The Man Who Invented History

Title: The Man Who Invented History – Travels With Herodotus

Author: Justin Marozzi

Publisher:  John Murray, 2009 (First published 2008)

ISBN: 978-0-7195-6713-1

Pages: 326

Justin Marozzi is a gifted travel-writer cum historian, whose book, Tamerlane was one of the very first reviews to be published in this blog. He has written widely on the Muslim world, travel and exploration. Being a former journalist, his acumen to interact with local society wherever he travels stands out in a commendable way. In this book on Herodotus and his book, Histories, Marozzi establishes with the ease of a journalist that Herodotus, widely known as the Father of History, was also the world’s first travel writer and foreign correspondent, a pioneering geographer, fearless explorer, and above all, an irrepressible storyteller. In short, a Justin Marozzi Senior, who seems to be the functional ancestor of the author. Marozzi takes the reader back to the ancient world with travels to Greece, Turkey, Egypt and war-torn Iraq to produce a sensational blend of travel and history in the true spirit of the man who invented it.

Living in 5^th century BCE Greece, Herodotus compiled information from all corners of the human world known at that time and presented it in a delightful way through his book Histories, which heralded a new era in prose-writing. His book is not admissible now in a compendium of made-to-rule history books on account of numerous tall tales, unsubstantiated facts and simple hearsay contained in its pages. But, as the founding source of the great river that is historical knowledge, it is worthwhile for enthusiasts to read it and get carried away on its wings across an ocean of time. Herodotus is not to be believed in his entirety. There are folk tales, hearsay, wild imaginations and prejudices, but it also brings forth a beacon of cultural tolerance rare in so early a sample of writing. He advocates peace, as “only a fool will take war for peace, for in peace sons bury fathers, whereas in war, fathers bury sons”. Acceptance and toleration of other people’s beliefs and religions is imperative in the work, as “every man thinks the religion he was brought up in to be the best, hence only a mad man will go about rubbishing other faiths”. While bestowing such anachronistically enlightened thoughts on the one hand, Herodotus writing style is often titillating and is often of a salacious character. He leaves no chance to write about weird sexual practices in other countries which are clever ploys to get the attention of his listeners riveted to his work.

The war between Persia and Greece forms the backbone of Herodotus’ narrative. Great emperors Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius and Xerxes tried to bring the Greeks to submission, but failed. Darius’ mighty army was defeated at Marathon by a miniscule Greek force and sent packing along the Aegian. Xerxes attempted a land-based attack in 481 BCE. Though he won a Pyrrhic victory over the Spartans led by Leonidas at Thermopylae, he suffered heavy setbacks at Salamis and Mycale prompting a hasty retreat back home. Persian ambition vaned and Greeks were free – to continue infighting among the city states. Marozzi argues that Greek victory over Persia in 479 BCE marked the beginning of the concept of ‘West’ as we know it today. Democracy and freedom of Greece is said to have triumphed over despotism and emasculation of Persia. Readers are free to contest such outlandish assertions.

Marozzi begins his journey from Bodrum, Turkey which was the ancient Halicarnassus, Herodotus’ native place. Today’s Turkish population in the city seems to have lost track of their old compatriot. The historian has become history in his own land and the only things which remind a traveller about the great historian now is an obscure traffic junction and a bust in front of the city’s archeological museum, which holds some remains of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, which was an architectural wonder of ancient times. Then comes Babylon, now in Iraq, the cradle of civilisation described by a starry eyed Herodotus, though appreciated more for the peculiar customs of the Babylonians – read sexual. The author’s travels to Baghdad and Babylon coincided with the aftermath of the second Gulf War which overthrew Saddam Hussein. There were general looting during transitional period to new regime, the antiquities then came into the hands of allied troops. Unfortunately, the Polish troops which had Babylon under their command damaged several sites irreparably, to make way for a vehicle parking lot. Apparently, heritage is being damaged in modern times too, even by Western forces.

Herodotus was dumbstruck when he saw Egypt. The pyramids simply fascinated him and the Nile beseeched him for attention. He gives accurate dimensional details of the Great Pyramids and waxes eloquently about mummification processes, which seem to be a faithful copy of the ancient processes. Regular flooding of the Nile annually which ensured fertility of the land, beguiled him to speculate about its possible sources. Herodotus had long talks with temple priests and he reports about the oracle at Siwa, which Alexander visited a century after he did, to ascertain whether he was indeed the son of God. Naturally, the oracle acquiesced.

Marozzi finally turns to Greece, whose virtues even the cosmopolitan Herodotus extolled. Amidst the island-hopping crisscrosses on the Aegean, he travels far and wide to visit remains of ancient monuments described by the historian. On the journey, the author notes with mild astonishment at the loss of toleration to neighbouring Turkey and its culture, witnessed among the modern Greeks. It may be true that Greece was under Ottoman rule from 1453 to 1821, and the war of independence with the Turks was violent, but the religious prejudice which colours the deals between modern-day neighbours is so wide a chasm that can be crossed easily. Islamophobia is actually fostered by the Greek Orthodox Church, the state religion, so that not a single mosque is allowed to be erected in Athens. This is indeed a blot on the glorious heritage the modern nation purports to uphold, but such are the times.

The book is well endowed with excellent prose. Marozzi’s superb diction is dazzling when compared many other titles in the same genre. The style is so humorous, so easy flowing and demanding so untedious an attention from the reader. As well as recounting the excellent structure of ancient architecture, Marozzi excels himself in structuring long sentences without batting an eyelid, yet we find it impressive. An example is, “Herodotus’ first-person comments and asides reveal an educated, enlightened, adventurous, endlessly curious man with a dancing intellect and a felicitous turn of phrase, someone with a powerful sense of wonder and an all-encompassing humanity, brimming with relentless wanderlust and an irrepressible storytelling zeal, revelling in his fizzing sexual curiosity and fierce tolerance of other cultures, buoyed along on the currents of historical inquiry by his continent-spanning humour, ranging wit and questing wisdom” (p.9). Wow, seems to be another Toynbee is in the making! Good photographic plates interspersed with the text is quite relevant and adds a touch of reality to the whole endeavour.

Some very negative points must also be indicated. In order to make the venture appealing to readers, Marozzi follows the same approach followed by his ancient friend – resort a lot to references of a sexual nature. It must be mentioned sadly that the author has crossed the limit on at least two or three occasions where I find the text inappropriate for young readers (of course, taste or tolerance to such matters are purely subjective!). It is very sad to realize that Marozzi has denied our young readers the services of a very informative and interesting book with one or two of his indiscretions. Besides, the section on Greece appears to be somewhat purposeless. The sites he visited are uninviting, and narration drops to the level of a bit tedious, probably as an echo of the mediocrity of the subject.

The book is highly recommended, subject to the caveat on the above paragraph.

Rating: 3 Star