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Definition: Herodotus from Philip's Encyclopedia

Greek historian. Regarded as the first historian, Herodotus' Histories are the first great prose work in European literature. His main theme was the struggle of Greece against the Persian Empire in the Persian Wars, but he also provides an insight into the Mediterranean world.

Herodotus (c. 484-c. 420 BCE)

From Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture
Herodotus of Halicarnassus in Caria (currently Bodrum on the Aegean coast of Turkey) was one of the earliest known historians and is most renowned for his chronicling of the Greco-Persian Wars. His approach to the writing of history set a precedent for later historians' concern with establishing causal links between past and current events. At the time of Herodotus' birth, Halicarnassus was a Greek city located on the fringes of the Persian Empire and thus subject to their monarchal control. Herodotus examined the root of the great conflicts between the Greeks and non-Greeks; from its origins in the Lydian kingdom, to the failed revenge of the Persian King Darius at Marathon, to the final unsuccessful efforts of his son King Xerxes at the Battle of Thermopylae and the famous naval battle at the Straits of Salamis off the coast of Attica. Very little is known of the author's life except that he never claims to be an eyewitness to the events he describes, although he often makes mention…
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From Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World
Also known as: Herodotos (b. ca. 484–d. ca. 420 BCE ) Greek historian A Greek historian from Halicarnassus in southwest Asia Minor , Herodotus is known for his detailed, surviving account of the Persian Wars , which had culminated when he was a child. This lengthy history describes how the Persian…
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From The Classical Tradition
Author of Histories (written before 425 bce ), among the most controversial ancient works on history. Some modern scholars insist that he was a romancer, who freely invented facts, citations, and even descriptions. Others treat him as a gifted and imaginative writer who did not derive his…
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From Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature
Also known as: Herodotos (b. ca. 484 BCE –d. ca. 430 (or 420) BCE ) Greek historian The earliest historian (in the modern sense of that term) whose writings have survived largely intact, Herodotus was born at Halicarnassus in the province of Doria on the southwestern coast of Asia Minor. We know his…
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From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(hērŏd'ӘtӘs), 484?–425? B.C. , Greek historian, called the Father of History, b. Halicarnassus, Asia Minor. Only scant knowledge of his life can be gleaned from his writings and from references to him by later writings, notably the Suda. He traveled along the coast of Asia Minor to the northern…
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From A Dictionary of Classical Greek Quotations
C484-C425BC Historian from Halicarnassus see also Darius, Lucian 12, Xerxes 1 Ηροδότου θουρίου ίστορίης άπόδεξις ήδε, ώς μήτε τα γενόμενα έξ άνθρώπων τώ χρόνω έξίτηλα γένηται, μήτε έργα μεγάλα τε καί θωμαστά, τα μεν Έλλησι, τα δε βαρβάροισι άποδεχθέντα, άκλέα γένηται, τά τε άλλα καί δι’ ήν αίτίην…
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From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(born 484?, Helicarnassus, Asia Minor—died 430/420 bc ) Greek historian. He resided in Athens and then in Thurii in southern Italy. His travels covered a large part of the Persian empire. He is the author of the first great narrative history produced in the ancient world, the History of the Persian…
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From Chambers Biographical Dictionary
c.485-425 bc Greek historian He was born in Halicarnassus, a Greek colony on the coast of Asia Minor. When the colonies were freed from the Persian yoke, he travelled extensively in Asia Minor and the Middle East, and in 443 bc joined the colony of Thurii, from where he visited Sicily and Lower…
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From Astronomy Encyclopedia
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From Philip's Encyclopedia
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From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
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