Herodotus is sometimes called the “father of history,” because he fundamentally changed the way humanity viewed its own story. As we read Herodotus, we’ll uncover answers to the following questions:
- Why did Herodotus decide to write history? What made it different than other stories that had been written until then?
- How does Herodotus’ including the Persian perspective reflect a particularly Greek way of thinking?
- What does it mean when we say that the Greek culture is concerned with culture?
Recommended Reading: Herodotus. The Histories. Trans. Aubrey de Sélincourt. New York: Penguin Classics, 2003.
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind