I put forward a new suggestion here about what John Marincola in an important paper called ‘the narrator’s presence’ in Herodotus’ Histories.1 I reconsider, in particular, a number of claims of autopsy and suggest on that basis that it is sometimes illuminating to think of Herodotus as adopting the role of tour guide or, rather, virtual tour guide. My arguments involve a view about Herodotus’ ‘good faith’ or ‘trustworthiness’ that will not be agreeable to those who receive with (sometimes exasperated) indignation any suggestion that Herodotus knowingly said untrue things in the Histories. I hope, however, that what I have to say makes a coherent and convincing case, with a more persuasive explanation than has been offered by others,2 that false statements some scholars would condemn as mere lies make in their context in the Histories an effective and readily comprehensible contribution to Herodotus’ narrative aims, and that he would have seen them as harmless or, in our contemporary term, ‘victimless’ untruths.

The Histories contains a great deal of information about specific elements of Greek religion, from sacrificial practice to oracles delivered at Delphi, but questions about the general role of religion in the work and about Herodotus' own religious attitudes suggest themselves to every reader and are the natural focus of a brief account. What distinguishes Herodotus' treatment of religion from that of other writers? Is there an overarching religious theme in the Histories? Can we construct a Herodotean theology? Difficulty in answering these questions is caused by the contrast between Herodotus' largely uncritical handling of religious material and his few critical or sceptical statements of general import. Most scholars focus on the former and neglect or explain away the latter; others, notably Burkert, stress the scepticism without adequately reconciling it with the usual, uncritical treatment. I attempt such a reconciliation here, primarily on the basis of Herodotus' ambivalent attitude to custom and convention (nomos).