East and the free institutions of the West. Herodutus has been called the Father of Lies as well as the Father of History; but it was a feature of his method, when evidence was lacking, to record popular belief, and the result is one of the most entertaining books in the world.