Herodotus - My Favourite Planet People

Herodotus (Ἡρόδοτος, Herodotos; circa 484 - circa 425-420 BC), often referred to as "the Father of History" [1], was a Greek historian born in Halicarnassus, Caria (today Bodrum, Turkey) [2].

What little is known of his life has mostly been surmised from direct and indirect clues in his only surviving work Histories (Ἱστορίαι, Istoria, which in Ancient Greek meant Enquiries), and there has been much speculation and debate about his family background, travels, writings, political activities and death. He and his work were mentioned by several ancient writers, but few extant texts include biographical details. The summary of his life in the Suda (Σοῦδα), a Byzantine encyclopedia written in Greek in the 10th - 11th centuries AD (probably around 970 AD), is thought by many scholars to be questionable.

"Herodotus, son of Lyxus and Dryo; of Halicarnassus; one of the notables [3]; and he had a brother called Theodorus. He migrated to Samos because of Lygdamis, who was the third tyrant of Halicarnassus after Artemisia: Pisindelis was the son of Artemisia, and Lygdamis the son of Pisindelis [4].

In Samos he practised the Ionian dialect and wrote a history in nine books, beginning with Cyrus the Persian and Candaules the king of the Lydians.

He went back to Halicarnassus and drove out the tyrant; but later, when he saw that he was the object of spite on the citizens' part, he voluntarily went to Thurii [in southern Italy] which was being colonized by Athenians, and after he died there he was buried in the agora. But some say that he died in Pella. His books bear the inscription of the Muses.

Concerning Herodotos, the Transgressor says in a letter [5]: 'Who, then, does not know what the Ethiopians said about our most nourishing food? They touched a barley-cake and said they were amazed that we lived by eating dung, if the wordsmith of Thurii can be believed. Those who describe the inhabited world relate that there are races of fish-eaters and flesh-eaters, men who do not dream of our food and diet. [6] If any one of us tries to emulate their diet, he will fare no better than those who take hemlock, aconite, or hellebore.'"

Suda, Ἡρόδοτος, eta, 536. At Suda On Line.

Although here his mother is named Dryo, the Suda entry for the epic poet Panyassis mentions claims that Herodotus was either a cousin or nephew Panyassis, and calls his mother Rhoea, who was perhaps the sister of the poet. The Panyassis entry and an inscription mentioned by Stephanus Byzantius (see below) also state that Herodotus' father was Lyxes, perhaps the brother of Panyassis' father Polyarchus.

The statement that Herodotus practised Ionian Greek while in exile in Samos, which had been settled by Ionic Greeks, has often been seen to infer that he did not speak or write in the dialect beforehand, although it seems that it was the prevalent language in Halicarnassus [7].

Where and when he wrote the Histories is a much-debated question. The Suda says that he wrote it in Samos, while according to other theories it was written much later, perhaps in Thurii (see below). It may be that the entire work was written over a long period of time, perhaps in several drafts or versions. Obviously he could have only have completed the final version after the events he narrates had occurred, the latest being around 430 BC, and after he had completed his travels to the places described.

No other known ancient source mentions that Herodotus was ever in the Macedonian city Pella, although the Suda elsewhere claims that he was the guest of Amyntas, king of Macedon, presumably Amyntas I (Ἀμύντας Aʹ, ruled circa 547-498 BC), along with the historian Hellanikos of Mytilene (Ἑλλάνικος ὁ Μυτιληναῖος, circa 490/480-400 BC).

"Hellanikos spent time with Herodotus at the [court of] Amyntas, king of the Macedonians, during the time of Euripides and Sophocles."

Suda, Ἑλλάνικος, epsilon, 739. At Suda On Line.

This claim has been challenged on a number of grounds, not the least of which is the fact that Pella is not thought to have been an important place during the lifetime of Herodotus, and only became the capital of Macedonia around 406 BC. It has been suggested that if Herodotus and Hellanikos were in Pella it is more likely to have been during the reign of Archelaos I (Ἀρχέλαος Α΄, ruled 413-399 BC), who moved the royal residence and capital from Aigai (today Vergina) to Pella. The reign of Amyntas I is too early and that of Archelaos I too late for the conventionally accepted dates for Herodotus' life, which would leave Alexander I (498-454 BC), Alketas II (454-448 BC) or Perdiccas II (448-413 BC). It is not clear whether the Suda entry is suggesting that Euripides (circa 480-406 BC) and Sophocles (497/6 BC-406/5 BC) were also in Macedonia. Euripides is thought to have lived there, but not Sophocles.

Herodotus was the first author known to have mentioned Pella (Histories, Book 7, chapter 123), although only as part of a list of cities in areas passed by the Persian fleet during Xerxes' invasion of Greece in 480 BC.

There is a little more literary support for the ancient tradition that Herodotus went to Athens [8], where he is said to have read the Histories in public in 445 BC:

"Herodotus was honoured for reading his books in the assembly at Athens."

Jerome, Chronicle, 83rd Olympiad. [9]

The critical essay On the malice of Herodotus, attributed to Plutarch, cited a report by the historian Diyllus (Δίυλλος) that the Athenians passed a decree to award Herodotus the enormous sum of 10 talents (10 Attic talents = 60,000 drachmae, around 260 kilograms of gold or silver; the daily wage for an artisan was 1 drachma [10]). The works of Diyllus have not survived, and the author of the essay doubts that Herodotus gave readings to the Athenians on the grounds that they would have noticed errors in his narrative, but accuses him of flattering them in the Histories for financial gain.

"But this helps Herodotus to refute the crime with which he is charged, of having flattered the Athenians for a great sum of money he received of them. For if he had rehearsed these things to them, they would not have omitted or neglected to notice that Philippides, when on the ninth he called the Lacedaemonians to the fight, must have come from it himself, since (as Herodotus says) he went in two days from Athens to Sparta; unless the Athenians sent for their allies to the fight after their enemies were overcome.

Indeed Diyllus the Athenian, none of the most contemptible as an historian, says, that he received from Athens a present of ten talents, Anytus proposing the decree."

Plutarch, On the malice of Herodotus, section 26 [11].

Both Lucian of Samosata (circa 125 - after 180 AD) [12] and the Suda report that he also gave a reading at Olympia. The story in the Suda that the young Thucydides was moved to tears by the performance was also mentioned by Markellinos (Μαρκελλῖνος, around the 6th century AD), who does not mention the location:

"At Olympia, while still a child, he [Thucydides] heard Herodotus reciting the histories he had written, and he was so moved with enthusiasm that his eyes filled with tears. When Herodotus recognized the boy's nature he addressed his father Oloros: 'I pronounce you blessed for this wonderful child, Oloros. For your son has a soul passionate for learning.' And he was not mistaken in this pronouncement."

Suda, Θουκυδίδης, theta, 414. At Suda On Line.

"And so it is said, that once when Herodotus was making a display of his own history, Thucydides was present at the recital and, hearing it, wept. Thereupon, they say, Herodotus noticing, said to Olorus the father of Thucydides, 'O Olorus, truly the nature of your son is violently bent toward learning.'"

Markellinos, Life of Thucydides, section 54. [13]

From Athens Herodotus is said to have joined the Athenian-led establishment of the pan-Hellenic colony of Thurii (Θούριοι) in southern Italy around 444-443 BC. Both Aristotle and Plutarch refer to him as "Herodotus of Thurii":

"The style must be either continuous and united by connecting particles, like the dithyrambic preludes, or periodic, like the antistrophes of the ancient poets. The continuous style is the ancient one; for example, 'This is the exposition of the investigation of Herodotus of Thurii'."

Aristotle, Rhetoric, Book 3, chapter 9. At Perseus Digital Library.

"And whereas we meet with this title, 'This publication of the History of Herodotus of Halicarnassus', many have changed it into Herodotus of Thurii, for he dwelt at Thurii, and was a member of that colony."

Plutarch, De exilio, section 13. At Perseus Digital Library.

In the 6th century AD, Stephanus Byzantius claimed that Herodotus' tomb was to be seen in the agora of Thurii with the inscribed epigram:

"This dust covers the dead Herodotus, son of Lyxes, the lord of Ionian ancient history, who flourished in exile from his Dorian homeland; for having fled from the insufferable criticism of its citizens he had Thurion as his homeland."

Stephanus Byzantius, Ethnika, Θούριοι [14]

Because Herodotus' references to the early years of the Peloponnesian War indicate intimate knowledge of the events, it has been speculated that at some point he returned to Athens, and it has even been suggested that he may have died there of the plague which also killed Pericles in the autumn of 429 BC. Markellinos, perhaps a near contemporary of Stephanus Byzantius, wrote that Herodotus' tomb stood near those of Thucydides and the family of Kimon at the Melitian Gate, on the west side of Athens:

"For at the Melitian Gate, in Koile, there are monuments called Cimonia, where the tomb of Herodotus and Thucydides can be seen."

Markellinos, Life of Thucydides, section 17. [15]

The Histories

"Here are presented the results of the enquiry of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, so that things done by man not be forgotten in time, and that great and marvellous deeds, some produced by the Hellenes, some by the barbarians, not lose their glory, including among others what was the cause of their waging war on each other."

The title of the Histories of Herodotus.

The Histories, written in Ionic Greek [see note 7] around 460-420 BC, is the account of the wars between the Persians and the Greeks during the 6th - 5th centuries BC, but also includes historical and geographical background information, mentions of myths, legends, oracles and anecdotes. The scope of the work is vast and ambitious, as he discusses the histories, beliefs and aspects of the lifestyles of Greeks, Medes, Persians, Egyptians and other peoples from the eastern Mediterranean, through Central Asia to India.

The entire book has survived, although like many ancient works it has been copied and recopied by hand and perhaps edited at some point over the centuries. The division of the work into nine books, each titled with the name of one of the nine muses, may be a later modification. [16]

The accuracy and even the veracity of many of Herodotus' statements have been doubted by ancient and modern authors. He was usually careful to differentiate between what he saw and experienced himself and what other people told him during his travels through Greece, Asia and Egypt, sometimes expressing his opinions on such reports. A great deal of what he wrote has been confirmed by modern archaeologists and historians, in some matters it seems he was misinformed or misunderstood information he received, and the truth or otherwise of many of his claims may never be discovered.

Histories is one of the most important surviving literary sources of information about the history of ancient Greece to the Classical period, and one of the most often quoted. The book is very readable, informative and often entertaining, and has long been a must-read for anyone interested in the ancient history of Europe and the Middle East.

A number of other ancient Greek authors before and after Herodotus also wrote histories, most of which have survived only as fragments, quotes or mentions by later writers. Two of his most important immediate successors, whose works have survived, were Thucydides and Xenophon of Athens.