Is Herodotus the father of History or the father of lies?
by
nefelicyprushotmailcom (student)
Is Herodotus the father of History or the father of lies?
In Evaluating whether Herodotus was a Historian or an extremely charismatic storyteller, we must not look at Herodotus “The Histories” through a modern judgmental eye but rather through one of a person that should be fascinated that a man called himself an “inquirer” ,about a world that was filled with so much unknowns of which he discovered more of everyday. Herodotus distinguishes to his readers the mere fact that his whole life’s work could very well be continuous tale of foe and disillusion or a series of facts encrypted in his narratives about the era and events that surrounded him but all he did was simply keep a record of what people had told him and things he had afterwards investigated “I am obliged to report stories that come my way but in no way inclined to believe them. “However this also gives reason for modern historians to clash on whether Herodotus could be held liable for his legitimacy as a historian (even if the word originally meant an inquiry, exactly what Herodotus claims to have been doing)and the authenticity of his sources even if through them he has given us a further insight to the Hellenic Period. Nevertheless to accuse a person of falsity one must not only look at world’s Herodotus has perhaps created but his time in the one he actually lived in.
Although little is known about Herodotus life other the fact he was born in Halicarnassus, Asia Minor and that must have been from the upper class since he had the financial capability to travel, many things can be inferred about his personality and therefore the credibility of his writing. What is clear is his curiosity about past events and different culture’s tradition all of which Herodotus wanted to learn firsthand not just by reading but rather experiencing them first hand either by visiting distant lands such as Egypt where they occurred but also by hearing about them from as many people who had lived through them themselves, only to conclude and form his own opinion. Being the first of his kind to actually research his material and question it and use a variety of different sources to create it, Herodotus having the claim to the title “Father of History” it can only assume he is worthy of it, being a pioneer and revolutionary of his era and paved the way for future inquirers to learn from his methods and investigate events, just so.
