witness and join in them. They were held at Olympia, a city
on the western side of Greece. Nothing now remains to mark the spot
but some acres of confused and unintelligible ruins.

The personal fame of Herodotus and of his travels had preceded him,
and when he arrived at Olympia he found the curiosity and eagerness
of the people to listen to his narratives extreme. He read copious
extracts from his accounts, so far as he had written them, to the vast
assemblies which convened to hear him, and they were received with
unbounded applause; and inasmuch as these assemblies comprised nearly
all the statesmen, the generals, the philosophers, and the scholars of
Greece, applause expressed by them became at once universal renown.
Herodotus was greatly gratified at the interest which his countrymen
took in his narratives, and he determined thenceforth to devote his
time assiduously to the continuation and completion of his work.

It was twelve years, however, before his plan was finally
accomplished. He then repaired to Athens, at the time of a grand
festive celebration which was held in that city, and there he appeared
in public again, and read extended portions of the additional books
that he had written. The admiration and applause which his work now
elicited was even greater than before. In deciding upon the passages
to be read, Herodotus selected such as would be most likely to excite
the interest of his Grecian hearers, and many of them were glowing
accounts of Grecian exploits in former wars which had been waged in
the countries which he had visited. To expect that, under such
circumstances, Herodotus should have made his history wholly
impartial, would be to suppose the historian not human.

The Athenians were greatly pleased with the narratives which Herodotus
thus read to them of their own and of their ancestors' exploits. They
considered him a national benefactor for having made such a record of
their deeds, and, in addition to the unbounded applause which they
bestowed upon him, they made him a public grant of a large sum of
money. During the remainder of his life Herodotus continued to enjoy
the high degree of literary renown which his writings had acquired for
him--a renown which has since been extended and increased, rather than
diminished, by the lapse of time.

As for Xenophon, the other great historian of Cyrus, it has already
been said that he was a military commander, and his life was
accordingly spent in