Do you have questions about Herodotus, his work, the world he lived in, or the stories he tells in the Histories? Click the “Ask the Helpline” button below and send us your question: a world leading expert in the field will respond.
We welcome questions from any degree of acquaintance with Herodotus.
Questions and Answers
Who is Herodotus?
- How to spell Herodotus? by Christine Plastow
- Was Herodotus the ‘Father of History’? by Robert Fowler
- Why is Herodotus so important? by Jan Haywood
- What languages did Herodotus understand? by Tom Harrison
- Did Herodotus have friends? by Sheila Murnaghan
- What was Herodotus’ favourite food? by Jeremy McInerney
- What was Herodotus’ diet like? Did he have 5 a day? Did he eat meat? by Claire Bubb
- What is the likely itinerary of Herodotus’ travels? by Paul Cartledge
- What do we know, or what can we guess, about the actual materials upon which Herodotus wrote his notes and text? by Anna Willi
- Did Herodotus go on any choral courses? by Sheila Murnaghan
- What is the origin of the tenuous claim that Herodotus may have died in Pella as the guest of King Archelaus I of Macedonia? by Jessica Priestley
Herodotus’ Afterlives
- What lessons can we learn from Herodotus in our daily lives? by Joel Alden Schlosser
- Why is Plutarch so angry about Herodotus? by Bryant Kirkland
- When were the books of Herodotus named after the nine muses? by Aldo Corcella
- What was the early modern reception and status of Herodotus? by Suzanne L. Marchand
Herodotus on Politics, Religion, and Society
- Did Herodotus support Athens? by Giorgia Proietti
- What does Herodotus say about free speech? by Sara Forsdyke
- What does Herodotus think of tyranny? by Roger Brock
- What were Herodotus’ thoughts on religion? Is there any sort of worship of him as a prominent spiritual figure? by Anthony Ellis
- Did Herodotus go on any choral courses? by Sheila Murnaghan
- What does Herodotus say about the occult and mystery cults of his time? Was he initiated into any? by Hugh Bowden
Herodotus on Nature and Space
Herodotus and Sparta
- How useful is Herodotus as a source for understanding the lives of Spartan women? by Ellen Millender
- Where did Herodotus go in the Greek world? by Paul Cartledge
- How does Herodotus characterise Sparta’s unique constitution and its two kings? by Roger Brock
- I know that everyone says that Sparta is the only polis that receives an ethnographic digression, but is it really that different to other poleis (city-states)? Aren’t other cities equally unique? by Stephanie Dennie
- What were Herodotus’ views on Sparta as an ally in the Persian wars? by Matthew A. Sears
Herodotus and Persia
- How did Herodotus know so much about what was happening in Persia? by Samantha Blankenship
- Why would Persia expend so much to make war with scant people at the fringe of its empire, without any particular treasure to grab and take home? by Kai Ruffing
- How reliable is Herodotus’ account of the Persian Wars? by Paul Cartledge
Herodotus and Other Cultures
- Is Herodotus racist? by Tom Harrison
- How accurate is Herodotus’ description of Egypt? by Typhaine Haziza, tr. by Emma Dyson
- Where does the saying “Rich as Croesus” come from? by Jan Haywood
- How did Herodotus know so much about what was happening in Persia? by Samantha Blankenship
- Why would Persia expend so much to make war with scant people at the fringe of its empire, without any particular treasure to grab and take home? by Kai Ruffing
Can we Trust Herodotus?
- How reliable is Herodotus’ account of the Persian Wars? by Paul Cartledge
- How accurate is Herodotus’ description of Egypt? by Typhaine Haziza, tr. by Emma Dyson
- Why is Plutarch so angry about Herodotus? by Bryant Kirkland
- How did Herodotus know so much about what was happening in Persia? by Samantha Blankenship
Herodotus in Translation
- What’s the best English translation of Herodotus’ Histories? Answers by Carolyn Dewald, Donald Lateiner, and Rosaria Munson; Charles Chiasson
- What is the history of translation of Herodotus in Hebrew? by Rachel Zelnick-Abramovitz
- What is the history of translation of Herodotus in Finnish? by Antti Lampinen
- What is the history of translation of Herodotus in Irish? by Olaf Almqvist
- What is the history of translation of Herodotus in German? by Christine Ley-Hutton
The Herodotus Helpline
- Why is the Herodotus Helpline called the Herodotus Helpline? by Tom Harrison
Herodotus Helpline 