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Who were H's sources? Is there any way to find out or is it just one of those “take the best educated guess” situations? In Book II about Egypt he is always referring to his anonymous sources. A few times he does mention the names of same (mainly when he argues against them), but other than that, it's not known.There was a thread at AMU asking if there was anything left to write about history and some were even saying there isn't and everything had been written about. No way! If one thinks we know everything and have written about everything possible with Ancient Greek history, there is still plenty more!! Even just focusing on the battle part of the Battle of Marathon and nothing else can take the researcher all over the place.When you write papers do you find yourself easily distracted by exciting things you've found in your research?
LOL, let me take it one at a time.
Who were H's sources? Is there any way to find out or is it just one of those "take the best educated guess" situations? In Book II about Egypt he is always referring to his anonymous sources. A few times he does mention the names of same (mainly when he argues against them), but other than that, it's not known.
It was my understanding that he traveled from place to place and asked questions of inhabitants of different places and wrote down their stories. I think this is why he uses phrases like "People say..." rather than stating something as fact. I could be wrong on all this, though.
There was a thread at AMU asking if there was anything left to write about history and some were even saying there isn't and everything had been written about. No way! If one thinks we know everything and have written about everything possible with Ancient Greek history, there is still plenty more!! Even just focusing on the battle part of the Battle of Marathon and nothing else can take the researcher all over the place.
If there isn't anything else to write about then there will be no more Phds awarded in the field that has already been researched to death. But really, of course there is always more to write about. Sometimes all it takes is a different approach to the matter to see new meaning in historical circumstances.
When you write papers do you find yourself easily distracted by exciting things you've found in your research?
Ha, yes I do. That's one of the joys of studying history, but a time waster as well. It happens to me frequently.
It seems a lot of stuff comes from his own conclusions. or is it his own opinions??He did have a sense of humor though. He critisized the Ionians with something like "don't they know how to count?" when he was speaking of the calendar.(but I'm sidetracked. Supposed to be reading him for Marathon, not Egypt 🙂 )
I think it was Herodotus who was known for turning history into a narrative; that is, the account of the past was filtered through him or through those he wanted it filtered through. I can't recall all the issues involved but there are some basic, broad, and important issues in terms of how we know and teach history that arise from Herodotus.
