Tina Petty, age 16, of Dodge City, Kan., for her question:
WHO WAS HERODOTUS?
Herodotus was a Greek historian who lived from about 484 B.C. until 425 B.C. He is know as the father of history.
Born in Halicarnassus, which is now Bodrum, Turkey, Herodotus traveled through Asia Minor, Babylonia, Egypt and Greece. The direction and extent of his travels are not precisely known, but they provided him with valuable firsthand knowledge of virtually the entire ancient Middle East.
About 447 B.C. Herodotus went to Athens, then the center of culture in the Greek world, where he won the admiration of the most illustrious men of Greece, including the great Athenian statesman Pericles
In 443 B.C. Herodotus settled in the Panhellenic colony of ;hurii in southern Italy. He devoted the remainder of his life to the completion of his great work, entitled "History," the Greek word for "inquiry."
The "History" has been divided by later authors into nine parts. The earlier books deal with the customs, legends, history and traditions of the peoples of the ancient world, including the Lydians, Persians, Assyrians and Egyptians. The last three books describe the armed conflicts between Greece and Persia in the early 5 century B.C.
"History " is the first known creative work to be written in prose. Both ancient and modern critics have paid tribute to its grandeur of design and its frank, lucid and delightfully anecdotal style. Herodotus demonstrates a wide knowledge of Greek literature and contemporary rational thought.
In "History," the development of civilization moves inexorably toward a great confrontation between Persia and Greece, which are presented as the centers, respectively, of Eastern and Western culture.
Herodotus' information was derived in part from the work of predecessors, but it was widely supplemented with knowledge that he had gained from his own extensive travels.
Although he was sometimes inaccurate, Herodotus was generally careful to separate plausible reports from implausible ones.
In "History" Herodotus demonstrates a wide knowledge of Greek experiences. The universe, he believed, is ruled by Fate and Chance, and nothing is stable in human affairs. Moral choice is important, however, since the gods punish the arrogant. This attempt to draw moral lessons from the study of great events formed the basis of the Greek and Roman historiographical tradition, of which Herodotus is rightly regarded as the founder.
Herodotus wrote about the Persian postal system of 500 B.C. in these words: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." This quotation is inscribed on the front of the General Post Office in New York City.