Matthew parris introduces a sparky discussion about a writer whose achievements include a nine book account of a war between east and west the. The title father of history is universally accorded to herodotus, ca 484 ca 425 bc, who was born in halicarnassus modern bodrum on the southwestern coast of what is today turkey. Likely because the histories was the widestranging attempt to document past events that had been undertaken up to that time, the latin writer cicero 10643 b. Herodotus important figures in history the countries of. This manuscript contains the first book of herodotus histories.
Oct 15, 20 herodotus, the father of history or blogging. Book i 299k book ii 249k book iii 221k book iv 230k book v 162k book vi 174k book. His great history, the first major prose work in world literature, is an account of his world at the time of the persian wars. Russell meiggs finds that his story of the great war is part tragic drama, part folktale and part travelbook, but is informed throughout by the desire to verify and by rational curiosity. Casual and serious readers alike have loved the first historian, the inventor of history, for his narrative genius and tragi.
Herodotus was an ancient greek historian who was born in halicarnassus, caria modern day bodrum, turkey and lived in the fifth century bce c. It took a while to read it, but at times i had trouble putting the book down until my eyes begged me to stop for a while. Herodotus, the father of history, researched and wrote the histories in the middle of the 5th century bce. Sep, 2019 one of those unknowns is how did herodotus become the father of history and why is his book so confusingly organized. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus.
Herodotus was a resident of halicarnassus modern bodrum in turkey and wrote the histories of herodotus, a greek history of the persian invasion of greece in the early fifth century bce. In it dwells not only history but anthropology, geography. Of course, the title does not reflect accurately the state of historical studies at the time, since other similar historians preceded him. If herodotus is the father of history then his dad would have been the grandfather of history. At the beginning of the histories, herodotus sets out his reasons for writing it. Histories is noted to have begun the modern study of history which is kind of a big deal because without the study of history my column would probably just. Herodotus, widely known as the father of history, was also described by aristotle as a mythologos, or taleteller. To the modern reader of military history, this implies an overriding focus on causes, strategy and tactics as well as detailed, extensive descriptions of pivotal battles. Herodotus was a greek writer and geographer credited with being the first historian. C icero called herodotus the father of history, but he is not a historians historian in the sense that thucydides is. Herodotos was an ancient greek historian who was born in halicarnassus, caria modern day bodrum, turkey and lived in the 5th century bc c. It contains marginal notes in both greek and latin. An engaging narrator with a deep interest in the customs of the people he described, he remains the leading source of original historical information not only for greece between 550 and 479 bce but also for much of western asia and egypt at that time.
Nevertheless, this was a revolutionary text, and as a result, it earned herodotus his place in history. As we have seen, herodotus was not only known as the father of history but also as the father of lies. Russell meiggs finds that his story of the great war is part tragic drama, part folktale and part travel book, but is informed throughout by the desire to verify and by rational curiosity. According to the suda, herodotus learned the ionian dialect as a boy living on the island of samos, to which he had fled with his family from the. Herodotus has a wonderful, gossipy style that makes reading these histories more fun than studying the rise of the persian empire and its clash with greecehowever, thats exactly what readers will do in this engaging history, which is full of interesting digressions and asides. Still i was this is a time of history i knew very little about and so i enjoyed learning about it by listening to these cassettes. A contemporary of thucydides, socrates, and euripides he is often called the father of history, initially by no less than cicero.
The father of history, as cicero called him, and a writer possessed of remarkable narrative gifts, enormous scope, and considerable charm, herodotus has always been beloved by readers wellversed in the classics. Modern in the sense that we view history as a series of hypotheses and. In fact, the work has earned him not only the title father of history, but also the title father of ethnography. Quick facts likely because the histories was the widestranging attempt to document past events that had been undertaken up to that time, the latin writer cicero 10643b.
The history of herodotus has been divided into the following sections. The early life of the father of history was dominated by the clash between east and westpersia and greece. Herodotus claims to have traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book, almost all of which covers territories of the persian empire. Before herodotus, no writer had ever made such a systematic, thorough study of the past or tried to explain. A native of halicarnassus on the coast of asia minor modern bodrum, turkey, he traveled extensively, writing lively descriptions of the lands he saw and the peoples he encountered. The translator renders it into easy to comprehend english. Herodotus was a greek historian that has been acknowledged as the father of history ever since antiquity. Herodotus was an ancient greek historian who lived in the fifth century bc c. Herodotus was a greek historian born in halicarnassus, subject at the time of the great persian empire. Ive recently become interested in ancient history, especially greek history.
In his history herodotus tells of the persian empire, its rise to the height of. The past was recorded as a list of events, with little explanation for their causes beyond accepting things as the will of the. The histories of herodotus of halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in western literature. In this stylish and insightful book, intended for both general readers and students, james romm argues that the author of thehistorieswas both a historianin the original sense of one who inquiresand a master storyteller. He has become known as the father of history for his major work the histories. As a new translation of the writings of the father of history is published, paul. One likely opinion is that herodotus began with a plan for the history of the war and that later he decided on a description of the persian empire itself. Personally i prefer to think that someone really did escape pirates by riding a dolphin to safety and that people often served their guests their own sons for dinner. A major figure in greek history, he was the first historian known to have broken from homeric tradition to treat historical subjects as a method of investigation.
Histories is noted to have begun the modern study of history which is kind of a big deal because without the study of history my column would probably just be pictures of joe biden eating ice cream. Herodotus was a greek historian widely referred to as the father of history. Modern in the sense that we view history as a series of hypotheses and probabilities which must be investigated, debated and, ideally, resolved. The main source of information for herodotus was personal. The father of history, as cicero called him, and a writer possessed of remarkable narrative gifts, enormous scope, and considerable charm, herodotus has always. The book that emerged from these inquiries the histories is herodotuss only. On account of this, he is often referred to as the father of history, a title first conferred on him by the firstcentury bc. The first book was full of crazy and probably some history. Full audio books for everyone earns money off of the above links. For those in need of a quick recap, herodotus was born circa 484 bc into a sophisticated family in the persianloyal citystate of halicarnassus modern bodrum, turkey.
The histories was at some point through the ages divided into the nine books of modern editions, conventionally named after the muses. Herodotus, widely known as the father of history, was also described by aristotle as amythologos, or taleteller. Herodotus was born at halicarnassus modern day bodrum, a city of mixed peoples including greeks and carians, on the fringe of the persian empire. One of western history s greatest books springs to life in tom hollands vibrant new translation herodotus of halicarnassuswho was hailed by cicero as the father of history wrote his histories around 440 bc. He was born in halicarnassus the modern turkish city of bodrum. The first book of the histories, called clio this is the showing forth of the inquiry of herodotus of halicarnassos, to the end that 1 neither the deeds of men may be forgotten by lapse of time, nor the works 2 great and marvellous, which have been produced some by hellenes and some by barbarians, may lose their renown. In this stylish and insightful book, intended for both general readers and students, james romm argues that the author of the histories was both a historianin the original sense of one who inquiresand a master storyteller. Hide browse bar your current position in the text is marked in blue. Herodotus was thus born a persian subject, and such he con tinued until he was thirty or fiveandthirty years of age.
A delightful new translation of what is widely considered the first work of history and nonfiction. However, with the use of digital tools, i can run these two books through a topic modeling software to read the entirety of the books while identifying the topics discussed. Herodotus, commonly referred to as the father of history, takes a much broader approach with his work. It was historia researches into a major event of the past. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus by. Both men have been granted the father of history accolade, but chronologically herodotus must be the winner of the distinction as thucydides picks up where he leaves off. Babylonian priests give a description of the esagila, the temple of their god marduk that according to modern archaeologists does not fit the actual situation. The statue of herodotus in his hometown of halicarnassus, modern bodrum, turkey. Herodotus greek historian herodotus, later famous as a historian to the point of becoming known by his admirers as the father of history, was born in halicarnassus, now bodrum, turkey, in about 484 b. Herodotus sometimes writes for children and sometimes for philosophers, said the greatest of modern historians, edward gibbon the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire, 17761788, chapter 24, note 54. The histories by herodotus, first edition abebooks.
The book, here ably translated by university of chicago scholar david grene, earned herodotus the epithet the father of history in ancient times. All that and more on this installment of historymakers. The persian war recounts one of the most significant conflicts in the history of western civilization. He lived in the fifth century bc and was a contemporary of socrates. The history of herodotus by herodotus written 440 b. Nov 05, 2017 herodotus was an ancient greek writer who lived during the 5th century bc.
Composed in the ionic dialect of ancient greek, this expansive account of the grecopersian war that occurred during the first two decades of the 5th century. This is due to the methods that thucydides employed whilst writing his history of the peloponnesian war. It was not a chronicle, nor was it a local history. He has been called the father of history, as well as the father of lies. Herodotus, the father of history, was born about 485. Herodotus was an ancient greek historian who was born in halicarnassus in the persian empire modernday bodrum, turkey. As a new translation of the writings of the father of history is published. At a glance, both herodotus the histories and thucydides history of the peloponnesian war look similarly written. May 19, 2014 a delightful new translation of what is widely considered the first work of history and nonfiction.
Another thing that supposedly happened in the same year was the publication of histories by father of history herodotus. This superbly readable new translation is supplemented by a fresh scholarly perspective by carolyn dewald that breaks new ground in herodotean studies, providing readers with all they need to appreciate the book in depth. But herodotus was the first not only to record the past but also to treat it as a philosophical problem, or research project, that could yield knowledge of human behavior. Whilst herodotus, a nearcontemporary of his, is often hailed as the father of history, thucydides himself has been dubbed the father of scientific history. Im not used to thinking of a history book as a pageturner but the last four chapters of the histories, which describe the persian wars, were compelling reading.
Sometimes he gives his personal belief and therefore speaks in the first person. David grene, one of the best known translators of the greek classics, captures for the first time the peculiar quality of herodotus, the father of history. Jan 19, 2018 herodotus father of history or father of lies. Thucydides was an athenian general and historian, most notable for his work known as the history of the peloponnesian war.
Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at. Herodotus s book on history is largely a history of wars as so often happens, which is not my favorite part of history. Yet arnaldo momigliano, the great 20thcentury historiographer of the ancient world, ends his brilliant essay on herodotus by noting, it is. Estimates of the year of his birth are based on the observation that in the histories, he does not claim to have witnessed the persian invasion that took. Book i 299k book ii 249k book iii 221k book iv 230k book v 162k book vi 174k book vii 286k book viii 179k. Herodotus is far detached from this, content merely to play the role of reporter. Nevertheless this is humphreys most impressive book. It was in the early days of the peloponnesian war that herodotus completed his history and published it. It is written on paper and dates from some time before 1449, since an ownership inscription from that year is on f. Herodotus, father of historyhis legacy, the histories. Dec 11, 2017 herodotus wanted a deeper understanding, so he took a new approach. Herodotus wrote his histories in the ionian dialect, yet he was born in halicarnassus, which was a dorian settlement. Herodotus is variously considered father of comparative anthropology, the father of ethnography, and more modern than any other ancient historian in his approach to the ideal of total history. Buy a cheap copy of the histories book by herodotus.
He is often referred to as the father of history, a title originally conferred by cicero. Herodotus was a greek historian who was born in the 5th century bc in what is now modern day bodrum in turkey then part of the vast persian empire. Thats not to slight the first five book, which describe the world of herodotus time and the rise of the persian, egyptian and greek empires in fascinating detail. The only piece of work known to have been produced by herodotus is the histories. Since herodotus is often claimed to be the father of history, this book was a mustread. Bbc radio 4 great lives, series 44, justin marozzi on herodotus. Herodotus histories and its reliability the johns hopkins. Thucydides, the younger man by about 15 years, produced a. He is known for having written the book the histories greek. The persian war in herodotus and other ancient voices, by william shepherd, osprey publishing, oxford, u. In later centuries it made its way to the jesuit college in.
Herodotus seems to have traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book. His invention earned him the title the father of history. Here is the historian, investigating and judging what he has seen, heard, and read, and seeking out the true causes and consequences of the great deeds of the past. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. Often called the father of history, his histories are divided into nine books named after the nine muses. Mark robinson explains how history came into being. The history of herodotus book i the first book of the histories, called clio this is the showing forth of the inquiry of herodotus of halicarnassos, to the end that1 neither the deeds of men may be forgotten by lapse of time, nor the works2 great and marvellous, which have been produced some by hellenes and some by barbarians, may. Hollands is a powerful rendering that allows all the drama and mysteriousness of this great book to be fully appreciated by modern readers. Impossible most of the times herodotus narrates what other people did. First book of herodotus histories the british library. He is famous for the descriptions he wrote of different places and people he met on his travels and his many books about the persian invasion in greece.
1122 1251 179 879 232 1508 677 839 1021 717 814 443 364 498 213 469 1304 468 639 1218 1317 74 1047 605 177 599 1032 224 1489 477 1038 1159 199 150 1375 270