Preview

Herodotus And Thucydides Similarities

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
279 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Herodotus And Thucydides Similarities
Throughout the centuries, the ancient historians Herodotus and Thucydides have remained dominant figures in terms of historical writing and documentation. Both men wrote about significant wars, though they did so in very different, yet somehow similar, styles. Both authors wanted to maintain methodological order, but order was vastly misconstrued between the historians. Therefore, it is vital for researchers to compare-and-contrast the two author’s approaches to history to emulate the style of such historical figures. Historians commonly refer to Herodotus, a Greek historian, as the, “Father of History,” though there are extensive debates solely focused on whether the title belongs to Herodotus or Thucydides. Both authors recollected various events in history. However, their approaches in doing so vary greatly. Herodotus compiled his historical knowledge based on oral accounts and myths told in the many regions he visited. On the other hand, Thucydides, an Athenian historian, wrote about political and military events, as well as a close account of the war between Athens and Sparta in the late fifth century B.C. Also, Thucydides attempted to maintain a well-disciplined, methodological style, similar, in ways, to Herodotus’s writing style. …show more content…
“It was Apollo who saved him from the burning pile,” (Herodotus, 1.91). Herodotus explains that Apollo attempts to save Croesus from the of Sardis occurring during his lifetime, nevertheless the fate of Sardis’ collapse was too powerful for Apollo to persuade. As we can see throughout Herodotus’ work, oracles and legends are rather significant to Herodotus, which is why most historical predecessors dismissed Herodotus’ work as merely allegorical or

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    One of the greatest known phenomenons ever produced by greek literature, was the incorporation of the two particles men and de. These were created with the intention to indirectly designate opposites in writing, allowing the two contrasting ideas to achieve an equilibrium, uncovering the truth somewhere in the middle. At the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles delivers an oration speech in which he explains what he believes the nature of Athens to be. In the following years, Thucydides gives a report of the Plague of 430, regarding the state of Athens. With a significant comprehension of both accounts, we can generate a accurate depiction of the condition of Athens. In order to produce this understanding, I will first delve into the rhetoric of Pericles speech, then turn my attention to Thucydides account of of the plague that ravished Attica.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Many areas of the film have been completely altered, For example in Herodotus The histories there is no mention at all of Leonidas’ wife queen Gorgo. In the times of aqncient Greece women were not involved in political debates within the film Queen Gorgo argues her husband’s case to send more Spartan troops to Thermopylae while he is fighting the Persians. This would not have occurred in ancient Greece as women were not considered citizens or equals to men.(Although Spartan women were regarded more highly then other ancient Greek woman) Gorgo is the only main character who is female in the film 300 and probably has such a large role in the film to either draw a female audience to the film (as a female character they can relate to, or a drama aspect of the film they can enjoy and for men there is the appeal of sex) to make it more appealing through the use of a female main character.…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through the works of the Athenian historian, Thucydides, a myriad of information is shared pertaining to not only to his own life, but to the society and culture of Ancient Greece as well. He was born around 460-455 BC and through his life he wrote one of the most in depth recordings of the Peloponnesian War entitled, History of the Peloponnesian War. Not only did Thucydides live within the wartime period, he also fought in this war as well as a military general. The efforts that Thucydides contributed during his life, make his works, even now so important in order to understand the lifestyle and civilization of the Ancient Greeks.…

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thucydides work focused on the war and on foreign relations with society and the helot class not being central to his work. Any evidence produced by Thucydides must be read in light of the fact that he greatly admired the Spartan system of controlling and suppressing the…

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Herodotus and Cabeza de Vaca were very influential writers in their day. They could not have been more apart in years though. Herodotus was before the birth of Christ and was one of the first writers to go into detail about events that had happened in the past. He went into great detail about wars and things like that. One of his greatest works was when he went into detail about the Egyptian culture and how they lived. Cabaza was one of the first Europeans to discover America and explore there. He and his crew were shipwrecked and taken slaves by Native Americans. Luckily Cabaza and some of his crew escaped and wandered America for eight years. He finally came in contact with his Spaniards…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book Herodotus and Sima Qian (2010), Thomas R. Martin contests of the Greek Historian and the Chinese Historian Sima Qian. Martin displays that though the historians’ politics, cultures, and time periods were different, both historians had the innate desire to record their subjective view of history as objectively as possible. Though they were not the first writers of ancient Greece and China, their books and their historical innovations shaped and changed how the past was depicted from their culture and on.…

    • 1967 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Among the most renowned literary works are those of the ancient Greeks. Literary works by the ancient Greeks include historical documentation, along with tragedies based on conflicts. According to the historian Thucydides, the greatest conflict was the Peloponnesian war between the Athenians and Spartans, along with each of their allies. In the opinion of Thucydides, the Peloponnesian war was due to the growth of Athens and the fear, the growth caused in the Spartans and their allies (Thucydides, Book I, chapter I). Accounts of events by Thucydides, for Francis Cornford, are not merely historic, but rather works of art. The History of the Peloponnesian War according to Thucydides is artistic through carefully crafted speeches and captivating…

    • 1420 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In my thesis statement, I mentioned that Herodotus was famous and good about both the Greek military history and the Greek cultural history. I analyzed and interpreted what I read on the articles and books that I used while preparing the paper. So, I declared that Herodotus is valuable for both the Greek military history and the Greek cultural history. Do I have to choose only one of them to compare it with another one, and make one of them win at the end of the paper?…

    • 99 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Drews, Robert. “Review of Herodotus, Book II: Introduction by Alan Lloyd”, Classical Philology. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1978. Page 78…

    • 1895 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    By the middle of the 5th century B.C. Athens and Sparta, the two most powerful Greek city-states, found themselves on the brink of a full-scale war. According to Thucydides, at the beginning of the war both Athens and Sparta were at the pick of their might and flourishing and could trade and cooperate to each other’s benefit; instead, they got involved into an armed confrontation, in which the rest of the Greek cities participated, on one side or on the other.…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In The Trojan War: A New History, author Barry Strauss argues for the historical authenticity of the event that was immortalized in epic poetry and song from the Archaic and Classical periods of Greece, and later Rome. Strauss keeps these epic works in mind as he digs deeper in the site of what is believed to be the ruins of once was Troy, and provides a fresh outlook on the most memorable conflict of the late Bronze Age. I will analyze and critique the work of Barry Strauss on the subject of the Trojan War as presented in his book, The Trojan War: A New History. The background of the author will be explored before beginning the journey into commenting on his abilities as a writer in discussing the format of his prose, and the historical method Strauss used in his piece. This will culminate with a brief analysis on how his evidence was presented, before concluding remarks summarizing the critical view of the book.…

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus: a Tragic Hero

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Oedipus Rex, or Oedipus the King is Sophocles 's first play of "The Theban Cycle." It tells the story of a king that tries to escape his fate, but by doing so he only brings about his downfall. Oedipus is a classic example of the Aristotelian definition of a tragic hero. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as a basically good and noble person who causes his own downfall due to a flaw in his character.…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Persian and Peloponnesian wars were both significant conflicts that tested independence. Documenting these wars was obviously hard at this point of civilization, but two men did, and are now known as the great writers of their time. When analyzing the writings of Herodotus and Thucydides, the authors must be compared and contrasted. Though it is almost impossible to know the complete accuracy of their accounts, analyzing the writing style will give us a good sense of their validity.…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Chapter 1, the author assesses the unique and eternal achievements of 5th century BCE Athenian culture. She introduces several basic dichotomies that define her understanding of the writers and events of the period in the later chapters.…

    • 4035 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In ancient Greek literature, there are two types of drama’s. There was the comedic drama, and the tragic drama. The difference between these two dramas would be decided by the fate of the hero at the sisation of the play. Tragedy being the most popular, was the biggest part of Greek society. This is proven by all of the plays, stories, and works the Greeks created concerning this topic. Tragic plays were so heavily conducted that all of them began to share common traits. These similarities are present in two of the most popular Greek tragedies, Oedipus the King and Medea. Both Oedipus the King and Medea have the protagonist’s exhibit excessive stubbornness and steadfastness in their stories which ultimately leads to their downfall.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays