Still reading Herodotus

I've resumed reading Herodotus' history.  I couldn't remembered where I'd left off, so I started in the middle of the fifth book.  After a great deal of rereading, I found that I'd got all the way into the sixth book!  (I remembered most of what I reread.)

I'm now close to the end of the seventh book.  The fifth book is about the rebellion against Persian rule of the Greek cities on the west coast of Asia Minor, led by the foolish Aristagoras.  The Athenians were careless enough to send a naval expedition in support of the rebels, leading to Persian retaliation, and the sixth book is about that retaliation:  Persia's first attempt, under Darius, at conquering Greece, leading to defeat on the Plains of Marathon.  The seventh book, which I've almost finished, is about the second Persian attempt under Xerxes, leading up to the Battle of Thermopylae.

As always, Herodotus has an eye for a good story.  Near the end of the sixth book, there's the story of Hippokleides wooing Kleisthenes' daughter. (Back then courtship meant winning over the father.) Hippokleides was thought to be a leading candidate among the army of suitors until Kleisthenes threw a party for them.  Let Herodotus tell the rest:

"As the drinking progressed Hippokleides, who was already commanding much attention from the others, ordered the flute player to play a dance tune for him.  The flute player complied, and while I suppose Hippokleides pleased himself with his dancing, Kleisthenes, as he watched, was annoyed at everything he saw.  After pausing for a moment, Hippokleides ordered that a table be brought to him; then he stepped up on the table and first danced some Laconian steps, and then some Attic ones, too.  But the third thing he did was to turn upside down and, with his head resting on the table, gesticulate with his legs waving in the air.  Now during the first and second of these dances, Kleisthenes restrained himself and did not blurt out his thoughts, although he felt somewhat disgusted at the thought that Hippokleides might still become his son-in-law, but when he saw him waving his legs around, he could no longer contain himself and said, 'Son of Teisandros, you have just danced away your marriage!" And the young man replied, 'For Hippokleides, no problem!'... And that is where the saying came from." (He's referring to an Athenian catchphrase, "For [insert your name], no problem!"

That's right, there's breakdancing in Herodotus!