Herodotus

Herodotus
Ἡρόδοτος
A Roman copy (2nd century AD) of a Greek bust of Herodotus from the first half of the 4th century BC
Born	c. 484 BC Halicarnassus, Caria, Asia Minor, Persian Empire (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey)
Died	c. 425 BC (aged approximately 60) Thurii, Calabria, or Pella, Macedon
Occupation	Historian
Notable work	Histories
Parents	Lyxes (father) Dryotus (mother)
Relatives	Theodorus (brother) Panyassis (uncle or cousin)

Herodotus^[a] (Ancient Greek: Ἡρόδοτος, romanized: Hēródotos; c. 484 – c. 425 BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He is known for having written the Histories – a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars. Herodotus was the first writer to perform systematic investigation of historical events. He has been described as "The Father of History", a title conferred on him by the ancient Roman orator Cicero.^[2][3]

The Histories primarily cover the lives of prominent kings and famous battles such as Marathon, Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale. His work deviates from the main topics to provide a cultural, ethnographical, geographical, and historiographical background that forms an essential part of the narrative and provides readers with a wellspring of additional information.

Herodotus has been criticized for his inclusion of "legends and fanciful accounts" in his work. The contemporaneous historian Thucydides accused him of making up stories for entertainment. However, Herodotus explained that he reported what he could see and was told.^[4] A sizable portion of the Histories has since been confirmed by modern historians and archaeologists.

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