The “Father of History” Cited a Lot of Mythology as if it Was Fact
Ancient Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnasus (circa 484 – circa 425 BC) is often referred to as “The Father of History”, because he wrote the earliest known great historical narrative of the ancient world. He travelled widely, or at least claimed to have done so – some major errors in his descriptions of places he supposedly visited have cast some claims in doubt. Herodotus collected the stories he gathered from his own travels, or from the hearsay of other travelers, into The Histories, a record of ancient politics, geography, and cultures.
The Histories is considered to be Western literature’s first work of history. However, “The Father of History” is also known to critics as “The Father of Lies”. His writings included not only some wrong details, but also some ridiculous whoppers. Not only modern scholars, but even some of Herodotus’ contemporaries, scoffed at his claims. Today, many question whether Herodotus had ever traveled beyond Greece. Instead, it is quite possible that he had simply penned The Histories from collections of mythology and stories from people he encountered at home.