Well, Herodotus didn't say it, but he's famous for relating Solon's words to Croesus in this book-- and many other words besides. Everyone should read this look at a world long dead, brought gloriously alive by the brilliant Herodotus. If you've never taken "the long view" before, you'll soon see that a lot went on before you were born (and a lot, no doubt, is yet to happen). Civilizations created and conquered, Gods worshipped and forgotten-- it reads like fiction or fantasy, but it is not: it's as close as Herodotus could get to telling the absolute truth as he saw it (and he saw a lot). Some "classics" are hard to slog through and appreciate. This is not one of them. Read! Enjoy!