From Nowhere: Utopian and Dystopian Visions of our - Chris J. Young

6. Herodotus. Herodoti Halicarnassei historiae libri IX, & de vita
Homeri libellus. Geneva: Henri Estienne, 1566.
The father of history, Herodotus is considered to be the authoritative classical
source on the histories of ancient peoples and civilizations. His account of the
city of Babylon describes it as the most powerful city, surpassing the splendour
of any other city of the known world. Although this claim turned out to be
untrue in the light of nineteenth-century archaeological evidence, the image
of Babylon as a near-ideal city lasted for the better part of two thousand years.
This edition of Herodotus’s Historiae contains folded plates of the Tower of Babel
and the city of Babylon. Genesis relates how after the great flood the people
endeavour to build a city, with a tower high enough to reach the heavens. The
Babylonions were united under one language, one culture, and one God which
enabled them to achieve such utopian goals. But displeased with their efforts,
God scattered the people across the earth and confused their languages so that
they were unable to complete the tower.
6. Herodoti Halicarnassei historiae
libri IX, & de vita Homeri libellus.
From Nowhere: Utopian and Dystopian Visions of our Past, Present, and Future 21