If we dig deeply into and think richly about any particular topic, we usually unearth a perspective much wider than our planned excavation.

Herodotus wrote in the fifth century BCE about the invasion of mainland Greece by Xerxes and the Persian Empire. But though he takes that conflict as focal point, his vision unfolds in all directions. 

James Romm is the author of numerous books about the ancient Greek and Roman world, including his forthcoming Plato and the Tyrant. Of note for this conversation and amongst other works on Herodotus, Romm edited and introduced Pamela Mensch's translation of the Histories, included Herodotus in his co-edited collection The Greek Histories, and wrote a book of his own on the Histories simply titled Herodotus. James Romm is James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics and Director of the Classical Studies Program at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

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