HERODOTUS (Greek, c. 484-425 BCE)
An ancient Greek historian and geographer from Halicarnassus, at the time part of the Persian Empire (and now in Turkey). He wrote the Histories, a word that originally meant "investigations," and which earned him the title "The Father of History." Like any work of history, the book covers the lives of famous kings, battles, etc., but also explores cultural background beyond the scope of "mere" history: myths, legends, customs, and sometimes just gossip (which earned him another nickname, "The Father of Lies"). His slightly-younger contemporary, the historian Thucydides, accused him of making up stories for their sheer entertainment value. Herodotus responded that he was simply relaying what he "saw and [what was] told to him." Considerable parts of the Histories have been confirmed by modern scholarship.
Please leave a comment - I can't WAIT to hear from you!