Herodotus: The Introduction to Keeping the Past Alive Herodotus, the writer of Greek history, otherwise known as “The Father of History” directly apprises about the Athenian and Persian expedition during the Persian Wars. Although Herodotus provides useful information, we find that he is frequently too credulous of what he is told, thus damaging his credibility for being considered a “good” historian. Nonetheless, there are times in which Herodotus distinguishes between the things he himself witnessed, and those of which he had only heard. Despite the fact that we are unable to verify how much of Herodotus’ History really is history, Herodotus presents his accounts in an entertaining manner. I personally found his stories to be rich in content, as he provides…show more content… There were different explanations as to why Cleomenes did this and Herodotus makes sure to address them all. He states, “most Greeks say this was because he corrupted the Pythia to say what she did about Demaratus. The Athenians are the only people to say that it was because when he invaded Eleusis he ravaged the precinct of the goddesses; the Argives say it was because he gathered those of the Argives out of their own sanctuary of Argus…” (Herodotus, 438). Herodotus does not know the reason behind Cleomenes’ madness, however, he provides his audience with different accounts from the Athenians and the Agives.
Throughout both books (Six and Seven), Herodotus frequently informed us when he did not know why some things happened. Although he believed in the accuracy of many others’ accounts, Herodotus never tries to provide an explanation for something he doesn’t have the answer to. We see this happen in Book Six, when the Phoenicians and the Ionians sailed their ships in column. Once mentioning this, Herodotus says, “What happened after that I cannot say with real exactitude…” (Herodotus,