OK, so I'm sorry about my little rant yesterday.
I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by my life at the moment.
Every day is just way overfull, and I in fact FORGOT yesterday afternoon that we have a guest staying with us, and the fallout from that was a touch embarrassing.

However.....

Herodotus's Histories is an outstanding book! I love the way he presents each story, giving both sides, not attributing motives, or telling who was "right" or "wrong". This book stays with me through the day, and I enjoy puzzling out the motivations and stories which might have gone unrecorded behind the scenes.
I did not receive any good education on the Persians and the extent of their empire when I was young, and it is such a rich and well told eye-opener. I'm thankful for the opportunity to read it now.
David and I just had a book talk on it, and he had some insights about these cultures and their tendencies to blame all their troubles on the gods. His comment is that the end of this type of
polytheism in Western Civilization roughly conincided with the time of Christ.
The idea is that the incarnation of Christ altered our culture's conception of God as ONE God, even among people who deny Christ.
So it's great fun reading, and a good springboard for discussion.

Highly recommended.