Herodotus the Historian

Herodotus: Histories: Book 7

In this course, Dr Emma Aston (University of Reading) explores Book 7 of Herodotus’ Histories. We begin by thinking about Herodotus as a historian, the aims in his ‘Histories’, and the extent to which the ‘Histories’ represents both a continuation of and a break from the traditions of Greek historiography (and mythography). After that, we provide a broad overview of the Persian Wars (490-479 BC), before turning in the third module to the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC). In the fourth module, we explore the theme of Greek unity in the face of the Persian threat – why did some Greek states choose to side with the Persians? – before moving on in the fifth module to consider Herodotus’ characterisation of Greeks and Persians in his Histories and how they are differentiated.

Herodotus the Historian

In this module, we think about Herodotus as a historian, focusing in particular on who Herodotus was, his aims in writing his Histories, and the extent to which the Histories represents both a continuation of and a break from the traditions of Greek historiography (and mythography).