Herodotus

Inscribed Bust of Herodotos found in ancient Athribis Roman 2nd century CE marble copy of 4th century BCE Greek bronze.

Title pages of a translation intoItalian,printed inVenice,and first published in 1533

Herodotus(/hɪˈrɒdətəs/hirr-OD-ə-təs;Ancient Greek:Ἡρόδοτος,romanized:Hēródotos,Attic Greekpronunciation:[hɛːródotos];c. 484– c. 425BC) was anAncient Greekhistorian.He was born inHalicarnassus,a town in south-westAsia Minor(nowBodrum,Turkey)

Herodotus was called the "Father of History" byCicero.He wrote about the ancient empires ofBabylon,Egypt,andPersia,and about the Ancient Greeks.

During his life, Herodotus probably told his stories in front of large numbers of people in Greek cities. Some men at the time did this for pay. He is now most famous for his writings about the wars between thePersian Empireand the Greekcity-states.He told the story from the Greek side, although the war was mostly finished when he was still a child.

In his books, Herodotus tells us that he travelled a lot. He says that he went to what is nowItaly(includingSicily),Ukraine,EgyptandPakistan.He may also have travelled toBabylonin today'sIraq.He often used stories from people he met to write about other places and happenings.

Some people think that Herodotus wrote about things that were not true. That is possible, because he would have relied on information from various sources. Hisworkis important because there is very little writing on these subjects before his works.

The works of Herodotus are available today in translations.

Other websites

• HerodotusCitizendium