where do monsters live?

From The History of Herodotus (book iv)

Westward of the river Triton and adjoining upon the Auseans, are other Libyans who till the ground, and live in houses: these people are named the Maxyans. They let the hair grow long on the right side of their heads, and shave it close on the left; they besmear their bodies with red paint; and they say that they are descend from the men of Troy. Their country and the remainder of Libya towards the west is far fuller of wild beasts and of wood than the country of the wandering people. For the eastern side of Libya, where the wanderers dwell, is low and sandy, as far as the river Triton; but westward of that the land of the husbandmen is very hilly, and abounds with forests and wild beasts. For this is the tract in which the huge serpents are found, and the lions, the elephants, the bears, the aspicks, and the horned asses. Here too are the dog-faced creatures, and the creatures without heads, whom the Libyans declare to have their eyes in their breasts; and also the wild men, and wild women, and many other far less fabulous beasts.

About Herodotus

(adapted from the Internet Ancient History Sourcebook)

HERODOTUS (c. 484-425 B.C.), Greek historian, called the Father of History, was born a Persian subject, in or about the year 484 B.C. The family of Herodotus belonged to the upper rank of the citizens. It is probable that Herodotus was either was either exiled or left voluntarily when a close relative was executed for treason. Athens was at this time the centre of intellectual life, and could boast an almost unique galaxy of talent and Herodotus was accepted into this brilliant society, on familiar terms with Thucydides and Sophocles. He must have been tempted to make Athens his permanent home, but in Athens at this time, citizenship was not to be attained without great expense and difficulty. It has been questioned, both in ancient and in modern times, whether the history of Herodotus possesses the essential requisite of trustworthiness. Several ancient writers accuse him of intentional untruthfulness. Moderns generally acquit him of this charge; but his severer critics still urge that, from the inherent defects of his character, his credulity, his love of effect and his loose and inaccurate habits of thought, he was unfitted for the historian’s office, and has produced a work of but small historical value. It may be noted, however, that the authority of Herodotus for the circumstances of the great Persian war, and for all local and other details which come under his immediate notice, is accepted by even the most skeptical of modern historians.

Works Cited

Halsall, Paul. Internet Ancient History Sourcebook. Fordham University, 1999. Web. 28 Jul 2011.

Herodotus. The Histories of Herodotus. Trans George Rawlinson. London: Dent, 1964. Print.

Schedel, Hartmann and Stephan Füssel. Chronicle of the World 1493: The Complete and Annoted Nuremberg Chronicle. Cologne: Taschen, 2001. Print.