A Roman copy (2nd century AD) of a Greek bust of Herodotus from the first half of the 4th century BC
Born
c. 484 BC
Halicarnassus, Caria, Asia Minor, Persian Empire (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey)
Died
c. 425 BC (aged approximately 60)
Thurii, Calabria, or Pella, Macedon
Occupation
Historian
Notable work
Histories
Parents
Lyxes (father)
Dryotus (mother)
Relatives
Theodorus (brother)
Panyassis (uncle or cousin)
Herodotus[a] (Ancient Greek: Ἡρόδοτος, romanized: Hēródotos; c. 484 – c. 425 BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He is known for having written the Histories – a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars. Herodotus was the first writer to perform systematic investigation of historical events. He has been described as "The Father of History", a title conferred on him by the ancient Roman orator Cicero.[2][3]
The Histories primarily cover the lives of prominent kings and famous battles such as Marathon, Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale. His work deviates from the main topics to provide a cultural, ethnographical, geographical, and historiographical background that forms an essential part of the narrative and provides readers with a wellspring of additional information.
Herodotus has been criticized for his inclusion of "legends and fanciful accounts" in his work. The contemporaneous historian Thucydides accused him of making up stories for entertainment. However, Herodotus explained that he reported what he could see and was told.[4] A sizable portion of the Histories has since been confirmed by modern historians and archaeologists.
^
Luce, T. James (2002). The Greek Historians. p. 26.
^"Herodotus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 4 April 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
^Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony; Eidinow, Esther (11 September 2014). The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. OUP Oxford. p. 372. ISBN 978-0-19-101675-2.
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was then within the Persian Empire, making Herodotus a Persian subject, and it may be that the young Herodotus heard local eyewitness accounts of events...
Battle of Thermopylae itself, two principal sources, Herodotus' and Simonides' accounts, survive. Herodotus' account in Book VII of his Histories is such an...
The Herodotus Machine was a machine described by Herodotus, a Greek historian born in Halicarnassus, Caria (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey). Herodotus claims...
174 Herodotus VII, 59 Archived 29 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine Herodotus VII, 84 Archived 6 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Herodotus VII, 62...
to Herodotus" (PDF). manchester.edu. Manchester University, Indiana. Retrieved 13 June 2021. A. A. Long (1974), "Review: The Letter to Herodotus", The...
Herodotus's history was accurate enough not to need re-writing or correcting. Plutarch criticised Herodotus in his essay On the malice of Herodotus,...
Hesiod, The Catalogues of Women Herodotus. "The Histories Book II Chapters 99-182". penelope.uchicago.edu. Herodotus Histories III.114. Histories. Pekka...
work of Herodotus is reported to have been recited at festivals, where prizes were awarded, as for example, during the games at Olympia. Herodotus views...
kingdom. Herodotus Histories, written later in the fifth century BC centre on the Persian Wars and Xerxes is a major figure. Some of Herodotus' information...
name in their versions of Herodotus, while in most of Herodotus' manuscripts the form appears Pheidippides. Other than Herodotus' manuscripts, the form Pheidippides...
University Press. p. 455. Herodotus (ed. Henry Cary) (1904). The Histories of Herodotus. New York: D. Appleton and Company. p. 438. Herodotus, 7.238 Encyclopaedia...
Travels with Herodotus (Polish: Podróże z Herodotem) is a non-fiction book written by the Polish journalist, Ryszard Kapuściński, published in 2004. The...
elsewhere by Herodotus, Cyaxares died 10 years before the eclipse. An alternative theory regarding the date of the battle suggests that Herodotus was recounting...
(1977:117–126). Mygdonia became part of Macedon in historical times. Herodotus, Histories 8.138.1 Herodotus 7.73 Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 10.415b, quoting Sositheus...
Malignity of Herodotus", describing Herodotus as "Philobarbaros" (barbarian-lover), for not being pro-Greek enough, which suggests that Herodotus might actually...
brother (called Patizeithes by Herodotus), who is said to have been the real promoter of the intrigue. According to Herodotus, the name of the Magian usurper...
that mentions Hyperborea in detail, Herodotus' Histories (Book IV, Chapters 32–36), dates from c. 450 BC. Herodotus recorded three earlier sources that...
Herodotus, Histories v.52-54, viii.98; Herodotus seems to have been in possession of an itinerary. Calder, W. M. (1925). "The Royal Road in Herodotus"...
battle of Pelusium is from Greek historians, particularly Herodotus. According to Herodotus, the conflict between the Pharaoh Amasis II of Egypt and Cambyses...
errors and confusions about the monument can be traced back to Herodotus and his work. Herodotus writes that the Great Pyramid was built by Khufu (Hellenized...
original on July 3, 2008. Herodotus, Book 2, chapter 138. Herodotus, Book 2, chapter 59. Herodotus, Book 2, chapter 137. Herodotus, Book 2, chapter 60. "restoration"...
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