What do you think of Herodotus?

Question

Don't tell me who he was just tell your opinion about his writings.
Please don't tell me who he was...I'll give you a thumbs down.

Answer 1

Hi Julian,

You have a knack for controversy; and this is an excellent example. Herodotus is one of those people about whom clear thought and unvarnished opinion is quite impossible. Even in his own day he was a lightning rod.

He's known as the "Father of History" and the "Father of Lies." Which one is true? They probably both are. There's no doubt the man embellished facts. He invents motives out of whole cloth, and at times seems to be writing more like a playwrite than an historian. His works are a kind of moralistic passion play about the effects of hubris. One can almost feel the presence of Zeus and Athena looking down on the actors, and commanding the Furies to unleash a divine punishment.

Some have criticized Herodotus for his many factual errors (such as his attributing the flooding of the Nile to melting snows); but I say "give the man a break on this." Many people believed far stranger things about the earth at that time.

I particularly enjoy his first books the best. I Love his treatment of the Persian Wars. And in particular, I absolutely adore his retelling of the visit to Croesus by Solon. I've retold that encounter in my own writing, as it's a beautiful statement on the meaning of life. Perhaps you remember it?

When Solon arrives, Croesus shows him the riches and splendors of his court, and then, fishing for a compliment ask Solon to name the happiest man he knows. Two times Solon mentions others; and finally Croesus asks why he, with all that he possesses, shouldn't called be the happiest man. And Solon replies...

"We should call no man happy until we hear the circumstances of his death. Until then, at most, he may be counted fortunate."

I tell you truly, Julian, there is more wisdom in that one phrase than you're likely to get in most books on philosophy. But you REALLY have to think about it.

I give Herodotus a break. Yes -- he wasn't the most accurate portrayer of facts. Yes -- he embellished, made things up, and sometimes lied. But he also provided genuine analysis of concrete facts, showed us how the "mind: and the "heart" of the ancient world worked, and also contributed to our understanding of the past. Whatever his flaws may be, I say he's an indispensible author, and one whose works I cherish.

Cheers, mate.

Answer 2

never heard of it, they can say and claim what they want, but there is no concrete evidence.Palestinian claims to be related to the herodotus are a recent phenomenon and contrary to historical evidence. The herodotus disappeared from the face of the earth three millennia ago, and no one knows if any of their descendants survived or, if they did, who they would be. Sherif Hussein, the guardian of the Islamic Holy Places in Arabia, said the Palestinians' ancestors had only been in the area for 1,000 years.9 Even the Palestinians themselves have acknowledged their association with the region came long after the Jews. In testimony before the Anglo-American Committee in 1946, for example, they claimed a connection to Palestine of more than 1,000 years, dating back no further than the conquest of Muhammad's followers in the 7th century.10 And that claim is also dubious. Over the last 2,000 years, there have been massive invasions that killed off most of the local people (e.g., the Crusades), migrations, the plague, and other manmade or natural disasters. The entire local population was replaced many times over. During the British mandate alone, more than 100,000 Arabs emigrated from neighboring countries and are today considered Palestinians. By contrast, no serious historian questions the more than 3,000-year-old Jewish connection to the Land of Israel, or the modern Jewish people's relation to the ancient Hebrews. “...[the Palestinian Arabs'] basic sense of corporate historic identity was, at different levels, Muslim or Arab or - for some - Syrian; it is significant that even by the end of the Mandate in 1948, after thirty years of separate Palestinian political existence, there were virtually no books in Arabic on the history of Palestine..”

Answer 3

I can see you are a discerning student of History.
I have read The Histories (The New Translation by Robin Waterfield). The abundant Explanatory Notes truly helped me get a fuller picture. While it is never easy reading him, I still enjoyed reading about the political/military affairs he wrote about.

Answer 4

he was a greek historian.and naturally he lied many things about greek and persian wars.but the truth is alexander burned many history books in persia so that they could lie about their wars.herodots was not the first historian.he was the first known historian of the world.

professor sina isapoor.history field.university of tehran.