Herodotus And Thucydides Similarities

Throughout the centuries, the ancient historians Herodotus and Thucydides have remained dominant figures in terms of historical writing and documentation. Both men wrote about significant wars, though they did so in very different, yet somehow similar, styles. Both authors wanted to maintain methodological order, but order was vastly misconstrued between the historians. Therefore, it is vital for researchers to compare-and-contrast the two author’s approaches to history to emulate the style of such historical figures. Historians commonly refer to Herodotus, a Greek historian, as the, “Father of History,” though there are extensive debates solely focused on whether the title belongs to Herodotus or Thucydides. Both authors recollected various events in history. However, their approaches in doing so vary greatly. Herodotus compiled his historical knowledge based on oral accounts and myths told in the many regions he visited. On the other hand, Thucydides, an Athenian historian, wrote about political and military events, as well as a close account of the war between Athens and Sparta in the late fifth century B.C. Also, Thucydides attempted to maintain a well-disciplined, methodological style, similar, in ways, to Herodotus’s writing style.
“It was Apollo who saved him from the burning pile,” (Herodotus, 1.91). Herodotus explains that Apollo attempts to save Croesus from the of Sardis occurring during his lifetime, nevertheless the fate of Sardis’ collapse was too powerful for Apollo to persuade. As we can see throughout Herodotus’ work, oracles and legends are rather significant to Herodotus, which is why most historical predecessors dismissed Herodotus’ work as merely allegorical or