© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2008 DOI: 10.1163/092907708X339616 Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 14 (2008) 193-220 www.brill.nl/acss Book Reviews D. Asheri, A. Lloyd, A. Corcella, A Commentary on Herodotus. Books I-IV. Edited by O. Murray and A. Moreno, with a Contribution by M. Brosius. Translated by B. Graziosi, M. Rossetti, C. Dus, V. Cazzato. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2007. 721 p., ISBN 978- 0-19-814956-9. Tis book is an English translation of commentaries published in 1988-1993 as part of an Italian commented edition of Herodotus (Milan, Mondadori). Since the text and trans- lation have not been included in the new edition (as they were in the Italian one), it has been possible to include the introduction and the commentaries on the first four books of Herodotus in a single volume. For the English edition the commentaries have been thor- oughly reworked and supplemented with new material. Te book is dedicated to the mem- ory of David Asheri (1925-2000), who had initiated the Mondadori edition of Herodotus and written the general introduction and commentaries to Books I and III. Te preface written by Oswyn Murray has been dedicated to Asheri as well. Te commentary is preceded by an extensive introduction written by David Asheri in which general questions linked with the work of Herodotus are examined. Te author dis- cusses available evidence pertaining to the life of Herodotus and how reliable it might be and he notes that there are no grounds for doubting that he did in fact undertake journeys, in particular to Athens, Egypt and Pontus, doubts which are often raised in the academic literature. Asheri also examines such questions as the general composition of Herodotus’ writings, the significance of his proem and Herodotus’ aetiology. Tere is a special section devoted to the question of Herodotus’ sources, in particular the relationship between writ- ten and oral sources in his work. Tis is followed by a very useful review of the general geographic and, in particular, chronological ideas held by Herodotus. Asheri also focuses attention on the question of relations between Greeks and barbarians as perceived by Herodotus, his political ideas, language and style. Separate introductions are also provided to the commentary of each of the four books by Herodotus. In these attention is turned to the same problems as were raised in the general introduction, but in this instance they are presented in relation to the specific material found in each book. Tis applies in particular to questions regarding sources and their nature as well as the question as to whether Herodotus’ journeys to Egypt and the Black Sea really were authentic. Te narrative structure of each book is also examined in detail. Te commentary to Book III is accompanied by two valuable appendices: a translation of the Behistun (Bisotun, Bisitun) inscription of Darius I (M. Brosius) and a comparative table of lists of satrapies and the peoples under Persian rule which survived both in Persian inscrip- tions and in Herodotus’ writing (in Books III and VII). In general the commentary produces a very favourable impression. Complex questions which have been discussed during the last decades in the academic literature on Herodotus