Herodotova povijest: dio prvi, knjige I–IV

Herodotus's History, Part One was published in Zagreb in 1887 as the fifth volume of the renowned Matica library Translations of Greek and Roman Classics. The work represents the first Croatian comprehensive introduction to the reader with the most important work of Greek historiography, and was translated, introduced and accompanied with extensive notes by dr. Avgust Musić, one of the most prominent Croatian classical philologists of his time.

This first part includes the first four books of Herodotus's Histories and follows the rise of the Persian Empire, the reign of kings Croesus, Cyrus, Cambyses and Darius, and descriptions of Egypt, Scythia and other peoples of the then known world. In addition to political and military events, Herodotus provides a wealth of geographical, ethnographic and cultural data, which is why he is often called the father of history, but also the founder of cultural anthropology.

The edition was originally published in hardcover and was part of Matica's important project of bringing ancient literature closer to the Croatian audience. The same year, the second part (books V-IX) of Herodotus' Histories was also published, so that the complete translation was available to the Croatian audience. Musić was not only the translator, but also wrote introductory studies for both volumes and added extensive notes and interpretations.

The book has exceptional cultural value because it marks the beginnings of the systematic translation of ancient classics into Croatian. According to Matica data, around 2,000 copies were printed, which makes it a relatively rare antiquarian edition today.

Musić's translation was the standard Croatian edition of Herodotus for decades and remained an important component of the Croatian classical philological and translation tradition. More than a hundred years later, Matica Hrvatska published a new complete translation prepared by Dubravko Škiljan, but Musić's translation is still considered a pioneering work of Croatian classical philology.