Greek Historians

Herodotus Thucydides

 Herodotos (Ηροδοτος ):

  means "given to the hero", derived from ‘ηρως (heros) "hero, warrior" and δοτος(dotos) "given to, granted". 

- A  Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey) and lived in the fifth century BC.

- The precise dates of his birth and death are alike uncertain.

- He is thought to have resided in Athens and to have met Sophocles and then to have left for Thurii, a new colony in southern Italy sponsored by Athens.

- the writer who invented the field of study known today as `history’ (the word for history at the time, was "inquiries" ). 

Herodotus 

(485– 430 BC)

- He was a wide traveler. His longer wandering covered a large part of the Persian Empire: he went to Egypt, at least as far south as Elephantine (Aswān), and he also visited Libya, Syria, Babylonia, Susa in Elam, Lydia, and Phrygia.

- He was called “The Father of History” by the Roman writer and orator Cicero for his famous work The Histories which are now divided into 9 books. And also because his history of the Persian War was the first narrative in the form that later came out be considered written history.

- He was called “The Father of Lies” by critics who claim these `histories’ are little more than tall tales.

- Herodotus was one of the first to disregard that supernatural in his writing.

- He was the first writer who tried to write what happened in the past.

- For sure, he does get some things wrong, and he does tell a lot of fabulous stories, but 

he  often makes it clear that he is reporting on what people say about various problems. 

In fact, he is often trying to correct the misunderstandings of the common perceptions.- He seems to be constantly teasing out the relationship 

between fate and human action. - He seems to argue against notions of hubris.- He gives lots of examples that point to the instability of human 

fortune, and the necessity of cycles of rise and fall, and the looming presence of death.

- He seems to have some notion of an almost karma-like mechanism that brings consequences to the evil-doer.

Travels-   The colonies were freed from the Persianyoke, he left his home and traveled to Asia Minor, Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, the coasts of the Black Sea, Persia, and Egypt. 

- The colony of Thurii was founded by Athens on the Tarentine Gulf, and Herodotus joined it in 443 B.C.

- During the travel he collected historical, geographical, ethnological and archeological material for his History.

Fame- Herodotus’ fame has endured as the 

first constructive artist in the field of historical scholarship.

- He was the first writer to imply that the task of the historian is to reconstruct the whole past life of man.  

- The scholarship included, author of the earliest comprehensive historical work.

(Book about Herodotus)

Halicarnassus in the Persian War - Lyxes, the father of Herodotus, was 

probably from Caria, in Asia Minor. So was the female despot in Halicarnassus, Artemisia, who joined Xerxes in his expedition against Greece in the Persian Wars.

- Following victories over the Persians by the mainland Greeks, Halicarnassus rebelled against foreign rulers.

- In consequence of his part in rebellious actions, Herodotus was sent into exile to the Ionian island of Samos (home of Pythagoras), but then returned to Halicarnassus around 454 to take part in the overthrow of Artemisia’s son, Lygdamis.

(A book with information about Herodotus and the Persian War)

490 BC

Greece and the Greeks defeat the Persians–but at the cost of many lives.

Battle of Marathon- Athens asked Sparta to help, but Spartan troops would not arrive for 9 days (they were in the middle of religious festivals).

- Other city-states decided not to help Athens against the Persian Empire

- Athens, largely alone, faced the Persian attack force– Persian troops—100,000– Athenian troops—20,000

• The Athenians used a well-trained hoplite formation.

• The organized charge surprised the large but scattered (and poorly organized) Persian army 

• A double-envelopment charge routed the Persians and sent them fleeing.–Persians—6, 400 dead–Athenians—192 dead–Darius returned to Persia, dying before he could mountain another punitive attack. 

Battle of Thermopylae

300 tell the story of the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. Persians under the role of king Xerxes have already taken over

some of the Hellenic city-states, and now threaten Sparta and Athens. King Leonidas of Sparta is left with 2

options: he will either have to sacrifice himself for the well-being of Sparta or watch it burn to the ground. Choosing the former, Leonidas forms an army of 300 Spartan warriors to block the narrow passage of Thermopylae where Xerxes intends to reach Hellas. The 300 are accompanied by about 700 Thespians who protect the flanks of the passage, and combined, the forces manage to slay tens of thousands of Persians and prevent their entry into Hellas for several days. However, Ephialtas, a reject of the Spartan army gets his revenge by showing Xerxes a passage. The story depicts the epic last stand of the finest Spartan soldiers who are aware of their fate, by motivated by “honor and glory,” see the battle as their duty to protect the rest of Greece for as long as possible.

Battle of SalamisSeptember 480 BC

Salamis is an island off the coast of mainland Greece.

Battle of Salamis

At the break of day, the Persian fleet began its advance through the eastern channel. The lines formed up into columns with the Phoenicians leading. The Athenian squadron found itself facing the Phoenicians on the Persian left wing. As the Phoenicians came through the channel, which was about 4 miles (6.4kms) wide, they faced the Greek fleet which was in an 'L' formation. The Greek ships suddenly began to back water, leading the Persian fleet further into the narrowing channel 

The ships waiting in the bay ambushed the Persians driving them towards the shore of the mainland.

Herodotus wrote, "The Greek fleet worked together as a whole, while the Persians had lost formation and were no longer fighting on any plan. None the less they (the Persians) fought well that day - far better than in the actions off Euboea. Every man of them did his best for fear of Xerxes, feeling that the king's eye was on him“.

The Persian ships in the narrow channel had difficulty in turning to meet the enemy. Their speed would have been slow and in many instances they would have been broadside to the ramming Greek ships.

Herodotus recorded, The greatest destruction took place when the (Persian) ships which had been first engaged turned tail, for those astern fell afoul of them in their attempt to press forward.

By sunset the battle was over. "Amongst those killed was the son of Xerxes' brother, and many other well-known men from Persia. There were also Greek casualties, but not many; for most of the Greeks could swim (not sure what stroke that would have been, but they could dog paddle). Most of the enemies, who were unable to swim, were drowned. After the battle the Greeks towed over to Salamis all the disabled vessels which were adrift, and then prepared for a renewal of the fight, fully expecting that Xerxes would use his remaining ships to make another attack. Those Persian ships that did manage to get away limped back to Phalerum, under cover of their land army.

• Thucydides identifies himself as an Athenian, telling us that his father's name was Olorus and that he was from the Athenian deme of Halimous.

• His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC. 

• Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientific history" because of his strict standards of evidence-gathering and analysis in terms of cause and effect without reference to intervention by the gods, as outlined in his introduction to his work.

Thucydides460 - 395 BC

• Thucydides showed an interest in developing an understanding of human nature to explain behavior in such crises as plague, massacres, as in that of the Melians, and civil war.

• He survived the Plague of Athens that killed Pericles and many other Athenians.

• In 424 BC he was appointed one of the generals to command the Athenian fleet off the Thracian coast but was defeated by the Spartan general Brasidas. For this failure Thucydides was exiled for 20 years.

•  About 404 BC he was recalled from exile.

• He has also been called the father of the school of political realism, which views the relations between nations as based on might rather than right.

• His text is still studied at advanced military colleges worldwide, and the Melian dialogue remains a seminal work of international relations theory.

Thucydides believed that the Peloponnesian War represented an event of unmatched magnitude. His intention was to write an

account of the events of the late fifth century which would serve as "a possession for all time". The history

breaks off near the end of the 21st year of the war and does not elaborate on the final conflicts of the war. This facet of the work suggests that Thucydides died whilst writing his history and more so, that his death was unexpected.After his death, Thucydides' history was subdivided into eight books: its modern title is the History of the Peloponnesian War. His great contribution to history and historiography is contained in this one dense history of the 27-year war between Athens and Sparta, each with their respective allies.

An ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led

by Sparta.

(431–404 BC)

The  two  cities  were  polar  in  most cultural  respects,  but  they  cooperated  in defeating  Persia  in  the  Second  Persian War. After the war Athens got most of the credit,  intensifying  the  existing  rivalry between them. It was primarily a political conflict  about  which  city  should  be Number One in Greece.

Conflict between Athens and Sparta

Sicilian Expedition

- name of the Athenian attempt to conquer Sicily. - This was an Athenian military expedition to Sicily, which took place 

during the period from 415 BC to 413 BC (the second part of the Peloponnesian War).

- The expedition was hampered from the outset by uncertainty in its purpose and command structure—political maneuvering in Athens swelled a lightweight force of twenty ships into a massive armada, and the expedition's primary proponent, Alcibiades, was recalled from command to stand trial before the fleet even reached Sicily—but still achieved early successes. Syracuse, the most powerful state on Sicily, responded exceptionally slowly to the Athenian threat and, as a result, was almost completely invested before the arrival of a Spartan general, Gylippus, galvanized its inhabitants into action.

-  The young men were summoned to death in the name of gods, kings and country. Along with the fallen soldiers are those whose lands are destroyed, whose sons are subjected to famine, whose wives and daughters are slain. These are the innocents caught in between; the residents of random places, where the strongest states battle for power, seemingly without end.

- Ethnic alliance and wars of opportunity were not the only reasons for the Athenians to sail to Sicily. Another plan was afoot. They wanted to conquer Sicily…to use as a starting point for conquest in Italy and Carthage.

- Alcibiades was the Athenian in charge of the expedition and a crucial character from here on out in the Peloponnesian War. Unfortunately, right before the renowned general and his army headed off, some religious statues were damaged.

-  Alcibiades was accused. He tried to resolve the issue before leaving for Sicily, knowing that it could take an unfortunate turn if he was not there to defend himself.

- Unfortunately, he was commanded back for the trial promptly upon arriving on foreign coast. Fearing he would be condemned unjustly, he decided not to return to Athens. Instead Alcibiades defected and went to the Spartan side--taking with him the Athenian designs to take over Sicily.

- The Athenians just lost their main player. 

- The Athenians did not tuck in their tail and turn. 

- Nicias, their previous Athenian peacemaker, called for reinforcements. These additional 

armies arrived and vicious battles ensued. 

- the Athenians realized they had to retreat. They prepared to do so at once, but were stopped in their tracks. A bad omen, a lunar eclipse took place, and so the Athenians delayed their withdrawal. This moment’s hesitance cost them greatly. 

- The Spartans met their fleeing fleet before they could escape. A huge sea battle raged, and the Athenians were defeated once more. This time all survivors were killed or enslaved.

- The war was back on.

The battle between Sparta and Athens continues to rage…

- The war, which saw a brief 6 year peace, is now back on after Athens’ bitter defeat in Sicily. 

- The Spartans had sent aid to their allies on the island, but that did not fully satiate their desire for domination. Sparta wanted to do more, they wanted to destroy Athens.

- The Spartans still had their secret weapon, Alcibiades, the former Athenian General who was charged with religious crimes. Alcibiades, knowing Athens’ weakest points, convinced Sparta to build a fortification in Decelea, a strategic post right outside of Athens. This would prevent all overland shipment to the Athens, forcing the city to get their supplies by boat, which was much more costly

- This additional expense was then combined with the nearby disrupted silver mines and the 20,000 freed Athenian slaves, resulting in a serious economic crisis for Athens. Their treasury and 

emergency reserve fund of 1,000 talents was swiftly dwindling away. Their only remaining course of action was to 

raise taxes or tributes from their allies, which wasn’t a popular decision.- At this point, both parties pumped more troops and ships into Sicily. 

The Corinthians, the Spartans, and others in the Peloponnesian League all sent reinforcements to Syracuse.

- The Athenians brought their own additional men, around 5,000 troops and another hundred ships but it didn’t do the Athenians any good.

- The Spartan hero, Gylippus, won all the land wars in Sicily and smartly advised the Syracusans to build a navy, in case the Athenians wanted to escape. Sure enough the Athenians tried and were defeated. Eventually the entire Athenian fleet was destroyed and virtually the whole army sold into slavery.

- Clearly the Athenians had overestimated their own abilities and were now about to face the truth of their limits.- Athens didn’t die. Even though her allies 

revolted against her, the treasuries were empty, and the Syracuences were on the offense with a ship to attack, aided by 

support in Persia… Athens still had a few things working on her side.- Alcibiades who was condemned as traitor, was still influential in 

Athens. He wanted to restore democracy in a diplomatic manner. So he managed to persuade the renegade ships to not attack Athens, but instead turn their weapons on the Spartans in the battle of Cyzicus.

- Finally the Athenians had a turning point, they obliterated the Spartan fleet. This helped to re-establish the financial basis of the Athenian Empire.

- Between 410 and 406 BC, Athens managed to actually win battles, recover territory and resurrect their fiscal stability. Almost all thanks to Alcibiades. This happy Athenian moment did not last long.

- The Athenian fleet had no choice but to engage in battle and they were crushed.Eventually, after facing starvation and disease from the never ending siege, Athens 

surrendered in 404 BC. The defeat was immense. The city was stripped of its walls, its fleet, and all of its overseas possessions. In addition to this, Corinth and Thebes required retribution, demanding that the city be destroyed and all the people enslaved.

- Sparta, Athens’ arch-enemy, then did something very remarkable. Instead of continuing with their warlike ways, Sparta announced their refusal to destroy a city that had previously done so much good. They would take Athens into their own system and ultimately save it from the other city-states, revealing the clemency of the Spartans once and for all.

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