When was Herodotus born and where was he born?
Herodotus was born around 485 BC in the Dorian city of Halicarnassus, now Bodrum, Turkey. He lived under Persian rule as a subject of the Achaemenid Empire.
Common questions about Herodotus
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What did Herodotus write and when did he die?
Herodotus wrote the Histories, which is the earliest Greek prose to have survived intact. He is generally assumed to have died not long after 430 BC, possibly before his sixtieth year.
Why was Herodotus called the Father of Lies?
Herodotus was called the Father of Lies because his contemporaries like Thucydides accused him of including legends and fanciful accounts for entertainment. Critics found reason to scoff at his achievement due to the many strange stories and folk-tales he reported.
Where did Herodotus travel and when did he visit Egypt?
Herodotus traveled extensively, visiting Egypt in association with Athenians, probably sometime after 454 BC, and then Tyre and down the Euphrates to Babylon. He also migrated to Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy, around 443 BC or shortly afterwards.
How did Herodotus publish his work and what happened at the Olympic Games?
Herodotus made his researches known to the larger world through oral recitations to a public crowd at popular festivals. According to Lucian, he read the entire Histories to the assembled spectators at the Olympic Games in one sitting, receiving rapturous applause at the end of it.
Who were Herodotus's family members and what was his relationship with Thucydides?
Herodotus's father was named Lyxes and his mother Dryo, and he was the brother of Theodorus. Thucydides and Herodotus became close enough for both to be interred in Thucydides's tomb in Athens, such at least was the opinion of Marcellinus in his Life of Thucydides.