|
Post by Mortiss V3 on Aug 1, 2008 0:33:39 GMT -5
if you havent read any of em your missing out.
|
|
|
Post by Mr ~Traptz~ on Aug 2, 2008 2:20:49 GMT -5
tacitus....
|
|
|
Post by Mortiss V3 on Aug 2, 2008 22:11:54 GMT -5
hooray!!!!!!! Somebody on this site has a bit of culture!!!!
|
|
|
Post by Mikey on Aug 3, 2008 0:25:11 GMT -5
Never read any of them.
|
|
|
Post by Mortiss V3 on Aug 3, 2008 0:25:42 GMT -5
thats cus you suck
|
|
|
Post by Mikey on Aug 3, 2008 0:27:58 GMT -5
Guess I haven't found the Ancient Historian Documents section at Barnes & Noble.
|
|
|
Post by Mortiss V3 on Aug 3, 2008 0:31:06 GMT -5
dunno what that is........
but look under ancient history in any decent bookshop
|
|
|
Post by Mikey on Aug 3, 2008 0:34:47 GMT -5
Oh I'll just download them.
|
|
|
Post by Mortiss V3 on Aug 3, 2008 0:35:54 GMT -5
you do that.
Read Either Polybius or Xenophon first though cus if you dont like them you wont like the others.
|
|
|
Post by Mikey on Aug 3, 2008 0:39:12 GMT -5
Ok I found:
Peloponnesian Wars Volume 1 & Volume 2 by Thycudides is that worth my time? >.>
|
|
|
Post by Mikey on Aug 3, 2008 0:41:35 GMT -5
I also found: Persian Wars by Herodotus =o
|
|
|
Post by Mortiss V3 on Aug 3, 2008 0:47:50 GMT -5
Read Herodotus before Thucydides.
Herodotus was the father of all history. He created the word Historia.....
It was the first and arguably the best.
Just be ready for long Greek place names that you cant pronounce and lots of side tracking from the actual narrative. For instance Bk2 has nothing to do with anything else in the whole epic but is interesting in its own right. Its about Egypt and how it became a great power.
|
|
|
Post by Liu Shan on Aug 8, 2008 11:53:44 GMT -5
Herodotus may have been known as the Father of History, though he was criticised as unreliable and slightly senile.
All meaning, that he is not only known as the Father of History but aslo the Father of Lies. So I wouldn't say he was the greatest of them all, I think Thucydides would be better especially as he has the same name as a Greek politician : D
I'm surprised Aristotle hasn't found his way on here, his Constitution of Athens is used for Ancient Greek history (I've studied and read it). Also you forgot Diodorus Siculos, perhaps one of the less known historian.
If you like to read about Greek History then I suggest 'Aspects of Greek History 750-323BC' by Terry Buckly. It is a reliable source used in both colleges and Universities as references, especially in the study of Classical Civilisation.
|
|
Mr Alencon
Master Sergeant
Battle Arbiter
The Burning Sunrise
Posts: 173
|
Post by Mr Alencon on Aug 8, 2008 14:29:33 GMT -5
Thucydides was the first historian in the sense of scrutinising sources, and only using what he deemed to be reliable information. Herodotus wrote history that was intended to be spoken, to be performed to the common people, so it was full of crap about deities and divine intervention. It was an entertainment piece as much as it was informative.
If Herodotus is the father of history, then Thucydides is the father of "scientific history". This said a lot of Thucydides work is based upon speeches, things that he has heard, so this isnt entirely reliable, as he couldnt have remembered all exact wording. He himself states that he often filled in the blanks, or even altered the speeches to his own expectations. So yeah, he wasnt perfect, but he was pretty much the first to try "objective" history, so hats off to him.
|
|
|
Post by Mortiss V3 on Aug 9, 2008 7:46:58 GMT -5
Fair enough Herodotus uses myth, but he was the first to even attempt to write history, he had nothing to base his work upon unlike later historians who could use other works as templates. Plus if you read Herodotus he never presents those myths as facts, he always says "According too".
He did not make things up, he was a traveling historian who spent time in Egypt and Persia and wrote down things that he heard that seemed interesting. He also very often says something e.g the big ants in Arabia the size of foxes that dig up gold for the Arabians to collect and then he says "I find this story highly implausible".
I much prefer Herodotus' way of writing history than Thucydides, Herodotus actually allows you to make up your own mind about things. He gives the point of view of all peoples involved and follows it with his own point of view and who he tends to believe. He always allows you the reader to make up your own mind. Thucydides is the opposite, all he does is write down coldly what he thinks were the facts and basically says "This is what happened, these people were good statesman, these people were good generals, these people were the ruin of Athens". He never gives anyone the chance to think about things and make up their own opinion of the characters unlike Herodotus.
So seriously don't judge Herodotus harshly, much of what he said has actually been proved. He is surprisingly reliable considering he had no other work to go by and all he had to rely on was witness accounts and myth.
The reason why Aristotle is not on the list is because his "Constitution of Athens" I would say was not a work of history in the ancient sense. Roman and Greek Historians used History as a means of adding to the genre of epic. They were stories about morals, great deeds, hubris and the fall of empires. Aristotle in the modern sense may be called a historian but in the ancient sense he wasn't. As for Diodorus Siculos I have never read his work so can't comment on it.
|
|