Herodotus biography summary page

World History Edu presents a comprehensive introduction to the life, contributions and major accomplishments of Herodotus, the revered 5th-century BC Greek geographer, philosopher, and most importantly, historian. We also dive into the major philosophical themes that underpinned his most notable work, The Histories. He had a brother called Theodorus.

Herodotus was well-educated, learning how to read and write Ionian Greek at a very young age. He was also very well-read, which in turn augured well for him when he took to writing. He would feed this curiosity by embarking on a number of journeys within ancient Greece and abroad. He must have hailed from a wealthy home with a lot of important connections.

Otherwise how else could he have funded those journeys of his? Herodotus invested his time and resources traveling wide and far, especially around eastern Mediterranean. From his birthplace Halicarnassus he travelled eastward towards Persia. He would also visit Egypt and Scythia.

Why herodotus is called father of history

The sheer number of stories he told about many places along the Mediterranean also implies that he did not stay too long in one place. This enabled him acquire a great deal of information about different cultures. Herodotus had a knack of getting some of the most interesting stories in the region. At times, he was not particularly keen on making sure that the stories he heard were factual or not, as that would have involved a tremendous amount of time.

And because he was always on the move, time to him was a very scarce commodity. This is one of the reasons why the scholars and historians that came after him had serious doubts about his stories.