"history" Herodotus - the famous Greek scientist and traveler - is considered to be the world's first scientific historical work.By bringing in their trips extensive material origin, geography, mythology and everyday life and customs of the various peoples, he wrote a fundamental work, which to this day is one of the main sources of the history of the ancient world.The validity of many information given by the Greek author on the nine-page work, has been repeatedly confirmed by archaeologists, ethnographers and geographers of later generations.
Predecessors Herodotus: logographs
believed that the emergence of history as a science happened in ancient society.Before that, people also tried various ways to describe the events that took place earlier (example is a series of books of the Bible, various annals and chronicles).These works, preceded by a scientific historical work, called "historiography."
Long before it was written "history" Herodotus, the ancient Greek historical prose was represented by the works of logograph - authors, combines the presentation of real events from myths, legends and geographical description of the place to which it was conducted.First logograph assumed Cadmus of Miletus, who lived in the VI century BC.Today's science also knows the names of Hecataeus of Miletus, Akusilaya Argos, Charon of Lampsacus, Xanthus of Lydia.
works of these authors was peculiar art form.Although they were written in prose, they retain many imitations of Greek poetic speech.Sources for logograph were epic tales and poetry, local chronicles and annals, their own observations and stories of travelers, merchants, sailors, visited distant wanderings.Chronological build relied on logographs were very inaccurate, but they were the first to be used in the description of historical events lists of kings and officials, we introduced the concept of "age", equal to a hundred years or three "generations".Paying great attention to myths and genealogies, they are treated as a rich historical material, greatly deepened in various ethnological and geographical aspects.However, the main thing for them was still not find the historical truth, and the art of verbal expression, so the works logograph still considered non-scientific, and narrative fiction.
Herodotus: biography
first work, which is considered to be historical, created a Greek scientist and philosopher Herodotus.History has not so much information about the biography of this great man.
period of his life is considered to be 484 (5) - 425 years BC.He was born in the Dorian city of Halicarnassus (in the west of Asia Minor) in rich and noble family.In his youth, he participated in the political struggle against the aristocracy of the ruler-tyrant, did not succeed in this, and along with many others had to go into exile.
beginning Herodotus settled on the island of Samos - one of the most influential and richest of the Ionian islands, controlling the entire western part of the Mediterranean Sea.Smart and educated young man soon learned the history, language, political system of the land and could well stay on Samos to live - but he chose to go to travel further.
Travel Herodotus
plans to write a history of Herodotus was the Greco-Persian wars.He wanted to unlock the secrets of the Persian army forces - to understand how this multinational and multi-lingual host could communicate so successfully.Wanting to tell what you do not know and were not told what other scientists, he spent a lot of time traveling - watching, thinking, describing, communicating with people.
First he went to Cyprus and to Tyre, where he talked with the priests, and then visited the south - in the Gaza Strip, from which went to Egypt.Going down the Nile to Siena, he went to the Red Sea, to see, hear, and see with your eyes as much as possible about the world - because this is what Herodotus sought.
history continued his travels in the East: a scientist has overcome a great distance from Libya to Assyria, Babylon and Ecbatana.After that, he returned to Asia Minor, then right at the Hellespont, and the land of the Northern Black Sea coast, which proceeded up to the Olbia - colony Miletus.Herodotus visited Greek cities in the Balkans.His wanderings he confirmed the names of the people I saw in those places.In 444 BC, he went to the Olympic Games in Athens, where he publicly read their works.For this he received from the Greeks a great reward for those times - ten talents (about three hundred kilograms of gold).
After this event, he took an active part in the founding Greek colonies in Furiyah.Impressed by the culture of the people, he became an ardent supporter of the State, received citizenship and continued to live in the colony.It was Furiyah somewhere between 430-425 years BC, and died, leaving only but the greatest work is the first scientist-historian known to mankind - Herodotus.
"history": a summary of the results of its
Scientists' works combined into a single three-dimensional work, written in lively, colorful language, confirming the outstanding level of skill of the author in the genre of narrative art.Time to create works of researchers found only approximately, between the years 427-421 BC.
"history" Herodotus in the form which we know it today, is composed of nine books and (formally) a single administration.Each book is titled after one of the Greek muses.Separation of text books happened later as a result of processing of the product grammars Alexandria.The introduction contains information about the name of the author of the work and reveals the main purpose of his work.
Writer Herodotus tells of the Greco-Persian wars and customs of ancient peoples.It contains a lot of information about the history of ancient (Lydia, Mussels, Egypt, Persia, Scythia), their relationship with the Greeks and with each other.Combining the description of events with their thoughts on the above, the "father of history" Herodotus first reacted critically to the sources relied on in the writing of his work, as well as systematized facts.To describe the vast geographical and anthropological asides he first used the observations made by him.
"history" Herodotus: the value
Herodotus called ambiguous attitude of those who walked in his footsteps, continuing to develop the science of history.Some called the great author of the "father of history", while others accused him of lying, finding the errors and misinterpreted events.
However, many scientific studies conducted a century later, and - above all - the archaeological discoveries have shown that the majority judgment of Herodotus described in his "History", proved to be correct.Today, his work is of great value not only historical, but also in the artistic, cultural, literary sense, Herodotus makes one of the most interesting writers of antiquity.
