The Ancients Herodotus: The Father of History
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Mar 15, 2026 
Dr. Roel Konijnendijk, a classical historian specialising in ancient Greece and the Greco-Persian Wars, discusses Herodotus as traveller, investigator, and storyteller. He explores Herodotus' methods, his wide-ranging travels, memorable digressions on Egypt and Persia, and how The Histories weaves ethnography, myth and war into a causal narrative.
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Funeral Customs Story Shows Cultural Relativism
- Roel recounts Herodotus's tale where a Persian king asked Greeks and Indians about funerary customs to show cultural relativism.
- The anecdote highlights how Herodotus used vivid stories to argue no single way of life is universally right.
Geographic Knowledge Fades Into Myth Beyond Persia
- Herodotus knew broader geography than many peers but beyond Persian contacts his reports grow increasingly fantastical.
- North of Scythia he populates maps with Amazons and cannibals, revealing limits of ancient inquiry.
Origins Framing Leads To The Persian Wars
- The Histories begin with origins: Croesus, then Persia, then later the Ionian Revolt leading to Marathon and Xerxes' invasion.
- Herodotus layers origins, ethnography and forward-looking anecdotes before his campaign narratives begin in earnest.