Writing History in Ancient Greece and Rome

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Herodotus has been called both the "Father of History" and the "Father of Lies." Thucydides is revered by some as the first "scientific" historian; others deny him the title of historian altogether. The most famous tales in Roman history come from the early books of Livy, and yet it is unlikely that he had any way of obtaining reliable information for that period. The historians of the classical Greek and Roman world stand among the greatest writers of the Western tradition. But to what extent were they performing the task that we call "history?" How did the ancient historians envision their project? What claims to knowledge did history make, and how did these differ from other forms of knowledge? In this course we will survey (in English translation) the works of seven of the major historians of ancient Greece and Rome: the Greek authors Herodotus, Thucydides, and Polybius, and the Roman authors Sallust, Livy, Tacitus, and Ammianus Marcellinus. Our survey will take us through a vast expanse of time (the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD) and space (from Iberia to the Russian steppe, from the North Sea to North Africa). We will examine the origins of ancient historiography, the methods espoused and practiced by Greek and Roman historians, the effect of political and social changes on the writing of history, the place and purpose of history in Greek and Roman culture, and the relationship of ancient historical writing to that of modern scholars.