The Madness of Cambyses by Herodotus

The Madness of Cambyses (Penguin Little Black Classics)

by Herodotus

'Do you see your son, standing over there, in the antechamber? Well, I am going to shoot him.'

The story of the great and mad Cambyses, King of Persia, told by part-historian, part-mythmaker Herodotus of Halicarnassus.

Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.

Herodotus (c.484-425 BCE). Herodotus's The Histories is also available in Penguin Classics.

Reviewed by kiracanread on

3 of 5 stars

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This was an incredibly interesting story of irony following 'The Madness of Cambyses' the King of Persia, although it took an incredibly amount of unnecessary twists and turns of other related but unnecessary stories in this tiny tale.

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  • Started reading
  • 24 June, 2020: Finished reading
  • 24 June, 2020: Reviewed