Herodotus: The Father Of History - have
A new question is posed however; what defines the potency of a source? In many ways, two ancient historians named Herodotus and Thucydides helped define and set the ground-work for what historical writing consists of. Herodotus, being the older of the two, is flatteringly renowned as the father of history, as he provided the world with its first account of a true historical narrative — The Histories. Before C. Ancient empires used military importance, legal systems, and punishments to exert political power.Herodotus: The Father Of History Video
Herodotus the Father of history Herodotus: The Father Of History
However, both historians had different attitudes in regards to the nature of history and this could have been due to their contrasting subject focus and research interests.
Structure and scope of the History
Marble bust of Herodotos 2nd century A. Herodotus was mainly working on his history under the influence of Homer and many other Pre-Socratic philosophers. Herodotus belonged to the intellectual milieu of Ionia and owed his style mostly to Homer. Herodotus also raises the importance of glory and great deeds in his opening statement. Glory kleos and great deeds aristeia are Herodotus: The Father Of History important elements in the Homeric Epics. A Homeric hero would normally win long-lasting kleos through his aresteia in battles. From this statement by Herodotus, we can see that he looked up to Homer for inspiration and as a model. Herodotus intended to replicate what Homer has accomplished in poetry in his history.
The influence of Homer on Herodotus is profound.
Meanwhile, the philosophical atmosphere in Ionia in the 6th century and early 5th century BCE also gave Herodotus wide-ranging Tbe in human affairs and customs. Herodotus' unique curiosity was heavily influenced by the rise of sophists in Miletus and many other coastal cities in Ionia. As a native of Halicarnassus, it was very likely that Herodotus was influenced by this intellectual atmosphere when he was young.
The Literary Analysis Of The Herodotus Of Halicarnassus
Therefore he began to develop this intellectual curiosity for all cultures in the ancient Mediterranean world when he was composing his history. He was described by many scholars as a rather pessimistic and conservative individual.
He was more interested in war and politics than in human affairs and history. He believed that the lessons of history on human nature could only be appreciated through the study of war and politics.
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However, Thucydides was Herodotuw: frustrated by this prospect as he fervently believed in the idea that his research interests represented the true direction that the discipline of history was moving: focusing on the paramount importance of war and politics in human affairs. Historians in our times are still influenced by this important historical thinking; it was only until the beginning of the last century that historians started to look more at areas such as economics, sociology, ethnography and geography which are areas outside the traditional domain of war and politics.
However, there are still Herodotus: The Father Of History similarities in the work by Herodotus and Thucydides. One prominent example is the use of speeches in their history. When we talk about Greek and Roman historiography, we are talking about history writings that incorporated a lot of speeches Hisyory by the participants of the events. They were all direct participants of the historical events that Herodotus was narrating.
Meanwhile, in Thucydides, we see speeches made by famous Athenian leaders such as Pericles, Cleon, Nicias and Alcibiades. Many scholars have questioned the authenticity of these speeches and we must recognise that not all of them are perfect accounts of what the participants actually said.
It is important for us as readers of history to carefully study their research interest and historical methods before appreciating their works' complexity and wisdom. Academus Education is an online learning platform providing free Classics Education to students through summer schools, articles and digital think tanks.]
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