Civilization / Humanities & Culture

History Writing (Herodotus)

Herodotus' Histories (about 430 BC) are the first large work to investigate the past by asking witnesses and comparing accounts.

Herodotus called his work an 'inquiry' (historia); Thucydides then wrote contemporary history with stricter standards of evidence, and Sima Qian did the same in China around 100 BC. History as a discipline begins with the idea that the past can be examined, not only celebrated.