This Aris and Phillips volume, the first of a proposed Herodotus series, serves many purposes. It contains a lengthy introduction, maps, Greek text (based on that of N.G. Wilson, though with R.'s modifications), facing translation, a limited critical apparatus and a commentary with exceptionally learned but judicious references to key scholarship.

Book 5 is a rich portion of Herodotus, containing such material as the outbreak of the Ionian Revolt and Spartan royal history. R. had intended to produce a second volume for Book 6, as the Hellenistic book division for Book 5 breaks off the narrative abruptly, but he passed away in 2021, before it was complete. Although this volume is accordingly not part of the set that was originally planned, it will serve as a fine tool for teaching and scholarship, as well as making scholarly contributions in its own right. For as compact a work as it is, it shows remarkable depth of scholarly engagement; as well as providing the key references for any given passage, R. often responds to and assesses others’ arguments, offering corrections and occasionally noting points made in personal communication with other scholars.

The volume's versatility allows it to fill gaps in existing resources. A.L. Purvis's Landmark Herodotus does an admirable job of translating, summarising and supplying maps and images, but does not seek to facilitate access to the Greek or to provide the abundance of scholarly citation R. offers. A.D. Godley's Loeb, now a century old, uses language that is becoming outdated and is not helpful in assessing secondary scholarship. R.'s work will thus be especially useful for students of ancient Greek and scholars seeking guidance on the historical and historiographical issues raised by the text while offering some language support.

R.'s introduction offers a helpful outline of all Herodotus’ books, his life, sources, voice and methodology. It also discusses the emergence of historiography and gives a brief overview of Mediterranean historical periods from the Dark Ages to the emergence of Christianity and Islam. It is particularly good to see that R. addresses narratology, a key technique of historiographical analysis over the past few decades, alongside the ‘standard’ tools for understanding a historical text in the introduction. He presents this theory in an approachable manner, explaining the significance of such issues as focalisation, chronological jumps and duration. R. generally takes a middle path on Herodotus’ credibility, assuming that the historian at least thought he was reproducing reality accurately. He is similarly conservative with the text, erring on the side of accepting it as transmitted.

Given the inherent limitations involved in producing a slim volume such as this, R. had to choose which issues to prioritise in the commentary, and his focus is largely on questions of historical processes and events. The commentary frequently notes ancient parallels as well as offering scholarly references regarding questions of history. Thus, this volume will be especially helpful for historians, though less so for those seeking linguistic or literary interpretation.

Topics such as slavery, gender and migration receive much more sensitive treatment today than was typical in the past, and Book 5 is rich in such questions. This portion of Herodotus is key to his understanding and representation of the ‘other’, as well as showing the diversity among Greek states and their political differences. In Book 5 multiple groups and individuals actively choose to define their own identities or have ethnicity actively assigned to them by outsiders (e.g. 5.22, 67, 68, 72). R. might have done more with such questions, which would have been in keeping with his historical orientation; for example, he assesses scholarship on whether Macedonians should be considered Argives in the commentary at 5.22, where he might have pointed readers towards larger questions of identity formation and assertion.

Though the commentary is not designed to handle questions of language and grammar in great depth, the presence of a facing translation allows the volume to serve this purpose to some degree. R.'s translation is clear, but often reflects the original sentence structure or word order closely, sometimes at the expense of natural English or Herodotus’ chatty style. While this feature makes for less smooth reading in English, it means that the translation can serve as an aid to understanding the Greek, even without significant help with the language in the commentary. An example can be seen by comparing 5.9, a passage chosen at random, from R.'s and from Purvis's translation in the Landmark Herodotus.

Rhodes:

Purvis:

R.'s word order adheres more closely to the original, as does his vocabulary, for example in his literal translation of ἔρημος … φαίνεται ἐοῦσα καὶ ἄπειρος as ‘appears to be uninhabitable and boundless’ as compared to Purvis's introduction of variatio with ‘is apparently uninhabited and has no known boundaries’. R. is also more literal in the translation of λέγουσι as ‘say’ compared to Purvis's ‘claim’, and ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ ἔχω ἐπιφράσασθαι as ‘I cannot tell’ vs Purvis's more colourful ‘I myself cannot imagine’. This fidelity may mean that R.'s is a less appealing read, especially for a course taught in translation, but also that it will serve like a Loeb in assisting with translation for those who wish to engage with the Greek.

In a time when evidence, truth and interpretation of reality and history is as important as it has ever been, this is a much-needed contribution to the field of historiography in terms of both research and teaching. The availability of accessible, sensitive, clear translations is all the more important as the field of Classics seeks to reach a wider audience of non-specialist students and the general public. R.'s work contributes admirably to this enterprise.