Of course, the map of the world which Herodotus has before him, or which he imagines, differs from the one confronting us today. His world is much smaller than ours. Its center consists of the mountainous and (at the time) forested lands around the Aegean Sea. Those lying on the western shore constitute Greece; those on the eastern, Persia. And so right away we hit upon the heart of the matter–Herodotus is born, grows up, and just as he starts to figure out everything around him, one of his very first observations is that the world is sundered, split into East and West, and that these halves are in a state of dissension, conflict, war.
The question that immediately suggests itself to him, as well as to any thinking human being, is “Why should this be so?” And it is this very question that informs the foreword of Herodotus’s masterpiece: Here are presented the results of the enquiry carried out by Herodotus of Halicarnassus, . . .in particular, the cause of the hostilities.
Precisely. We can see that this question, oft repeated since the dawn of history, has vexed humankind for thousands of years now: Why do peoples wage war against one another? What are the origins of wars? What do people hope to accomplish when they start a war? What drives them? What do they think? What is their goal? An unending litany of questions! Herodotus dedicates his life, diligently, tirelessly, to finding the answers. But from among the many issues, some quite general and abstract, he selects the most concrete to investigate, the events that took place before his very eyes or of which memories were still fresh and alive or, even if slightly faded, still very much available. In others words, he concentrates his attention and his inquiries on the following subject: Why does Greece (that is Europe) wage war with Persia (that is with Asia)? Why do these two worlds–the West (Europe) and the East (Asia)–fight against each other, and do so to the death? Was it always thus? Will it always be thus?
translated from the Polish by Klara Glowczewska
Leonard Durso 
Are there answers to his questions? It’s been going on forever and has become worse since god got thrown into the mix. But I think even atheists would carry on with the conflict. Can we call it a failure of evolution?
We evolve only in terms of technology, but it seems unfortunately our basic nature stays the same.
Good questions, especially that last one.
It’s be that way for over 3000 years. Sad, isn’t it?
It is amazing how little things really change over such a large span of time.
There’s much truth in the statement “history repeats itself.” We never seem to learn.
greed…
for territory, for gold, for oil, for power. it never really changes.