Abstract

The premise upon which Norma Thompson rests her reading of Herodotus is that man seeks to create community through politics, the theme of which is an ongoing process of self-definition and description through storytelling. By means of these “fighting stories”, communities account for what they believe to be “facts.” The winning stories, in turn, provide points of reference with respect to which communities evolve. Her book, then, is not so much about ancient Greece or even Herodotus and his work, as it is about how his teaching informs us of the way the political community chooses its history and then responds to that choice.