Irodotos

Greek historian (490-422 BC). Herodotus hailed from a wealthy and scholarly family and was raised in an environment that revered Homer and ancient legends. During the tyranny of Lygdamis in his hometown of Halicarnassus, Herodotus participated in a conspiracy to overthrow him, which led to his exile to Samos in 468 or 467 BC. From Samos, he returned to Halicarnassus and took part in the overthrow of Lygdamis in 455 BC, but soon after, he was again forced to leave his homeland. From then on, he began traveling as an explorer, visiting various parts of the known world at the time. These travels likely took place between 458 and 445 BC. He spent several years in Athens, where he formed friendships with prominent figures of the era, such as Pericles and Sophocles. Together with Protagoras, he founded the colony of Thurii in Italy. In this colony, established near the destroyed Sybaris, Herodotus spent most of the remaining years of his life, which is why he was also known as Thurian. He returned to Athens shortly after the construction of the Propylaea (431 BC). There is little information about the last years of his life. He likely died in Thurii around 422 BC. Herodotus wrote a world history. The Alexandrians divided it into nine books, each named after one of the nine Muses. In the first four books, he presents the formation and expansion of Persian power; in the fifth and sixth, the initial conflicts with the Greeks of mainland Greece; and in the latter part of the sixth and the entirety of the next two books, he describes the two major campaigns that culminated in the Battle of Marathon and the Battle of Salamis. Finally, in the ninth book, he refers to other Greek victories. Using as the foundation of his work, which he himself called "Histories," autopsy, research, and critique, Herodotus was the first to approach history, though he cannot be considered an objective historian. Despite this, his work as a whole is a reliable source and the only continuous and complete one we have for such a significant period in history. Cicero called him the father of history. He can also be considered the father of geography and the patriarch of all travelers.