Herodotus completes the Histories, founding the writing of history
- Date
- c. 430–425 BCE
- Category
- Culture, arts & philosophy
- Region
- Greece (Halicarnassus / Athens)
- Era
- Classical Antiquity
- Significance
Herodotus completes the Histories, founding the writing of history (c. 430–425 BCE) was a landmark culture, arts & philosophy development in Greece (Halicarnassus / Athens).
Toward the end of his life, around 430–425 BCE, Herodotus of Halicarnassus completed the Histories, the first large-scale narrative history in the Western tradition and the reason Cicero later called him the 'Father of History.' Ostensibly an account of the Greco-Persian Wars, the work ranges across the customs, geography and traditions of Egypt, Persia, Scythia and many other peoples, weaving together inquiry (historie), travel reporting and storytelling. Herodotus explicitly set out to preserve the memory of great deeds and to explain the causes of the conflict between Greeks and barbarians, framing history as a subject of systematic investigation rather than myth or epic. Though later critics faulted his credulity, his ethnographic curiosity and narrative scope were unprecedented, and his work established history as a literary and intellectual genre. Alongside Thucydides, who soon adopted a more austere and analytical method, Herodotus inaugurated the discipline of history, shaping how subsequent civilisations recorded and interpreted their own pasts.
One piece of history in your inbox, weekly
New empires, events and features as they land — one good email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Empires active in c. 430–425 BCE
- Achaemenid Empire550 BCE – 330 BCE
- Roman Republic509 BCE – 27 BCE
- Carthaginian Empire650 BCE – 146 BCE
- Kingdom of Kush1070 BCE – 350 CE
- Scythians800 BCE – 300 BCE
- Odrysian Kingdom480 BCE – 46 CE
Related culture, arts & philosophy events
- Panini composes the Ashtadhyayi, the first systematic grammarc. 400 BCE
- Life and teaching of Confucius in China551–479 BCE
- Construction of the Parthenon in Periclean Athens447–432 BCE
- Trial and execution of Socrates399 BCE
- Plato founds the Academy at Athensc. 387 BCE
- Nok Terracotta Sculpture Tradition Flourishesc. 500 BCE
Further reading
The wider story
The Story of Art
The best-selling art history ever written, from cave paintings to the modern age.
Get it on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.