Herodotus
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Herodotus of Helicarnassus was an Ancient Greek historian who lived between 484 BC and 425 BC. He was probably born to a rich family in Halicarnassus, a town in south-west Asia Minor (which is now Bodrum, Turkey).
Herodotus is considered by many to be the "Father of History" for his writings about the ancient empires of Babylon, Egypt, and Persia, and about the Ancient Greeks.
During his life, Herodotus probably told his stories in front of large numbers of people in Greek cities. He may have been paid money for this. He is now most famous for his writings about the wars between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states. He told the story from the Greek side, although the war was mostly finished when he was still a child.
In his books, Herodotus tells us that he travelled a lot. He says that he went to what is now Italy, the Ukraine, Egypt, and Sicily. He may also have travelled to Babylon. He often used stories from people he met to write about other places and happenings.
Some people think that Herodotus wrote about things that were not true. This is possible, but it is also possible that he thought these things were true. It may also be that he thought that these stories were interesting. His work is important because he lived so long ago and there is very little writing on these subjects from this time.
