Herodotus' role in Greece

Herodotus was a Greek historian in the 5th century B.C. He was actually the world's first historian and because of this, the people of his time would call him the "Father of History." Herodotus was born in Halicarnassus, in Caria, around 484 B.C. Herodotus' fathers name was Lyxes, and his mothers name was Rhaeo, or often called Dryo.

Herodotus was no doubt Greek, so when he was growing up, the three things he studied the most were grammar, gymnastic training, and music. He studied these things until he was about 18 years old. After this, in a free Greek state, he would have began to start his normal adult duties, but since he was living in a Greek state ruled by a tyrant, he was taught to have no political interest at all in anything, so he basically started to study history and philosophy.

In Herodotus' life, he travelled very much. Herodotus may have travelled over 50 times, but nobody really knows about Herodotus' life other than what was in his writings. Herodotus wrote a vrey popular epic called Histories. Herodotus is said to have used mythical characters in his stories and to exaggerate his travelling experiences. (source)

Historians are not really sure whether Herodotus died 430 and 424 or even if he died at a later date. But if he did die between 430 and 424, then there might be a possibility that he had died during the Peloponnesian War. Herodotus was a very important man because he was the first historian who actually wanted to learn what had happened before him because he wanted the people of his time and people to come to know what important events had happened and how people today can learn from their past. (source)



BOOKS
online book 1

O. J. ToddThe Classical Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Jan., 1922), pp. 35-36+50 online book 2