Herodotus on Min

Abstract

HERODOTUS’S history which includes his description of the country and people of Egypt has lost nothing of its charm and interest though nearly two and a half millennia have elapsed since it was first published. As the report of an eyewitness who saw the great pagan temples still open, and met a priesthood still educated in the remnants of a great tradition serving their gods in the ancient ways, Herodotus’s account has held its place among the sources of Egyptian history. Though modern scholarship has shown some of his statements to be erroneous because based on untrustworthy sources such as popular legends and stories made up by interpreters and guides, Herodotus’s veracity as an author has become more and more recognised and he can be relied upon to repeat faithfully what was told to him.