Emily Baragwanath Pořadí knih (chronologicky)

Herodotus, often called the "Father of History," is known for blending mythological elements with historical narratives, which has led to criticism of his reliability as a historian. His work faced skepticism from later generations, including notable figures like Plutarch, who accused him of fabricating stories. This skepticism continued into the twentieth century, where scholars struggled to reconcile Herodotus' intent to depict history "as it really happened" with his narrative choices. This volume compiles 13 innovative essays by experts in ancient Greek literature and history, aiming to reassess the mythological components of Herodotus' Histories. The essays illuminate his narrative skills, highlight his adaptability, and show his engagement with the intellectual currents of his time. The Herodotus that emerges is a formidable figure, adeptly managing a wealth of material and navigating the challenges of organization and presentation, akin to battling the many heads of a Hydra. Ultimately, the volume argues that the mythic elements in his work are not separate from its historical aspects but are essential to his historical narrative.

In his extraordinary story of the defence of Greece against the Persian invasions of 490-480 BC Herodotus sought to communicate not only what happened, but also the background of thoughts and perceptions that shaped those events and became critical to their interpretation afterwards. Much as the contemporary sophists strove to discover truth about the invisible, Herodotus was acutely concerned to uncover hidden human motivations, whose depiction was vital to his project of recounting and explaining the past. Emily Baragwanath explores the sophisticated narrative techniques with which Herodotus represented this most elusive variety of historical knowledge. Thus he was able to tell a lucid story of the past while nonetheless exposing the methodological and epistemological challenges it presented. Baragwanath illustrates and analyses a range of these techniques over the course of a wide selection of Herodotus' most intriguing narratives - from those on Athenian democracy and tyrannyto Leonidas and Thermopylae - and thus supplies a method for reading the Histories more generally.