Herodotus Facts And Summary

Herodotus shows himself as a dedicated and meticulous historian throughout this entire book. His respect to detail is what sets this aspect of himself apart from that of the political theorist, anthropologist, or spinner of tales. He provides such in-depth characteristics and features of these recounts of history that it seems as if he was standing there taking notes as it transpired. This attention to detail is thoroughly described in the recounting of Croesus’ gathering of gifts to give to the newly verified oracle of Delphi. (Book One; pg. 21-22). After Croesus finished sacrificing animals and burning down pyres on behalf of this oracle, he melts down copious amounts of gold and fashions them into ingots. Herodotus’ fixation on details shows at this point when he goes on to tell of the dimensions of each ingot, the material that makes up each ingot, and the weight of each ingot. Herodotus then goes on to describe a golden lion statue that Croesus commissioned the forging of and its corresponding weight. Finer details are brought to light when the historian describes a brief history of the statue while in Delphi, of how it lost three and half talents of weight when the Delphi temple burned down, and its current location in the Corinthian treasury. To top it off, Herodotus continues to describe even more miniscule details of all the …show more content…
A better appreciation for his work as a historian is made because of his dedication to providing every possible detail that he could accurately verify. Many hours of work and research had to be put in to paint the clear picture in the that Herodotus does. By putting in all of that time to find every aspect of every story, Herodotus has made sure that his recounts are in their most accurate form. His dedication to his craft through the medium of details and the resulting effects of that dedication is what distinguishes Herodotus’ role as a historian as the most