"History" written by Herodotus is the first historical masterpiece in ancient Western times. Its main content is an "investigation and study" of the history and culture of various nations around the world at that time. It was divided into nine volumes by later generations of scholars. Taking the relationship between Greeks and foreigners as the main line, the author describes the geographical environment, ethnic distribution, economic life, political system, and history of Lydia, Media, Babylon, Egypt, Persia, India, Scythia, Libya, and the Aegean region of Greece. It includes historical events, customs, religious beliefs, places of interest, etc., And then focuses on describing the course of the ancient "World War" - the Persian War, starting from the beginning of the war, passing through the Battle of Marathon, the Battle of Salamis, and ending with the Battle of Plataea and the Battle of Mycale.
Herodotus is a master storyteller, good at controlling various materials; his works are extensive and rich in content, concise, beautiful and full of charm, vividly showing the mutual relations and life pictures of many countries, regions and ethnic groups in ancient times, and preserving a large amount of precious information on history, geography, anthropology, ethnology, mythology, religion, geology, biology and other aspects, just like a "general chronicle" and "encyclopedia" about the ancient world.
