Herodotus is believed to have been born in Halicarnassus (today's Bodrum in Turkey), a city under Persian rule at the time. The year of his death can only be estimated from the last event mentioned in his writings, which occurred in 430 BC.Greek writer and first historian of the European tradition; b. c. 484 BC (Halicarnassus, Asia Minor), d. 430/420 BC
Herodotus is believed to have been born in Halicarnassus (today's Bodrum in Turkey), a city under Persian rule at the time. The year of his death can only be estimated from the last event mentioned in his writings, which occurred in 430 BC.
Herodotus travelled far and wide through all major empires of the Mediterranean region: He visited Egypt and sailed up the Nile River to reach Elephantine (today's Assuan); he visited Libya, Syria, Babylonia, Elam, Thrace and Macedonia and explored regions along the Danube and the Black Sea.
His major work, and the basis for his lasting fame, is his History, a description of the years before the wars between Greece and Persia and the wars themselves (499 - 479 BC). Although his writing thus covers only a short period in the history of Greek civilization, his account of the history of the wars is the first example of historical writing in the Western World. Before Herodotus the idea of recording history was not widespread and not attempted in a systematic manner.
The structure of Historyis influenced by the fact that Herodotus wrote for a Greek audience. A knowledge of Greek geography, customs and society is thus taken for granted, and emphasis is laid on placing events into historical context and showing the roots from where developments grew. Herodotus achieves this through digressions from the main narrative wherever the main story line requires a deepening of insight.
Herodotus' narrative style, his inclusion of amusing stories, dialogue and speeches made by important personalities, served as a model for historical writing throughout the Mediterranean world and beyond.
Herodotus was not the first "travel writer" and not the first to record historical events, but he was the first to attempt an unbiased record. Earlier travel writers were content with describing foreign countries and their customs without enquiring much about their roots. Earlier history writers worked mainly to praise individual rulers regardless of their true qualities. Herodotus used his own observations to abstain from downgrading "barbarians". Despite its inevitable inaccuracies and some avoidable fantasies, History is a masterpiece of literature just as much as it is the beginning of Western historiography.