The Ancient Greek Historians

This survey of more recent work on Herodotus, Thucydides and Polybius synthesises some of the most important research from the last few decades.

From the leading scholars behind The Greek Plays, a collection of the best translations of the foremost Greek historians, presenting a sweeping history of ancient Greece as recorded by its first chroniclers “Just the thing to remind us that human history, though lamentably a work in progress, is always something we can understand better.”—Sarah Ruden, translator of The Gospels and author of The Face of Water The historians of ancient Greece were pioneers of a new literary craft; their work stands among the world’s most enduring and important legacies and forms the foundation of a major modern discipline. This highly readable edition includes new and newly revised translations of selections from Herodotus—often called the “father of history”—Thucydides, Xenophon, and Plutarch, the four greatest Greek innovators of historical narrative. Here the reader will find their most important, and most widely taught, passages collected in a single volume. The excerpts chart the landmark events of ancient Greece and provide a comprehensive account of the entire classical Greek age. From the start the Greek historians demonstrated how broad and varied historical writing could be and brought their craft beyond a mere chronicle of past events. This volume explores each author’s interest in religion, leadership, character, and the lessons of war. How, for instance, should readers interpret Herodotus’ inclusion of speeches and dialogues, dreams, and oracles as part of the “factual” record? What did Thucydides understand about human nature that (as he said) stays constant throughout time? How did Plutarch frame historical biography as a means of depicting the moral qualities of great men? Complete with introductions to the works of each historian, footnotes providing context and explaining obscurities, maps, and an appendix on the Greek conduct of war, this volume is an invaluable resource for students and passionate readers of history alike.

Professor Bury covers the entire range of Greek historical writing form from its inception in the pseudo-historical aspects of the epics to the influence of Greek thought on Roman historiography. He shows how the idea of history became separated from the concept of recording and inventing mythologies, the introduction of a rationalistic view of history, the concept of political analysis, the influence of rhetoric on historical methodology, the effects of philosophy and the rise of antiquarianism on history, and dozens of similarly important topics. - back of book.

Collects the notable writings of the Greek historians. Includes an introduction by the editor.

Learn about the life of this famous early historian.

Grant offers a study of the primary historians of Greece and Rome, discussing the works and methods of the founders of the historical discipline. These philosophers studied history as a moral discipline that bears meaningfully not only on the past but on future human conduct.

The Greeks invented history as a literary genre in the fifth century B.C. The first historians owed much to Homer and adopted his vivid and direct style in narrating historical events. Yet, despite the influence of Homer the birth of history was basically a reaction against mythical accounts of the past. Homer wrote about war and travel in foreign lands, in the distant and mythical past. In contrast, the Greek historians of the fifth century wrote about contemporary or very recent events, where eye witnesses could be interviewed and facts checked. The Greek Historians follows the development of history from Herodotus, via Thucydides, Xenophon and Polybius, until the Hellenistic age. It introduces the individual writers and their topics, yet it also outlines their attitudes to historiography and their criticisms of each other. Such themes as the uses and value of truth and causation are traced, as well as the growing constraints on free speech under Hellenistic monarchs and the Romans. Written in an accessible and captivating manner, with suggestions for further reading, this book serves as a lucid introduction to Greek historians and writing of history.