Herodotus Thucydides Essay Example for Free

Herodotus Thucydides EssayThe accounts of what happened in the past are known as history. state who recorded history in any way are called historian. As early as 5th millennium B. C, ancient Sumerians al evidencey recorded their history, fashioning them the earliest historians. Many great historians were produced as history was being made. But simply writing history will not produce good historians. good enough historians are not only producing pen accounts of what they believed happened just for the sake of recording something, but can also provide genuine material or protection evidences of what they claimed happened which can be inspected, tested, reviewed, or retraced by differents , can accurately record the facts without incorporating their own ideas or beliefs, can effectively transmit their recorded clears by succeeding generations, and can bring their stateer back to the past when the event actually happened (Simkin 1). The two most common ancient historians whom works are constantly being compared are Herodotus of Halicarnassus and Thucydides of Athens. Herodotus of Halicarnassus was known from his work entitled The Histories which was divided into nine volumes and was given the name of a muse- Grecian mythology Goddess- for each.In his take holds, Herodotus recorded mainly the events happened during the Persian and Greek wars and the accounts of his journey throughout the Mediterranean and Black sea including the place he reached, describing the geography, faunas, and floras, and the people he met, taking into accounts of the stories, claims, ideas and beliefs of each individual (Zarit 1). With his early scripted descriptions of history, Herodotus has been known as the Father of annals (Herodotus Compared with Thucydides 1).On the other hand, Thucydides of Athens was an Athenian military general known from his work entitled History of the Peloponnesian War which describes the battle between the Peloponnesian Alliance- led by the Spar tans- and Delian Alliance- led by the Athenians (Maxwell 1). Thucydides escaped death caused by the set upon that spread in Athens. This plague killed many famous philosophers and scholars, including the elite and common Athenians. Thucydides obtained fame and respect from his fellow Athenians with less effort since he came from an aristocrat Athenian family.He served in the military and later on became a general which gave him easy access to account accurate information (Zarit 3). Thucydides has been known as the Father of Scientific History due to the historical account method he used, and has been called the Father of the School of Political Realism due to his unbiased account of different political views in his book (Maxwell 1). Herodotus and Thucydides were both Greek historians but both wrote history on different historical perspective, analysis, and purpose as seen in the contents of their works.Herodotus wrote his book mainly for his fellow Greeks. He mean not only to inf orm but also to entertain them by infusing his literary writing capabilities. If some information he gathered was not besides appealing and would cause disinterest to his sense of hearing, Herodotus would sometimes exaggerate or use some artistic words to his work to attract the attention of the audience (Herodotus Compared with Thucydides 1). Since Greeks considered their selves indicate descendant of Gods and Goddesses, they accepted Greek God mythology as fact, believing the will of their Gods and Goddesses as valid and true.Furthermore, the Greek vaticinators was considered the link between them and their immortal Gods, whence anything that the oracle said was also considered an absolute truth (Maxwell 1).. Herodotus entangled the prophecies and advises made by the Greek oracles in his work. He explained things or events, relying to Greek God mythology as his reasons. He usually used the prophecies and advises of the oracle to predict the emergence and to explain the cons equence of a historical event. The exercise of his religion and his artistry to his works could be seen when he named his book after the nine Greek God deities (Zarit 2).Herodotus took into account all information, data, and facts available to him whether these said information, data, and facts was directly connected to his subject being discussed in his book or unnecessary information. He recorded detailed account on his subject matter, sometimes too detailed descriptions that create several degrees of sub-subjects which may live to confusion or comprehension difficulties for some readers. Furthermore, if the first hand information is not available for his access, Herodotus used plump for hand information.Even if the source of the second hand information was not certain with the details, Herodotus was obliging the source to pick the closest information he could remember. In some instances, Herodotus let his reader ingest the most likely conclusion of an event if unexpected outc ome or opposing result can occur (Herodotus Compared with Thucydides 1). The focus of Herodotus in writing his work was to find the cause that led to the Greek-Persian war. He tried to include all possible reasons including but not limited to religions, topography, culture, animals and beliefs of different places involved (Zarit 2).Herodotus The Histories can be summarize as a history book written in a literary way. Despite of biased and inaccurate accounts, readers still prefer to read Herodotus work than Thucydides because it was presented in an amusing way. Thucydides wrote his book mainly for the purpose of educating future generations. Unlike Herodotus, Thucydides accounted history using inductive approach. He deduced the outcome of a phenomenon ground on what the accessible evidences were dictating. He was unbiased when recording information, keeping out his personal ideas and beliefs to influence his work.Despite of being a military general of Athens, he still presented his works fairly, without being impartial to Athenians or Spartans point of view (Herodotus Compared with Thucydides 1). Although Thucydides was raised as Greek, nurturing strong Greek ideas, beliefs, and norms, he did not let this influence him. He tried to explain phenomenon and conclude the outcome of events using logic as reason not divine intervention which was contradictory on what Herodotus did. Thucydides written accounts were concise and direct.His descriptions on his subject were detailed and straightforward which were usually supported by several evidences he gathered including his own observations. He did not include information or description without supporting evidences to back them up. He made sure that the proof he used can be tested, viewed or examined once again by others (Maxwell 1). If proofs were not available, he preferred not to record the event. This approach of Thucydides explanation was similar to the method used now in scientific inquiries and investigations - the scientific method-, hence giving Thucydides the title Father of Scientific History.Thucydides perspective to history is mainly about politics as seen in his work the History of the Peloponnesian War. In his work, Thucydides clearly and accurately recorded facts. Thucydides described the sites where the war had taken place. He introduced the people involved in the war, their roles and goals. He accounted the outcome of several military campaigns. But most importantly, he discussed the political aspects, morals, and decisions behind each event and their corresponding consequences that led to the outcome (Zarit 3).He used these facts to combine theories why men go to war. He tried to explain the cause of war in the context of human reasons. Furthermore, he concluded that if man would prefer reasons to settle conflicts, war could be prevented. Thucydides conclusions, political perspective and analysis to history are still widely used today (Maxwell 1). Today, the robustness of h is ideas is still relevant and is still being taught. With this perspective and analysis to history, Thucydides was named Father of the School of Political Realism (Zarit 3).Herodotus and Thucydides approach in writing history were very different. Regardless of whom the audience is and what the purpose is in writing history, the historical contents should be valid, accurate, precise and true. This could be supported by evidences such as written documents, geographical validity or verbal accounts. Furthermore, the continuing relay and availability of historical facts through succeeding generations is equally important as its truthfulness, since history is written to be read by others.Since both works of Herodotus and Thucydides satisfied the successful transmission through generations, only its truthfulness could be questioned. Many evidences proved the validity of Thucydides claims. On the other hand, some claims of Herodotus were also proven valid. But in this race of who is bette r historian between the two, Thucydides of Athens gave more valid and accurate claims in his account, therefore making him the better historian.ReferencesHerodotus Compared with Thucydides. Free Essays. 21 November 2001. 23 high-flown 2008 http//essays.org. uk/classical-studies/herodotus-thucydides/2paper/. Maxwell, Michael. Herodotus Thucydides. StudentsFriends. 2001. 23 August 2008 http//www. studentsfriend. com/historians. html. Simkin, John. What makes a good historian? The Education Forum. 1 January 2005. 23 August 2008 http//educationforum. ipbhost. com/index. php? showtopic=2777. Zarit, Ben. Herodotus and Thucydides Through the Lens of Aristotle. The Perseus Project. 9 May 1995. 23 August 2008 http//www. perseus. tufts. edu/GreekScience/Students/Ben/aristotle. html.