mind because their memory was developed by frequent exposure to oral performance.
It was necessary for them to do so, even if they were reading a text of Herodotus’ history, because of the
nature of ancient texts. We are accustomed today to reading books that adhere to a standard format, like
the book you are reading now, with (numbered) pages, binding, and a spine, and often including such
amenities as a title page, table of contents, and index. That format, known as a “codex,” was not invented
until after the time of Christ. Herodotus and his contemporaries read literary texts that were produced in
the form of rolls, written so that each roll contained many columns of text (figure 44). There was no use in
numbering the columns, since each hand-written copy of the same text would differ in the size of the
writing, the width of the columns, the height of the roll, and so on. A long work like that of Herodotus
would require several rolls, making cross-references nearly impossible: References to earlier or later
points in the text would require that the ancient reader pay close attention and have an excellent memory.
Those readers who have paid close attention to this chapter will have noticed that no title has been given
for Herodotus’ history. This is because ancient texts, which had no title pages, often had no specific title.
The title that today is frequently given to Herodotus’ work, The History or The Histories, is simply taken
from Herodotus’ opening words: “The investigations [historia] of Herodotus of Halicarnassus are herein
disclosed ...”