Interesting facts from the life of the great Greek historian are presented in this article. You can use an interesting fact about Herodotus in your report on Herodotus.

Herodotus interesting facts

The great thinker and writer of Ancient Rome, Cicero, once called Herodotus “the father of history.” Since then they call it that. But it is worth noting that Herodotus can quite deservedly be called the “father” of a whole list of other sciences. Among them are ethnography and geography, especially historical geography.

He is the first to discover the women's mythical epic of the Amazons

The historian explored in some detail (travelling) many regions of Western Asia, Asia Minor, the islands of the Aegean Sea, the island of Crete and the coast of Syria, Phenicia, Macedonia, Egypt, Thrace, most of Greece, Southern Italy, the Peloponnese, Sicily, the shores of the Black Sea

He communicated closely with the sculptor Phidias, Pericles, playwright and philosopher Anaxagoras

Took part in the founding of a pan-Greek colony in southern Italy - Thurii

He wrote his work “History” in the Ionian dialect. The main idea is the confrontation between ancient Greek democracy and Asian despotism

In his youth he was kicked out of the city where he lived

The historian firmly believed in the existence of Rock and gods

He took part in the popular movement against the tyrant Ligdamis and was for his overthrow

He is considered the first person to circumnavigate the entire Earth. He laid the foundation for the journey. After him, the American Nellie Bai made an attempt to walk around the earth in 1889. And she did it in 72 days

Biography of Herodotus

Origin of Herodotus

The father of history, Herodotus, was born between the first and second Persian wars (490–480 BC), and according to one piece of information, although not completely reliable, in 484 BC. His birthplace was Halicarnassus, Dorian colony on the coast of Caria. This city, located on the seashore and possessing an excellent port, conducted significant trade and enjoyed sufficient prosperity. It was founded by the Dorians from Troezen, with whom the Achaeans mixed, and in all likelihood also the Ionians, since before the Dorian migration Troezen was inhabited by the Ionians, and in ancient times, together with Kos, Cnidus and the Rhodian cities of Lindus, Ialis and Camir, was part of into the Dorian union of cities, the so-called Doric Hexapolis (Έξάπολις;). But subsequently Halicarnassus was excluded from this union, as Herodotus says, because one of the citizens, having received a tripod as a reward at the union games, did not place it, as custom required, in the temple of Apollo, but took it to his home. This insignificant circumstance served, of course, only as an external reason for the exclusion of Halicarnassus from the union; the real reason was more important. The break was due to the fact that Halicarnassus, due to the influx of Ionians from neighboring areas, lost its original Doric character; In the middle of the 5th century, the Ionic dialect, as can be seen from one inscription, was the official language in Halicarnassus. And Herodotus himself, who by origin should be considered a Doryan, is in his entire character more Ionian than Doryan. After the exclusion of Halicarnassus from the Doric union, the time of which cannot be determined with precision, Halicarnassus, like other Greek cities in Asia Minor, was under the rule of the Lydians, and then under the rule of the Persians. The Persians usually used their dominance over Greek cities in such a way that they installed the most prominent citizens there as tyrants, and the latter ruled the cities at their own will. So, at the time when Herodotus was born, the ruler of Halicarnassus and the neighboring small islands - Kos, Nisir and Kalidna, under the supreme power of the Persians, was Artemisia, an intelligent and courageous woman who, with five ships, accompanied Xerxes on his campaign against Greece and gave him a lot practical advice, and in the Battle of Salamis she was so distinguished by her determination that the king exclaimed in surprise: “Women have become men, and men have become women!” Herodotus in his history so praises the speeches and words of this woman that we can conclude that in his youth he willingly listened to stories about her exploits. She probably treated her subjects very kindly and kindly.

Bust of Herodotus. National Museum of Rome. Beginning of the 4th century BC

Herodotus belonged to a noble and, in all likelihood, ancient aristocratic Dorian family. His father's name was Lix, his mother's name was Drio (or Rio), his brother's name was Theodore. The epic poet Paniasis, whom the ancients glorify as the successful re-establisher of an almost forgotten epic type of poetry, was a close relative of Herodotus - either his uncle (mother's brother), or the son of his father's brother, and it is very likely that he, as an older relative, had considerable influence on the mental development of Herodotus. We know that the subjects that Paniasis dealt with were also of interest to Herodotus. Paniasis processed the myth of Hercules in the epic poem “Heraclea”, and chose the story of the Ionian migration to Asia as the plot of another poem. It was these Ionic legends that Herodotus was most interested in, and he was interested in the myths about Hercules and his cult to such an extent that he undertook a special trip to Tire to the famous sanctuary of the Phoenician Hercules (Melkart) in order to obtain correct information about the antiquity of the Hercules myth and his cult .

Historical events during the youth of Herodotus

There is no doubt that Herodotus, coming from a rich and noble family and, moreover, having a desire for science, received an extensive and comprehensive education in his youth; he reveals an excellent knowledge of Homer and other poets; he zealously studied his predecessors in historical studies - the logographers. Stories about the great world events that occurred in his early youth and affected his hometown were to have a deep and lasting influence on the mind of the growing youth. Something incredible happened. Herodotus heard about how the almighty, great king of Persia gathered his huge troops, including detachments of Asia Minor Greeks, and set out on a campaign to punish and conquer the European Greeks, but was completely defeated by this small, fragmented and, apparently, such a weak people, and covered with shame, in fear hastily fled back to his shocked kingdom. The thought that then involuntarily came to everyone’s mind and was expressed everywhere - the thought of God’s judgment striking the proud and daring, about the frailty of everything human and the insignificance of earthly greatness - sank deeply into the young soul and remained the conviction of Herodotus for the rest of his life, as can be seen from his writings.

The joy and delight that seized all the Hellenes at that time echoed in the hearts of the Greeks of Asia Minor. When the fleet and army of their European compatriots appeared off the coast of Asia Minor, after the victories at Mycale and Eurymedon, then they too felt strength and decided to overthrow the long-standing yoke and join their brothers. Whether similar attempts were made in the homeland of Herodotus, in Halicarnassus, is unknown to us. Perhaps the smart Artemisia, loved and respected by her subjects, managed to deflect the approaching storm. At least her son Pisindelidas and after him, around 455, his son Lygdamidas were tyrants in Halicarnassus; but we do not know whether this tyranny was inherited continuously. Depending on who retained power on the Asia Minor coast - the Athenian union or the Persians, freedom or slavery reigned in the cities, and either tyrants were expelled, or Persian rulers - satraps - were reappointed. So Lygdamidas relied on the help of the Persians, without which he could not have taken possession of the city against the will of noble and powerful families. Many of the latter fled from the tyrant's persecution; including the family of Herodotus, having left the city, found shelter on the island of Samos. Here, together with other fugitives and, probably, with the help of the Samians, who bravely defended Greek freedom on the Asia Minor coast, the relatives of Herodotus began to take care of the liberation of their hometown. During one of these attempts, Herodotus's old friend and relative Paniasis fell into the hands of Lygdamidas, who ordered his execution. Finally, in 449, when, as a result of the campaign Kimona to the island of Cyprus, the cause of Greek freedom was again victorious, Herodotus and his comrades succeeded in expelling the tyrant from Halicarnassus.

Herodotus. Encyclopedia Project

Relocation of Herodotus to Thurii

However, Herodotus did not stay long in his hometown: the reason for his departure from there was, in all likelihood, political strife. When, in 444, in Lucania (in Southern Italy), not far from the city of Sybaris destroyed by the Crotonians, the descendants of the Sybarites founded a new city, Thurii, inviting all Greeks to participate in its settlement without distinction of tribes on equal rights, then from Athens, at the suggestion Pericles, the colonists went there under the leadership of a statesman and interpreter of oracles, Lampon, a friend of Pericles. The desire to obtain land in this beautiful country induced many Greeks to join in this enterprise; Among the colonists were Herodotus and the famous orator Lysias with two brothers. Since then, the Furies became the home of Herodotus, so that the ancients often call him not a Halicarnassian, but a Furian.

Herodotus and Athens during the time of Pericles

However, there is no need to assume that Herodotus went to Thurii in 444; this could happen later. In all likelihood, in the interval between his departure from Halicarnassus and his relocation to Thurii, he spent some time in the then center of the political and intellectual life of Greece - in Athens, where he subsequently visited many times. That Herodotus lived in Athens for quite a long time is proved by his knowledge of the state of affairs in Attica and the advantage he showed Athens to such an extent that envious opponents like Plutarch said that he was bribed by the Athenians. At a time when powerful Athens aroused strong hatred in the rest of Greece, Herodotus set out to show how this city became the savior of Greece during the Persian wars. Herodotus was, without a doubt, personally acquainted with the leader of Athenian politics, Pericles, and his family. In his historical work, he provides detailed information about the significance of the Alcmaeonid family, to which Pericles belonged on his mother’s side, and points out how successfully through the efforts of this family, which in the time of Herodotus did not enjoy popular favor, the tyranny of the Peisistratids was overthrown and Athenian freedom was strengthened. Since the information reported by Herodotus appears to have been borrowed in part from the family traditions of Pericles’ house, it can be assumed that the wonderful story about the matchmaking of Agarista, the daughter of the Sicyon tyrant Cleisthenes, the great-grandmother of Pericles (VI, 126–130), is a story that differs epic presentation - had as its source some poem belonging to the Alcmaeonids. Agarista married the Athenian Megacles, son of Alcmeon, and from this marriage were born Cleisthenes, later a famous legislator, and Hippocrates; the latter was the father of Agarista, wife of Xanthippus, mother of Pericles. Herodotus says that she once dreamed that a lion was born to her, and a few days later she gave birth to Pericles. This place, the only one where Herodotus mentions Pericles, shows how highly the historian valued statesman. Herodotus was also personally acquainted with other prominent Athenians; Sophocles was his friend for many years.

Ancient statue of Herodotus in Bodrum (ancient Halicarnassus)

Travels of Herodotus

Herodotus in Asia Minor and Persia

A significant part of Herodotus’s great work consists of geographical and ethnographic information. He talks about events, but at the same time describes countries, morals, customs, civil and religious institutions - in a word, he retells everything wonderful about lands, peoples and cities. Before his resettlement in Thurii, Herodotus traveled a lot. Curiosity and at the same time the desire to collect more geographical and ethnographic material for the essay, which he conceived, apparently very early, prompted him to visit various countries of the then known world; Herodotus saw the most remote areas inhabited by the Greeks, and traveled through the entire Persian kingdom in various directions. On these journeys he did not encounter significant difficulties or dangers, and with sufficient wealth he did not need funds for travel. As a result of trade relations, the path to all the shores of the Mediterranean Sea was open to everyone; at the same time, as a result of the orders of the Persian king Darius, every citizen of the region subject to the Persians enjoyed much greater convenience and safety when traveling than a foreigner who wants to travel around this country in our time. In the time of Herodotus, royal military roads, protected by fortifications and guards and providing shelter to the traveler at every station, connected all provinces with the center of the state - Susa. A foreigner, although under the watchful supervision of the authorities, could travel along these roads calmly and everywhere he would find everything necessary for subsistence and recreation.

Herodotus often recalls his travels in his work, but only on occasion when, in support of his story, he refers to what he saw and heard on the spot, and does not report anything about the time and method of travel. Therefore, we are not able to accurately determine in what years and in what order he undertook his travels. In any case, he was in Persia at a time when his hometown of Halicarnassus was still under Persian rule, that is, before 449 BC; after the overthrow of Lygdamidas, which Herodotus himself assisted and which freed Halicarnassus from Persian rule, he would no longer dare to undertake a trip to the Persian kingdom. He visited Egypt at a time when this country was also still under the rule of the Persians, but after the revolt of Inar, which lasted from 460 to 455; Herodotus saw the battlefield at Papremis, where Inarus defeated Xerxes' brother Achaemenes. Therefore, the time of his trip to Egypt falls between 455 and 449 years. He had previously undertaken a journey to the provinces of Upper Asia, as can be concluded from one indication in his work.

Herodotus probably traveled to inner Asia along the royal road that led from Ephesus through Sardis to Susa; he describes the dimensions of this road, its length and its appearance in such detail that it must be assumed that he himself saw it (V, 52 et seq.). He traveled as far as Susa and from there visited the royal estate of Arderikka, located five miles from the city, where Darius settled the once captive inhabitants of Eretria (VI, 119). In Babylon, in which Herodotus was very interested in its history, wonderful buildings, customs and cult (I, 178 et seq.), he apparently stayed for quite a long time. Our traveler also saw Ecbatana, the capital Mussels, with a palace Deyoka; it is very likely that he was also at the ruins of Nineveh, the former capital of Assyria. Herodotus knew the coast of Asia Minor to Halys very well; therefore, it can be assumed that he visited these places many times.

Herodotus in Egypt

Herodotus examined the wonderland of Egypt with special attention. It seems that he arrived first at Kanob, a famous harbor at the mouth of the western branch of the Nile, and then visited various cities of lower Egypt: Naucratis, a privileged Greek trading post, Sais, the residence of the last Egyptian kings, where Herodotus was initiated into the mysteries of Osiris; Busiris, where the large temple of Isis was located, etc. He traveled to middle and upper Egypt during the flood of the Nile, as can be concluded from the clarity with which he describes the trip from Naucratis to Memphis. “When the Nile emerges from its banks,” says Herodotus (II, 97), only high cities are visible all around, like islands in the Aegean Sea, for everything else is hidden under water. As soon as a flood occurs, no one travels along the river, and all ships go through the water that has spilled on the plains. Going from Naucratis to Memphis at this time, you have to pass just past the pyramids (near Giza, northwest of Memphis). But the usual path goes to the top of the delta and to the city of Kerkasor,” etc. From the ancient city of the kings, Memphis, where Herodotus learned from the priests most of the information he reported about Egypt, he visited the pyramids located not far from there, of which the largest, the pyramid of Cheops, he measured it himself. He was also on the shores of the artificial Lake Merida, located 12 miles south of Memphis, near which there was a labyrinth, a large palace with 3,000 rooms, a building representing “superhuman labor” in size. Heading further up the Nile, Herodotus arrived in the city of Elephantine and thus reached the southern border of the Persian kingdom. However, he did not dare to cross this border, no matter how much he wanted to receive correct information about the sources of the Nile, since beyond this border a foreigner could no longer be confident in his safety. On the way back, Herodotus from Memphis went east, passed the canal of the Egyptian king Necho (Necho), laid from the Nile to the Gulf of the Arabian (Red) Sea, and reached the eastern border of Egypt - the city of Pelusium on the Mediterranean Sea. From there, along the coast, he reached Gaza, in Palestine, and here he probably boarded a ship and went to Tire to collect information about Hercules there.

Herodotus in the Black Sea region, his study of Scythia

In addition, Herodotus undertook a special journey to the Hellenic colony of Cyrene on the northern coast of Libya, and then to the Black Sea - to Pontus, the shores of which were dotted with Greek colonies and which, as a result, turned from “inhospitable” (Πόντος άξεινος) to “hospitable” ( Πόντος εΰξεινος - Pontus Euxine). Having entered Pontus through the Thracian Bosphorus, Herodotus headed to the west, wanting to go around the entire sea. Whether he traveled from the Bosporus to the mouth of the Istra (Danube) by land or by ship - this question remains unresolved; it is only known that on the way Herodotus visited the Greek colonies - Apollonia, Mesemvria and Istria, which lay at the mouth of the Istra. He considers the Ister River the greatest and most extensive of all rivers; The Ister “flows through the whole of Europe, and originates from the Celts” and has many tributaries, which are listed by Herodotus (IV, 47–50). To the north of the Ister, the Black Sea and the Caucasus there is a vast land of the Scythians, about which Herodotus especially tried to collect information during this journey. The Scythians were in active relations with the coastal Greek cities, and along numerous waterways they delivered the products of their rich country here. Many of them lived for commercial purposes in Greek cities, others brought goods from inland countries to the sea; Greek merchants traveled around the surrounding lands. Thus, Herodotus could easily, from questioning the Greeks and natives, obtain detailed information about the properties of this country, about the morals, customs and traditions of this wonderful people; sometimes he himself went for a short time to different areas, into the interior of the country. Apparently, Herodotus spent quite a long time in the flourishing trading city of Olbia, at the mouth of the Hypanis (Bug) and here he collected information about the countries lying between Tire (Dniester) and Borysthenes (Dnieper). In this part of Scythia, many areas are known to him from his own observation; he spent several days sailing up the Bug. From Olbia, Herodotus went around the Tauride Peninsula (Crimea) to Maeotis (Sea of ​​Azov), then, along the eastern shore of Pontus, to Colchis, and from there along the southern coast of the Black Sea he returned to the Thracian Bosporus.

For ancient Russia and Ukraine, Herodotus is the most important of ancient historians, like Julius Caesar for France and Tacitus for Germany. Herodotus visited many areas of the Black Sea region and gave quite detailed information about this country and its then inhabitants: the Scythians and Sarmatians. Excavations in mounds at the sites of Scythian settlements described by Herodotus reveal a culture similar to that of which he speaks in his depiction of Scythia.

Scientific works of Herodotus

In addition to the countries mentioned above, Herodotus visited and examined all significant cities and sanctuaries on the Greek islands and on the Greek mainland; collected detailed information about the lands of the Balkan Peninsula, lying north of Greece, and subsequently, while living in Thurii, made trips to southern Italy and Sicily, so we can confidently say that none of the Greeks either before Herodotus or in his time I had not seen so many countries and peoples and did not have such extensive geographical knowledge as he did. The results of his travels served as the main material from which he compiled his great historical work. But we cannot suppose that the plan of this great work was clearly presented to him at the very beginning of his research; rather, one can think that he first followed the path of his predecessors, the logographers, arranging the collected information in the form of a series of historical and geographical pictures. Thus, Herodotus wrote separate “histories” (λόγοι) - Persian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Lydian, Scythian, and subsequently, having reached a higher point of view, he again revised them for a new purpose and partly included them in his great work. Herodotus achieved this highest understanding of the tasks of historiography as a result of his repeated trips to Athens and his long stay in this city; here, in the company of politically advanced people and with direct acquaintance with the great aspirations of which Pericles was the representative, he could delve deeper into the spirit of Greek history.

"History" of Herodotus

Svida, in his article on Herodotus, reports that our historian, having fled from Halicarnassus to Samos, took up the Ionic dialect there and wrote “History” in 9 books, starting from the times of the Persian king Cyrus and the Lydian Candaules. This assumption that Herodotus wrote his work quite already in these early years, we cannot recognize as probable. From it we can only conclude that around this time he wrote some of the individual studies already mentioned above, λόγοι. He could have published such individual sketches before he began processing the entire work. Lucian, in his short work “Herodotus or Aetion,” says that Herodotus, wanting to quickly gain fame and make his works popular, went from his homeland, Caria, to Hellas, and there, at the Olympic Games, read his work in front of a huge crowd , gathered from all Hellenic countries, and received such approval that his books, of which there were nine, were named after the names of the muses. But we can consider this story only the fabrication of a rhetorician who cared little about historical truth, although it is based, perhaps, on the historical fact that Herodotus read at the Olympic Games, in front of a large gathering, if not his entire work, then separate parts of his literary works. Other ancient writers also speak about such readings of Herodotus, and we have no reason to doubt it. In those days, sophists, poets, and rhapsodists performed in this way before large audiences; the works of Herodotus, both in their content and in form, were so interesting and entertaining that they should have met with extreme approval.

The ancients also talk about the reading of Herodotus in Athens, which Eusebius dates to 446. Some of the newest writers suggest that Herodotus read in the assembly during the Panathenaic festival. We have fairly probable news that the Athenian council, at the suggestion of Anytus, awarded Herodotus a gift of 10 talents for his reading. Connected with the story of this reading or another reading in Athens, in the house of Olor, the father of Thucydides (historian), as well as with the story of the reading in Olympia, is an unlikely story about the boy Thucydides, as if he was present at this reading and burst into tears from delight, and at the same time from the desire to imitate Herodotus. Then Herodotus said to the boy’s father: “I congratulate you, Olor: your son is burning with the desire for knowledge.” Further, they talk about the reading of Herodotus in Thebes and his intention to introduce the study of history into the schools there. Without a doubt, the anecdote relayed by Dion Chrysostomus was subsequently invented about how Herodotus appeared in Corinth and demanded a reward for his writings, in which there were no lies about Corinth. But the Corinthians refused him a reward, and for this he added to his history an unfavorable story for them about their participation in the Persian Wars. (See page 125).

Having finally settled in Thurii, Herodotus began processing the material he had collected during his wanderings, and created a large historical work that has come down to us, under the title “History” (Ίστορίαι). The main theme of this work is the glorious struggle of the Hellenes with the Persian kingdom; at the same time, Herodotus expresses the belief, very widespread at that time, that enmity between the Hellenes and the peoples of Asia has existed since ancient times. Having told the great drama of the Persian wars, Herodotus conveys, following the example of logographers, the history of all the peoples who participated in this great struggle, talks about their way of life, customs and beliefs and presents a geographical and natural-historical description of their countries, so that the whole work represents something in kind of universal history. This entire work, probably already in the Alexandrian era, is divided into 9 books, each of which is named after a muse.

Herodotus’s “History” is a sparkling, simple story, imbued with a love for the good and the beautiful, a joyful story about how the love of freedom, courage, reasonable order, intelligence and modest morals of the Greeks triumphed over the servility and vain pomp of the numerous but disorderly hordes of the East. Throughout Herodotus’s story there is a contrast between the Greek people and the nature of Eastern life. Herodotus’s “History” is an entertaining, detailed account of great, amazing events, the course of which he describes to his inquisitive compatriots according to an excellently thought-out plan, giving them a series of lively, enticing pictures. The tone of his story is completely in harmony with the content, and in general, Herodotus’s “History” has the character of a majestic epic.

Fragment of Herodotus' "History" on papyrus from Oxyrhynchus, Egypt

Summary of “History” of Herodotus

Herodotus’s main goal in writing “History” was to preserve for posterity the memory of the great events of the wars with the Persians, so that, as he himself puts it, “the exploits of the Greeks and barbarians in their struggle among themselves would not disappear unknown into the river of time.” At the beginning of the first book of the History, Herodotus briefly reports the mythical events that, as he believes, served as the beginning of hostile relations between Europe and Asia - the abduction of Io and Europa, Medea and Helen; then he moves on to a story about a man about whom he himself probably knows that he was the first to act unfairly with the Hellenes - about the Lydian king Croesus, who subjugated the Greeks of Asia Minor to his power. The actions and fate of Croesus are told in Herodotus’s “History” in great detail, which gives reason to insert into this narrative, in the form of episodes, not only the history of the former Lydian kings and their wars with the Hellenic cities of Asia Minor, but also the history of Athens from the time of Solon and Sparta with from the time of Lycurgus to the time of Croesus. Having thus spoken about the first enslavement of the Greeks by Asian power, Herodotus immediately points to the Hellenic states, from which help and liberation will come in due time. The Persian Cyrus defeats Croesus and takes his place, so from now on the historian's attention is drawn mainly to the Persian kingdom, which continues its hostile actions against the Greeks. First, Herodotus tells the history of the Median kingdom and the youth of Cyrus, the conqueror of the Medes; then describes his campaigns of conquest: against Babylon (the monuments, inhabitants and customs of this city are discussed in detail), against the Greeks of Asia Minor and against the Massagetae. At the same time, information is provided about the origin of the Asian Hellenes, as well as the neighboring Lycian and Carian tribes.

In the second book of the History, the conquest of Egypt by Cambyses gives Herodotus the occasion for a detailed description of this country, so interesting to him and to his compatriots; Herodotus provides information about the inhabitants, monuments, morals, customs and religious beliefs of Egypt. In the third book, Herodotus continues the story of Cambyses, Falsemerdis and Darius, as well as Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, with whose fall Persian rule begins to spread to the Greek islands. Thus we see how the Persian kingdom is moving closer and closer to European Greece; the institutions introduced by Darius upon his accession to the kingdom - the division of the entire kingdom into 20 satrapies and the transfer of taxes paid by them give us an idea of ​​​​the space and wealth of this powerful country.

In the fourth book of the History, Darius' campaign on the Danube and against the Scythians brings the Persians to Europe for the first time. Here we have a detailed description of northern Europe, namely Scythia and its inhabitants; in the same book of Herodotus there is news about the southern countries - about Cyrenaica and its history and about the Libyan tribes neighboring it, since simultaneously with Darius’s campaign against the Scythians, the Persians in Egypt were preparing for a campaign in Libya. The fifth book tells about the conquest of part of Thrace and Macedonia by the troops remaining after the Scythian campaign and about the Ionian uprising that began at the same time, the reason for which was also the Scythian campaign. The trip of the Milesian tyrant Aristagoras to Greece for help gives Herodotus a reason to continue the history of Sparta and Athens from the time where it stopped in the first book, and in particular to present the rapid strengthening of the Athenians, who, after the expulsion of the Peisistratids, felt, along with freedom, new strength and they were afraid to incur the wrath of the Persian king by supporting the Ionian vos/pa name=Having finally settled in Thurii, Herodotus began processing the material he had collected during his wanderings, and created a large historical work that has come down to us, under the title “History” ( Ίστορίαι). The main theme of this work is the glorious journey.

In the sixth book of Histories, Herodotus talks about the pacification of what was frivolously begun Ionian revolt, about Mardonius’s unsuccessful campaign against Greece; explains in detail the discord that occurred between the Greek states on the eve of the Persian wars, and then follows the story of the expedition of Datis and Artaphernes, which ended in the Marathon battle. Then, up to and including the ninth book of the History, the story of the last great events proceeds in a wide stream, without deviating from its natural path to the side, but with the same slowness, arousing the reader’s impatience. Herodotus describes in extreme detail all the tribes gathered by Xerxes from different sides of his vast kingdom against Greece, their origin, their weapons. These formidable masses are slowly approaching Greece, whose states, engaged in mutual bickering, cannot unite together to repel the danger; The first battles take place at Thermopylae and Artemisium, then large, decisive battles at Salamis, Plataea and Mycale, which avert the danger that threatened from Asia from Europe and serve as the beginning of the offensive struggle against Persia. The capture of Sestus by the Athenians is the last event of the war, reported by Herodotus. His work is not completely finished, although we do not think that Herodotus wanted to bring the history of the Persian wars to their very end, until the death of Cimon. The work, not completed, consists of the remark put into the mouth of Cyrus that those who live in the most fertile and richest region do not always turn out to be the bravest people.

Thus, Herodotus’s “History” was written according to a well-thought-out plan. One thread runs through the entire work, with which the individual, large and small, parts of it are connected—sometimes, however, very weakly; the main theme is surrounded by many episodes, especially in the first books. Dionysius of Halicarnassus says about his fellow countryman that, imitating Homer, he tries to give his work the charm of variety through numerous episodes. But it is not just this many episodes that brings Herodotus’s work closer to the Homeric epic. Homer is also reminiscent of the simple, lively and visual presentation, the pleasant and good-natured detail of the narrative and the natural charm of the soft Ionic dialect. Athenaeus calls Herodotus for his style “worthy of wonder,” “sweet as honey”; Cicero compares it to the mirror surface of a calmly flowing river.

Philosophical and ethical views of Herodotus

The work of Herodotus has the character of a poetic work also because its core is a certain religious worldview. In this, the father of history differs from all later Greek historians. His work is imbued with the idea of ​​a higher order in the world, of divine power, which, both in the physical world and in the moral world, indicates to every creature certain limits and measures and ensures that these limits are not violated. In his History, Herodotus shows how entire nations and each individual are subject to this supreme justice; if someone in proud self-confidence exceeds his allotted limit, or even without any evil thought enjoys extremely great happiness, the deity humiliates, punishes and crushes him in order to restore the disturbed balance again: “the deity does not tolerate anything being great besides him.” . Herodotus calls this just concern of divine power for maintaining moral order in the world the envy (φθονος) of the deity - a concept that the ancients called otherwise Nemesis and coincides with the concept of Providence. Every man must fear this Nemesis, and guard against both excessive exaltation and misfortune; Herodotus also takes this into account. History, in his opinion, is a divine court that decides human affairs according to the law of moral and religious truth. Herodotus can even be called historian-theologian. Observing moderation and caution in his judgments about divine things, in the historical story about foreign peoples and in judgments about them, he tries to give everyone their due. Even among his enemies, Herodotus praises what deserves praise, and while reporting on the great deeds of his people, he avoids being carried away by natural national pride; more often he points out to his compatriots that they were saved rather by divine providence and a favorable combination of circumstances than by their own strengths and exploits.

Evaluations of Herodotus' works

In judging the historian of everything more important question about its reliability. The credibility of Herodotus has been questioned since ancient times. Ctesias of Cnidus (c. 400 BC), court physician of King Artaxerxes Mnemon, who, based on Persian archival materials, wrote a large work on Persian history (Περσικά) before his time, but was not distinguished, according to the ancients, by his love of truth, he tells a lot about the Persian Wars in disagreement with Herodotus and calls him a liar and an inventor.

Following him, some other writers also came forward with accusations and refutations against Herodotus. Herodotus in his work is not a blind panegyrist of the Greeks. When it became fashionable among the Greeks to write history with rhetorical self-praise, his simple-minded truthfulness began to seem not to do justice to the Greek exploits; they began to reproach him for his tendency to speak ill of the Greeks. Plutarch, in the book that has come down to us “On Herodotus’s Desire for Reproach,” tries, prompted by petty nationalism, to accuse him with insignificant evidence of distortion of facts, lack of patriotism, partiality for the party and malicious humiliation of individuals. Others, although they did not directly accuse Herodotus’ “History” of deliberate falsification, still portrayed him as a frivolous and indiscriminate teller of fables and miracles. But in this they were unfair to our historian. In the selection of material, Herodotus acts with the greatest diligence and conscientiousness and reports the results of his research with truthfulness and not without subtle criticism. True, where he could not observe directly himself, where he had, during his travels, to be content with the stories of interpreters and periegetae, priests and other people, there Eastern boastfulness and passion for exaggeration told him many wonderful and incredible things. But Herodotus does not refuse to criticize such stories and often embarks on research and research in which real historical criticism is visible; in his stories, he always distinguishes what he learned and saw personally from what he knows only by hearsay. Where Herodotus could not decide how reliable this news is, or where he does not believe the reported rumor, there he directly admits this and says: “I must convey what I was told, but I do not need to believe everything.” Reporting about the expedition from the Red Sea around Africa, equipped under the Egyptian king Necho, he adds: “And they say, which I cannot believe, but which someone else may recognize as probable, that during their voyage off the coast of Libya the sun was on their right side” (IV, 42) - a remark that, of course, none of Herodotus’s contemporaries believed, but the validity of which we now do not doubt. If there are two different reports about the same subject, and Herodotus cannot give preference to one of them, then he gives both, leaving further research to their enlightened reader. Thus, he retained several very valuable pieces of information, the authenticity of which was confirmed only by recent research. The investigations of recent travelers in the countries visited by Herodotus more and more confirm that he reported information truthfully and conscientiously. When explaining the causes of events, as well as in judgments about the situation of the Greek states, Herodotus does not show the maturity of political development that could be expected from a contemporary and friend of Pericles. He tries to explain events more by the inclinations and passions of individuals than by deeper political reasons, the position and interests of states; For him, the moral and religious element is in the foreground, not the political.

Literary style of Herodotus

In ancient times, Herodotus, on the one hand, was subject to censure and accusations, and on the other hand, was the subject of surprise and high respect; but his censure came, for the most part, from individuals, and respect for him was shared by everyone and was preserved forever among people who understand the matter. His “History” was read by many, commented on, and extracts were made from it; in Alexandria, in the great theater, the actor Hegesius read passages from Herodotus; and this case was not the only one of its kind. It was especially valued by the ancients for its pleasant language. Dionysius of Halicarnassus called him the best example of the Ionic dialect, but not because his Ionic dialect, like Hecataeus of Miletus, was completely pure and free from all impurities - Herodotus mixed into it words and expressions from other dialects, from epics, from tragedians , - but because he was the first to develop the Ionic dialect in beautiful prose, which can be placed alongside poetry. Herodotus's speech is simple and clear, as if he were speaking and not writing; it usually consists of small sentences, loosely connected to each other (Λέξις έιρομένη, “speech of a simple order”). Where Herodotus tries, following the model of Attic periodic speech, to compose large complex sentences, he turns out to be weak and unskillful.

The last years of Herodotus' life

Double bust of Herodotus and Thucydides

After his resettlement in Thurii, therefore, after 444 BC, Herodotus led a quiet life in this city, however, taking small trips from time to time to the cities of Magna Graecia and to Sicily. He was again in Athens, probably at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, since he saw the Propylaea, built only in 431 BC. We have no definite news about the time of Herodotus’ death. Previously, based on two places in his work (I, 130 and III, 15), it was believed that he lived after 408: in the first of these places, Herodotus mentions the rebellion of the Medes against Darius, and this king was considered for Darius Nof, against which the Medes rebelled in 408, since nothing was known about the Median revolt against Darius Hystaspes. But the Behistun inscription has now been discovered, which details the unsuccessful uprising of the Mede Phraortes against Darius Hystaspes, which dates back to approximately 520 BC. Considering the words of Herodotus, we find that he could be talking specifically about this uprising . In the book. III, ch. 15, mentions the death of a certain Amirtheus from the ancient Egyptian royal family, who rebelled against the Persians. But this Amirteus is not the one who rebelled against the Persians in 405–400 BC and took possession of Egypt, but another, an ally of Inar in the uprising of 460–455 BC, perhaps the grandfather of the one named above . The latest events mentioned by Herodotus in his work all refer to the first years of the Peloponnesian War, no later than 428 BC; and since in the place mentioned above (I, 130) he calls Darius Hystaspes simply Darius and does not distinguish him, to avoid ambiguity, from Darius Nophus, we can assume that Herodotus no longer worked on his work after 424, when Darius Nof began to reign; and since this work was not completed, he hardly lived longer than 424 years.

Herodotus died in Thurii and was buried in the city square, a distinction given only to prominent citizens. On his tomb the Thurians wrote the following inscription:

“The son of Lyx, Herodotus, the creator of the ancient history of the Ionic style, is laid to rest here where he died. He grew far away, in the Doric land; but, avoiding misfortunes, he found a new homeland in the fields of Thurii.”

According to Svida, some claimed that Herodotus died in Pella, the capital of Macedonia; in another place he says that Herodotus, in the times of Euripides and Sophocles, was together with Hellanicus at the Macedonian court. Herodotus showed a special affection for the Macedonian royal house; During his travels he probably lived for some time in Pella and was on friendly terms with the family of the king, who, after the death of the historian, could have erected a cenotaph for him. It was this cenotaph that could lead to the assumption that Herodotus died in Pella. And in Athens also there was the cenotaph of Herodotus at the Melitid Gate, and next to it was the tomb of his great successor in history, Thucydides.

An ancient bust of Herodotus is in the Naples Museum; double bust of Herodotus and Thucydides - in the Farnese Museum in Rome.

Articles and monographs about Herodotus

Nadezhdin N.I. Herodotova Scythia, explained through comparison with localities. Odessa, 1842

Dyachan F.N. Herodotus and his muses. Part 1. Warsaw, 1877

Klinger V.P. Fairytale motifs in the history of Herodotus. Kyiv, 1903

Lurie S. Ya. Herodotus. M.-L., 1947.

Dovatur A.I. Narrative and scientific style of Herodotus. - L., 1957

Ditmar A. B. From Scythia to Elephantine. Life and travels of Herodotus. - M., 1961

Borukhovich V. G. Historical concept of the Egyptian logos of Herodotus. Saratov, 1972.

Rybakov B. A. Gerodotova Scythia: Historical and geographical analysis. M., 1979

Neihardt A. A. The Scythian story of Herodotus in Russian historiography. L., 1982

Dovatur A.I., Kallistov D.P., Shishova I.A. The peoples of our country in Herodotus’ “History”. M., 1982

Kuznetsova T. I., Miller T. A. Ancient epic historiography: Herodotus. Titus Livy. - M., 1984

(c. 484 - c. 425 BC)

Ancient Greek historian, nicknamed the "father of history." One of the first scientific travelers. To write his famous “History” he traveled to all the famous countries of his time: Greece, Southern Italy, Asia Minor, Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, visited most of the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, visited the Black Sea, the Crimea (up to Chersonesos) and the country of the Scythians . The author of works devoted to the description of the Greco-Persian wars outlining the history of the Achaemenid state, Egypt, etc., gave the first description of the life and everyday life of the Scythians.

Herodotus is called the father of history. It would be no less fair to call him the father of geography. In the famous "History" he presented to his readers the entire Old World - known, unknown, and sometimes fictional - all three old countries of the world that were known to him. He writes: “I, however, do not understand why three different names are given to a single land.” The three names are Europe, Asia and Libya, meaning Africa. America will be discovered in the 15th century.

Herodotus was born around 484 BC in the Asia Minor city of Halicarnassus. He came from a rich and noble family with extensive trading connections.

In 464 he goes on a journey. Herodotus dreams of learning about other, much more powerful peoples, some of which had a civilization much more ancient than the Greeks. In addition, he is fascinated by the diversity and outlandishness of the customs of a foreign world. This is what prompted him to preface the history of the Persian wars with an extensive study of all the peoples who attacked Greece, about which the Greeks at that time still knew little.

The route of his Egyptian journey, which took place entirely during the period of the Nile flood, has been restored. He climbed up the Nile to Elephantine (Aswan), the extreme border of Ancient Egypt, passing close to the first cataract. This is a thousand kilometers of travel. In the east, he reached at least Babylon, two thousand kilometers from the Aegean Sea, and it is even possible that he reached Susa, but this is only an assumption. In the north, Herodotus visited the Greek colonies established on the Black Sea coast, in what is now Ukraine. It is even possible that he climbed up the lower reaches of one of the large rivers of the Ukrainian steppes, namely the Dnieper, or Borysthenes, all the way to the Kyiv region. Finally, in the west, Herodotus visited southern Italy, where he took part in the founding of a Greek colony. He visited what is now Cyrenaica and, no doubt, what is now Tripolitania.

Readers who knew almost nothing about the countries from which he was returning could be told anything, but Herodotus did not succumb to this temptation into which all other travelers fell. He traveled a lot. He traveled to very distant lands to obtain verified information. He explored the land with his own eyes and his own feet, undoubtedly rode a lot on horseback or on a donkey, and often sailed in boats.

In Egypt, he enters an embalmer's workshop and inquires about all the details of his craft and the cost of various procedures. In temples, he asks the inscriptions to be translated for him, asks the priests about the history of the pharaohs. He attends the religious festivals of the Egyptians, admires the colorful clothes and the shape of their hairstyles. Finding himself at the pyramids, he measures their bases with steps and is not at all mistaken in these calculations. But when he needs to determine the height by eye, he makes significant mistakes. This applies to all those countries where he has visited, and to those very many places where he has not been, since he relies on the stories of travelers, Greeks and barbarians whom he met in one tavern or another...

Herodotus began his “around the world” journey from Babylonia, where he saw the great city of Babylon. Its walls, he says, are square-shaped. He indicates the length of one of the sides of the square - according to this figure, the length of the entire perimeter would be eighty-five kilometers. The figure is greatly exaggerated. The perimeter of the walls of Babylon barely reached twenty kilometers. Herodotus, however, mentions that in his time the city walls were demolished by Darius. Ruins of masonry remained. Herodotus was interested in how it was made. It was explained to him that the wall was made of brick, and every thirty rows of bricks a layer of woven reed was placed in the mountain resin that held them together. Traces of this reed, imprinted in mountain resin, are still visible in the ruins of the Babylonian wall.

Herodotus describes Babylon as a very large city. It was the largest city he had seen, and the most grandiose in the ancient world of that era. He talks about straight streets intersecting at right angles. He admires houses with three and four floors, unprecedented in his country. He knows about the two parallel walls built by Nebuchadnezzar. The total thickness of these long walls reached thirty meters. Here, for the only time, Herodotus downplayed the actual dimensions, calling the figure twenty-five meters. He gives the city a hundred gates, and here he is mistaken, it is only in legends that cities have a hundred gates. He, however, could not count them himself, because the wall was half demolished, as he himself mentions.

Having studied Babylon, Herodotus went to Persia. Since the purpose of his trip was to collect accurate information about the long Greco-Persian wars, he visited the places where these wars took place in order to obtain on the spot all the details he needed. Herodotus begins this part of his history with a description of the customs of the Persians. They, unlike other peoples, did not attribute to their gods human form, did not erect either temples or altars in their honor, being content with performing religious rites on the tops of the mountains.

Next, Herodotus speaks about the life and morals of the Persians. They have an aversion to meat, a love of fruit, and a passion for wine; they show interest in foreign customs, love pleasure, value military valor, take raising children seriously, respect the right to life of everyone, even a slave; they hate lies and debts, and they despise lepers. The disease of leprosy serves as proof for them that “the unfortunate person has sinned against the Sun.”

Herodotus owns the first description of Scythia and the peoples inhabiting it that has come down to us, compiled partly from personal observations, but mainly from inquiries from knowledgeable persons among the local Greek colonists (there is no evidence that Herodotus visited the Crimean, and especially the Azov cities ). Herodotus begins his characterization of the Scythian rivers with the Istra, which “flows through all of Europe, beginning in the land of the Celts.” He considers the Ister to be the greatest river known, and always full of water, summer and winter. After the Istra, the largest river is the Borysthenes. Herodotus correctly points out that it flows from the north, but says nothing about the Dnieper rapids, therefore, does not know about them. “Near the sea, the Borysthenes is already a powerful river. Here it is joined by the Gipanis [Southern Bug], which flows into the same [Dnieper] estuary.” (The Black Sea Greeks also called Kuban hypanis.)

The forest region of Hylaea adjoined the left bank of the lower Borysthenes. Before her lived the Scythian farmers, behind her lived the Scythian nomads, who occupied the territory to the east for 10 days' journey to the Guerra (Konskaya) River. Behind it, according to Herodotus, lay the lands of the most powerful Scythian tribe - the royal ones. In the south, their territory reached the Crimea, and in the east - the Tanais (Don) River, flowing from the north “from a large lake” and flowing “into an even larger lake” Meotida (Sea of ​​Azov); Herodotus also knows the main tributary of the Don - Sirgis (Seversky Donets). The Don ended the country inhabited by the Scythians. Beyond the Don lived, according to Herodotus, the Sauromatians (Sarmatians), whose language, as has now been proven, was related to the Scythians: both belonged to the North Iranian language group. The Sarmatians occupied the steppe, starting from the mouth of the Don, towards the north.

The traveler conveys many myths about the origin of the Scythian people; in these myths, a large role is given to Hercules. He ends his description of Scythia with a story about the marriages of Scythians with warlike women from the Amazon tribe, which, in his opinion, can explain the Scythian custom that a girl cannot get married until she kills an enemy.

What Herodotus describes especially vividly is the great ingenuity of the Scythians in everything that relates to the ability to repel invasions. This ingenuity lies in the ability to retreat before attackers, in the ability to not allow oneself to be overtaken when this is undesirable, in luring the enemy deep into the vast plains until the moment when it is possible to engage him in battle. The Scythians in this tactic were greatly favored not only by the natural conditions of the country - a vast plain, densely overgrown with grass, but also by the deep rivers crossing it, which represented excellent lines of resistance. Herodotus lists these rivers and some of their tributaries from the Danube to the Don.

The Nile, with its mystery of periodic fertilizing floods, with the mystery of its unknown sources, is a miracle for a Greek who knows only his rivers, swollen after spring thunderstorms and drying up in the summer.

Herodotus undoubtedly walked around the entire western shores of the Black Sea from the mouth of the Dniester to the Bosphorus and, probably, most of the coast of the Balkan Peninsula (except the Adriatic), covering a total of about 3,000 kilometers. But it is unknown when and how he traveled. He knows the southern coast of Pashaeli (the northern shore of the Sea of ​​Marmara) quite well, and gives a correct description of the Bosphorus, the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Hellespont. He traveled around the northern and western coasts of the Aegean Sea and provided information about the Gallipoli Peninsula. To the north of it, beyond the “Black” (Saros) Gulf, lies the coast of Thrace - a “vast plain” along which the great river Gebr [Maritsa] flows.”

Herodotus circumnavigated the Chalkidiki peninsula with its three protrusions: Athos (Agion Oros), Sithonia and Kasandra. Tracing the path of the Persian fleet, he visited the gulfs of Singitikos, Kasandra and Thermaikos, into which Heidor (Helikos), Aksii (Vardar) and Aliakmon flow; at west bank The Thermaic Gulf marked three mountain ranges: Pieria, Olympus and Osa. Herodotus examined the Aegean coast south of Osa and explored Euboea - “a large rich island, no less than Cyprus.” He described the coast along the Evvoikos Strait, “where the tides ebb and flow all day long,” and climbed the Parnassus massif, “... the top (of which)... represents a convenient shelter for a large detachment...”. He walked around three gulfs of the Peloponnese and reported on its two southern ridges. But Herodotus says very little about the western coast of the Balkan Peninsula, where the Persians did not reach.

So, Herodotus gave the first cursory but correct indications that have reached us on the topography of the Peloponnese and the eastern coast of the Balkan Peninsula. He did not touch upon its internal areas: information about them, very meager, was obtained through surveys.

Herodotus' travels also covered North-East Africa: he visited Cyrene, and in 448 or 447 BC. climbed the Nile to the island of Elephantine. His description of this part of the continent - a mixture of survey information and personal impressions - is the first characteristic of the relief and hydrography of Ancient Egypt and the territories to the west of it. He correctly points out that up to 30° N. latitude. Egypt is located in a lowland rich in water. To the north, the country narrows: from the east it is limited by the “Arabian Mountains” (Herodotus’s “Arabian Mountains” is the Arabian Desert located in Africa. Along the Red Sea coast stretches the Etbay ridge, dissected into a number of peaked massifs), which “stretch continuously from north to south "for 900 kilometers, and from the west - rocky and "deeply buried mountains in shifting sand" (Herodotus here quotes Homer: the sands of the northern part of the Libyan Desert form dunes up to 300 meters high). The eastern part of Libya, inhabited by nomads, is “low and sandy” up to Lake Tritonida (Shot Jerid); the western part, occupied by farmers, is “mountainous [and] wooded” (Atlas Mountains). Using information from Egyptian priests, he gives the first description of the Sahara: south of the low-lying coast between Egypt and Gibraltar lies a hilly sandy desert.

Of all the countries he saw, Egypt, of course, most fully embodied the combination of history and geography that he wanted to see as authentic and at the same time wonderful. Herodotus seeks to unravel the double mystery of the sources and floods of the Nile. He tried to gather reliable information, but learned very little. Interpreting this news, he gives the upper Nile a latitudinal flow direction, i.e., he transfers information about the Niger River to the Nile, confident that every large river with crocodiles is the Nile. Herodotus was the first to give brief reliable information about Kush - the country of the “long-lived Ethiopians” (the ancient kingdom of Sudan).

In Egypt there are many strange and sacred animals that arouse Herodotus' curiosity. He loves writing descriptions of animals. The famous description of the crocodile: “The customs of crocodiles are as follows: this four-legged amphibian animal does not eat anything during the harshest four winter months; it lays and hatches its eggs on land, spends most of the day on land, and lives the whole night in the river, because water is warmer than in the open air during dew. This is the only animal known to us that from very small becomes very large. Indeed, the eggs of a crocodile are only slightly larger than those of a goose, a newborn is the size of an egg, and with age it increases to seventeen cubits and even larger. It has pig's eyes, large teeth and fangs corresponding to the size of the whole body. This is the only animal that does not have a tongue. The crocodile does not move its lower jaw, and of all animals it is the only one that lowers the upper jaw onto the lower one; its claws are strong, and the skin is scaly, impenetrable on the back. In the water he is blind, but in the open air he has acute vision. Since he usually lives in the water, his mouth is always full of leeches. All birds and animals avoid the crocodile; He lives in harmony with one plover, because he uses her services, namely: when a crocodile comes out of the water onto land, he opens his mouth - almost always towards the west wind, the plover enters his mouth and devours leeches. This gives the crocodile pleasure and does not harm the plover."

In exotic fauna, he is interested partly in the strangeness of the appearance and behavior of animals, but even more in the nature of the connections that have arisen between humans and animals. This relationship is much closer in Egypt than in Greece, and imposes unusual obligations on a person. Herodotus ponders the "contract" concluded by the Egyptian with the cat, the ibis and the crocodile, and his research allows him to make astonishing discoveries not about the animal, but about man.

The traveler takes extraordinary pleasure in collecting information about strange rites. His picture of Egypt, however wonderful or incomplete it may be, is nevertheless generally confirmed by modern historians, or, in any case, considered plausible by them.

Listing the peoples living in Libya, Herodotus mentions the shepherd tribes wandering along the coast of Africa, and also names the Ammonians, who live in the interior of the country, in places abounding in wild beasts. The Ammonians built the famous temple of Zeus of Ammon, the ruins of which were discovered in the northeast of the Libyan Desert, five hundred kilometers from the city of Cairo. He also describes in detail the customs and morals of the Libyans and reports what animals are found in this country: snakes of terrible size, lions, elephants, horned donkeys (probably rhinoceroses), baboon monkeys - “headless animals with eyes on their chests”, foxes , hyenas, porcupines, wild sheep, panthers, etc.

According to Herodotus, Libya is inhabited by two peoples: Libyans and Ethiopians. But did he really travel through this country? Historians doubt this. Most likely, he wrote down many of the details from the words of the Egyptians. But there is no doubt that he really sailed to the city of Tyre, in Phenicia, since here he gives quite accurate descriptions. In addition, Herodotus collected information from which he compiled a brief description of Syria and Palestine.

Returning as a young man to his homeland, Halicarnassus, the famous traveler took part in the popular movement against the tyrant Lygdamis and contributed to his overthrow. In 444 BC, Herodotus attended the Panathenaic festivals and read excerpts from the description of his travels there, causing general delight. At the end of his life, he retired to Italy, to Turium, where he died around 425 BC, leaving behind him the fame of a famous traveler and an even more famous historian.

Source."100 Great Travelers" I.A. Muromov

Herodotus (about 484–425 BC)

Herodotus is an ancient Greek historian (about 484-425 BC). In ancient times, he enjoyed enormous authority, had a reputation as the “father of history” and can truly be considered the founder of not only Greek, but also the entire European historical science.

came from the Hellenic colony of Asia Minor Halicarnassus, whose population was mixed with Ionians and Dorians. Herodotus's main work, “History,” was written in the Ionian dialect. In the early years of his biography, Herodotus fought for the freedom of his city against attempts to establish it there. For this reason, he had to leave Halicarnassus into exile. In 446, Herodotus left his homeland forever, moving first to Athens and then to the city of Thurii, founded by the Athenians in southern Italy.

Bust of Herodotus. National Museum of Rome. Beginning of the 4th century BC

The details of Herodotus' biography are known only briefly. What is clear is that he traveled more than once to distant countries and visited inner Asia and Egypt. Travel material was widely used by him to write “History”. This work of Herodotus is divided into nine books, named after the muses (see). Its first half is devoted to a description of the Persian kingdom, Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, Libya, and Scythia. In addition to information on the history of all these countries, Herodotus gives rich geographical and ethnographic pictures of them, which to this day serve as one of the most important sources of our knowledge on these issues. In the second half of his work, Herodotus talks about - about, covering the period up to 479. Both halves of Herodotus' History are united by a common task: to trace the rivalry between the barbarians and the Greeks, which ended in the victory of Hellas. The first half of the work thus serves as a kind of introductory part to the second.

A characteristic feature of Herodotus’s style is the breadth of topics and scientific coverage already mentioned above. His “History” can be considered a real encyclopedia of that era, which, in addition to the main historical bias, includes information in the field of geography, ethnic studies, natural sciences, literature, etc. The author shows extraordinary curiosity in all areas. Herodotus's style is close to colloquial speech and is very easy to read. This feature even caused Herodotus to be accused of excessive “popularization”, lack of strict scientific knowledge, and of being uncritical - and contrasted with another great Greek historian, Thucydides. But these accusations are true only to a small extent. Herodotus's passion for stories of the folk-colloquial type does not detract from either the skill or the depth of presentation. In those cases where he happens to convey unconfirmed rumors and not entirely reliable stories, he almost always stipulates this himself.

Name: Herodotus of Halicarnassus

Years of life: around 484 BC e. - around 425 BC e.

State: Ancient Greece

Field of activity: History, philosophy

Greatest Achievement: He received the nickname "Father of History". Became the author of the first surviving “history textbook” - “History”

Herodotus (484 BC - 426 BC) is the first historian in Greece and throughout the Western world. One of his works has reached us in full - “History”, a work in nine books, where Herodotus spoke in detail about the war of Greece against the all-powerful Persian Empire, which ended with the victory of the Greeks over Darius the Great and his son Xerxes. Herodotus is often driven by moral and religious feelings in his description of history, it is often interspersed with descriptive and ethnographic excursions into the customs of barbarian peoples, but already in ancient times the historian’s work was valuable for its novelty and new information. No wonder Herodotus was called the “father of history.”

Herodotus was born in Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, a small Turkish town in Asia). The date of his birth is unknown, but it is believed to be 484 BC. By this time, the Dorian colony of Halicarnassus was under Persian rule and ruled by the tyrant Lygdamis.Consequently, Greek blood flowed in their veins, and it is likely that the family belonged to the aristocracy of Halicarnassus.

When Herodotus was still a child, his family was forced to leave their homeland and move to the island of Samos, as the country began an uprising against Lygdamis, in which Panais, the uncle or cousin of the future historian, died. Here Herodotus plunges into the world of Ionian culture. According to scholars, it was on Samos that he learned the Ionian dialect, where he wrote his work. However, modern researchers have proven that this dialect was also widely used in Halicarnassus.

It is almost certain that shortly before 454 BC. e. Herodotus returned to Halicarnassus to take part in the overthrow of Lygdamis (454 BC), son of Artemisia, the representative of the tyranny in Caria, which at that time dominated the political life of the colony.

The next known date from the biography of Herodotus is the foundation in 444-443 BC. e.on the site of the destroyed Sybariscolony, which was called Furies. It is unknown whether Herodotus took part in the first expedition led by Pericles, but he received citizenship of this colony.

Some of his biographers report that in the ten years between the fall of Lygdamis and his arrival in Thurii (444-454), Herodotus was invited to several Greek cities with the offer of reciting his works. It is even said that he received ten talents for his performance in Athens, which now seems unlikely, although this legend testifies to how kindly he was received there.

One of the strongest impressions of the political and cultural life of Athens for Herodotus was the stay of Pericles in Athens. There, Herodotus may have met Protagoras, the founder of sophistry, and Sophocles, the great tragic poet, who may have influenced Herodotus' historical works. Also, even before the founding of Furius, Herodotus visited the cities and countries that he mentions in his work: we know that he spent four months in Egypt, and later went to Mesopotamia and Phenicia. Another journey brought him to the country.

All these trips were inspired by Herodotus's desire to expand his horizons and satiate his thirst for knowledge, which characterizes him as a curious, observant and always ready to listen person. And all these qualities are combined with great encyclopedic knowledge. Herodotus' pilgrimage ended in Thurii, where he lived for at least several years, although very little is known about this last stage of his life.

Aristophanes wrote a parody of the work of Herodotus, as far as is known, around 425 BC. e. The last events mentioned in Herodotus' history of Greece date back to 430 BC. e. It is believed that the historian died in Thurii between 426 and 421 BC. e.

"History" of Herodotus

The work that earned Herodotus of Halicarnassus the nickname “father of history” originally had no title and was not divided into chapters. The Alexandrian scholars divided it into nine books, each entitled with the name of one of the muses. The first five books describe the details of military affairs. The remaining four books are a description of the war, which culminates in the invasion of Greece by the Persian king Xerxes and the great Greek victories on the island of Salamis, at the city of Plataea and at Cape Mycale.

If we try to describe in a simplified way what the main theme of the “Stories” is, we can say that these are wars, as well as digressions telling about individual realities ancient world. But of course, Herodotus’s chronicle is complex, and it is difficult to clearly determine what it is about: the author pursues more than one narrative goal, uses a wide variety of moves to achieve them, the parts are very different from each other, so at first it is difficult to see the principle that unites them all.

Herodotus traveled extensively throughout the world in search of stories. It was thanks to his travels that he received so much information: in some stories he describes what he saw with his own eyes; others I heard from people I met; many of the stories are his own research, and some, as a result of his work, turned out to be opposed to oral traditions. Herodotus found archaeological remains and monuments, and resorted to the help of local priests and scientists. For example, his research into the myth of Hercules led him to a Phoenician source. Notice how Herodotus compares different elements and how he uses sources of information, even when, in his opinion, they are unreliable: “It is my duty to report everything that is said, but I am not obliged to believe it all equally” (lib. 7 , 152).

In fact, from the very beginning, Herodotus states that his task is to tell about the events and achievements of people and, more specifically, about the war between the Greeks and the barbarians. The core of the story is, of course, the story of the military encounter between East and West, but this leads Herodotus to insert numerous digressions throughout his work. This allows the reader to get closer to those strange and distant lands that are somehow connected with the Persians. Thus, his narrative is not holistic, it moves after the author's thought, often associative: various countries and regions appear at the moment when they are somehow connected with the Persians.

It should be noted that these digressions are more common in the first books of the Histories, but by the middle of the work there are much fewer of them, which indicates a confrontation between Persia and Persia. Then the story begins, much more concise and objective, with analysis and much more thorough research of the data. Thus, the work of Herodotus reveals a variety of styles, the choice of which depends on the source from which the materials are taken: to describe exotic countries, records of his travels and second-hand information, both oral and recorded, for example, by logographers - writers - are taken. prose writers. But when talking about the war, which occupies a central place in history, Herodotus turned to documents that were more accessible and reliable. Thus, Herodotus combines the skills of a great storyteller and historian, clarifying the real picture of events, making his way through the confusion of numerous sources.

Ethnographic references

This heterogeneity of materials made it possible to put forward hypotheses about the origin of the information reflected in the work: the internal and external characteristics of the studies of various peoples were devoted mainly to the Persians, and this can explain why the author initially focused on the historical and ethnographic description of the Persian Empire. But as he worked on the story, Herodotus became fascinated by the exciting events of the military conflict with Greece, which had significance for him and for his readers.

After all the passages were connected, their sequence turned out to be illogical: some fell into the right place, consistent with the chronicle of the Persian conquests (for example, the Athenians' stories about, in which there was great interest); narratives of other peoples, such as the Lydians, were moved to where they fit the theme; and the third group of stories, in the end, (for example, the case of one of the Assyrians) has nothing to do with chronology at all. Thus, the narrative was preserved as a collection of independent passages, representing logoi or introductions, which were intended to be read before an audience.

Herodotus's predecessors, called logographers, were simply interested in exploration, codifying mythical stories of divine and human origins in genealogies and chronicles, and collecting news of geographical discoveries.

Naturally, Herodotus is still very close to the style and methods of the logographers - the easy flowing narrative inherent in the Ionic dialect. In fact, he moves away from mythology, which gives him more opportunities for geographical and ethnographic descriptionsnumerous trips. First of all, he is interested in everything that seemed strange and unusual to him, and his descriptions are essentially a collection of incidents that happened directly to him, or stories about peoples and countries that he heard from other people. And because Herodotus gives detailed, concrete and picturesque examples, without emphasizing the importance of any facts, his work in places takes on the charm of a fairy tale.

Despite the archaic features of historical storytelling, Herodotus's method is critical: he knew in what sequence the events that came from Egypt occurred, or could distinguish events that he himself witnessed from those that were shared with him by someone else. . In fact, the term "history" comes from the Greek wordἱστορέω , which means “find out, explore, ask.” However, Herodotus is devoid of subjectivity (traces of even the Sophist school are found), but rarely allows himself to express his own opinion and prefers to let the reader judge for himself.

Undoubtedly, Herodotus periodically makes mistakes, quite gross and even ignorant; but repeated attempts by historians to prove his dishonesty as an author failed. This account of events is typical of the average person, who is not particularly interested in great political, social and economic phenomena. Events in the state are often described as an anecdotal situation from the biography of the ruler or other important heroes. But Herodotus, without a doubt, does not ignore the root causes of major events, they are simply relegated to the background, giving way to personal experiences. Also, the most important events, such as Plataea, are filled with details about individual adventures, heroism, advice and memorable phrases, and practically overlap the historical events themselves.

Religious and ethical basis

The roots of the philosophy of Herodotus's Histories are in the moral and religious ideas of the old Ionian world. The Persian expansion ends in disaster: he compares the Persians to gods who are jealous of prosperity and power. No force in the world, no event will save people from the envy of the gods; This is their lot, similar to those described in tragedies.

The political line is obvious in Herodotus's presentation: he condemns tyranny and unequivocally supports the ideas of freedom. It was the self-discipline of each individual person that made it possible for the Greeks to resist Eastern despotism. Of course, Herodotus is biased; he often expresses warm sympathy for the Greeks in general and the Athenians in particular; this attitude probably arose during the period when he saw Pericles in Athens. Herodotus emphasizes the ethical superiority of Greek civil liberties and the heroism displayed to perfection by its citizens. Herodotus also often admires the culture of peoples, whom he calls barbarians; among them he includes Persia, its great kings, or remarkable facts from the lives of soldiers.

Herodotus's chronicle ends with praise for the Persians, who chose to remain poor by refusing to dominate - they were satisfied with living in comfort and serving others. Herodotus praises in them the quality that heroes possess. These are details that are quite appropriate for the finale of the history of the description of the Greeks and Persians, written by a Greek. The entire work is imbued with the sympathy of Herodotus, who knew how to reach his reader.

Influence of Herodotus

Despite the enormous successes achieved by Herodotus, his work was criticized by later historians. They accused him of distorting data. One of his first critics was Thucydides, who believes that his method is ephemeral and valid only for a moment, that is, suitable only for reading and enjoyment.

In fact, the work of Herodotus became an important source for all historians of the ancient world, who gradually introduced changes in knowledge about other countries, distant and exotic. During the Hellenistic period, the work of Herodotus acquired greater relevance thanks to new readings of some of his stories that appealed to the taste of his contemporaries. The famous scientist Aristarchus reviewed the works and proved that the stories of Herodotus can be considered the starting point for the model of knowledge of the world.

The Romans also appreciated Herodotus. It was the Roman philosopher and orator who called him the “father of history.” Many Roman historians used it as a source and took quotes from stories. During the Middle Ages, a period when the Greek language gained a new status, Herodotus continued to be read, thanks to Latin historians who included some of his anecdotes in their histories. His star shone again thanks to the achievements of humanism: the first who decided to translate the work into Latin at the beginning of the 16th century (in 1520) was Aldus Manutius.