Historians

Herodotus, born in Halicarnassus, would later grow up to be bequeathed the title Father of History. The book he wrote was title The Histories, a nine scrolled text and detailed the expansion of the Achaemenid Empire under the rule of several kings, and the lands that Persia conquered emphasized with fairy tales, gossip, and legends. Herodotus has been compared to the poet Homer in styles of writing, similarities in their stories, and their subject: the past. In Antiquity, though, people did not take to him too kindly. They liked his tales but they thought he was making it all up. By the detail presented in his stories it can be speculated that he was a man who traveled often to get acquainted with his subject. He had the resources necessary for writing, a teacher, which helps to prove that Herodotus was from a rich ancestry. Herodotus is responsible for creating the literary genre of history. The Persian Wars took place just as the Fifth Century was beginning. Xerxes went up the coast of the Aegean Sea. Xerxes either recruits or destroys Greeks. The Bosphorus is the strait that cuts between Europe and Asia. Xerxes cuts across this and goes into the northern part of Greece.  

Thucydides, born circa 460 BC, was an Athenian general and historian. His most notable work was that of the History of the Peloponnesian War. He is the lesser known of Herodotus and himself but that does not take away from the information his histories could bring. Thucydides could offer an inside look on the mechanics of war as he was once a general during the Archidamian War, but was soon banished from the position. He was less impartial than Herodotus and often inserts his own morals about the subject into his works.    

Titus Livius "Livy" was born 59 BC. He is another influential historian. He wrote History of Rome from its Foundation. He was born in Patavium, now Padua. His family was not astoundingly wealthy but they could afford for him to go to the better teachers. As a young boy he often heard stories of military efforts but never became accustomed to the idea of war and this is reflected in his writings, but they are still competent histories. When Livy was ten civil war erupted between Caesar, the governor of Livy's city and Pompey the Great. He understood the human person and the psychology of it all.

Xenophon- wrote about what happened near the time of Socrates.

Aristotle- First man to write an Encyclopedia. He had the students at his school help him compile the encyclopedia.

Plutarch- Known for his biographies.

Pausanias- Wrote the first travel guide about all of the travel sites of Greece.  






 "File:Herodotos.jpg -." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herodotos.jpg>.

 "Herodotus of Halicarnassus." Livius. Articles on Ancient History. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. <http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodotus/herodotus02.html>.  

"File:Thucydides Pushkin02.jpg -." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thucydides_pushkin02.jpg>.


 "Thucydides." Livius. Articles on Ancient History. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. <http://www.livius.org/th/thucydides/thucydides00.html>.


 "Livy 1: Life." Livius. Articles on Ancient History. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. <http://www.livius.org/li-ln/livy/livy.htm>.


"File:Titus Livius.jpg -." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Titus_Livius.jpg>.