history of the persian wars by herodotus

Halicarnassus was a Dorian town with substantial intermarriage among its Greek, Carian, and Persian populations.If the later ancient reports that have come down to us are correct, his family was exiled during the troubled years after the Persian Wars, and as a very young man Herodotus may have lived on the island of Samos. He was born in Halicarnassus (the modern Turkish city of Bodrum), about the time of the Persian Wars. Waterfield comments on Herodotus' early life: It is thought he served in the army as a hoplite in that his descriptions of battle are quite precise and always told from the point of view of a foot soldier. His ability to travel, seemingly at will, also argues for a man of some means. He wrote in Ionian Greek and was clearly well read. His skill in writing is thought to be evidence of a thorough course in the best schools of his day. While little is known of the details of his life, it seems certain that he came from a wealthy, aristocratic family in Asia Minor who could afford to pay for his education. O.Mustafin (Public Domain) Early Life & Travels

Scholar Robin Waterfield sums up the best answer regarding Herodotus' reliability: Even so, there is much in his Babylonian narrative that is accurate and this same applies to the rest of his work. Modern-day scholarship has proven Herodotus wrong on a number of points regarding Babylon, notably his claim regarding sacred prostitution (I.199) and the absence of medical professionals in the city (I.197). He never claims to have done so but his description is so vivid and his use of phrases such as 'still standing in my day' (I.181 in referring to the ziggurat of Babylon) have encouraged the understanding that his is an eye-witness account. This is especially notable in his description of Babylon which, it seems, he never visited. In the interests of telling a good story, Herodotus sometimes indulged in speculation and, at other times, repeated stories he had heard as though they were his own experiences. This same scenario could apply to other observations and claims found in Herodotus' histories though, certainly, not all. Peissel also explains that the Persian word for mountain ant was very close to their word for marmot and so it was established that Herodotus was not making up his giant ants but, since he did not speak Persian and had to rely on translators, was the victim of a misunderstanding in translation. Herodotus moves fluidly through his work from culture to culture & is always most interested in telling a good story.

History of the persian wars by herodotus