A Commentary of Herodotus Books I-IV (review)

Originally published in Italian, this book has been translated by Barbara Graziosi, Matteo Rossetti, Carlotta Dus, and Vanessa Cazzato; and edited by Oswyn Murray and Alfonso Moreno; with a contribution by Maria Brosius.

Herodotean scholars have long complained that an up-to-date replacement for the nonagenarian commentary of How and Wells is an urgent requirement of classical scholarship, even as they recognized that the task was daunting: the wide range of Herodotus' interests, combined with the explosion of research over the last century into the many cultures and lands that Herodotus treated, called for mastery on a scale rarely seen in a single individual. Whence would such heroes appear?

The answer began to form in the 1970s and 1980s, first with A. B. Lloyd's monumental commentary on Book II (Brill, 3 vols., 1975–1988), and then with the new series of commentaries on individual Books of Herodotus, published for the Fondazione Lorenzo Valla by Mondadori (Milan), of which the jewels in the crown were those by David Asheri on Books I (1988) and III (1990). Lloyd produced for this same series a condensed version of his Book II commentary (1989), and the first half of Herodotus was rounded off by Aldo Corcella's excellent commentary on Book IV (1993).

Oxford University Press has now published an English translation of the Mondadori commentaries on Books I–IV, all of them revised by their authors (Asheri's two volumes up to his death in 2000) and printed here in a single, beautifully produced volume, enhanced by forty-four maps and plans (more attractive, to my eye at least, than their Italian counterparts) and with clear and helpful chronological tables. Alas, the wonderful illustrations of the Italian volumes have not made the transition.

The result, at least for the first half of Herodotus, is the new commentary that has long been desiderated, a commentary that will serve as a new standard now and for as far into the future as anyone can see. Asheri's general introduction, more than fifty pages, must now be the first port of call for anyone interested in Herodotus: it is distinguished by wide learning and discriminating judgment and virtually every aspect of Herodotus' work is treated thoroughly and judiciously. Asheri's commentaries themselves possess the same qualities, and one notes as well the exceptionally high standards of learning and judgment displayed by both Lloyd and Corcella. The individual introductions to each of the books, complete with outlines, are likewise thorough and tremendously helpful for novice and expert alike.

The editors "did not interfere in any way with the views of the original authors, or seek to add anything to their commentaries" (viii), and although this is understandable, it has led to a general dearth of cross-references and, in some cases, to a few problems, as when, for example, references are made to Lloyd's Brill commentary for matters treated in the present volume or cross-references seem to be made to the Italian versions. More substantially, the lack of an index is greatly to be regretted. But these drawbacks cannot detract from the great benefits to be won from this volume. The editors and their team of translators must be commended, with special thanks going to Oswyn Murray, who first conceived of the project and saw it through, despite its great challenges, to the end. He has also written a sensitive tribute to Asheri, to whose memory the volume is dedicated.

This, then, is a volume that should be in the hands of every student and scholar, but at $399 that seems particularly unlikely; I worry that even some smaller college libraries might hesitate before spending so much on one book. So I end with a plea to Oxford University Press, that they find some way to produce an affordable paperback of this volume (once the big libraries have bought their copies, of course); in doing so, they will place...