Episode 3: Myth Understandings (1.1-5)

We start digging into the text of the Histories: in a shocking twist, Herodotus opens his text in the realm of myth, not history, and begins by turning to Persian, not Greek, sources. With this surprising beginning, the historian gives us a taste of his methods and his historical philosophy—and a reminder to expect the unexpected! 

You can find the map illustrating the myths in this episode here.

This episode's artwork is a detail from a Roman mosaic of the abduction of Europa from Byblos, today found in the National Museum of Beirut, Lebanon.