Answer by Christine Plastow
Hello! You’ve reached the Herodotus Helpline. I hear you’re encountering problems with how to spell the name ‘Herodotus’. Don’t worry, I’ll be happy to help. Please try the following steps:
Firstly, locate Herodotus’ name in ancient Greek. You will want to use the nominative singular: Ἡρόδοτος. This will give you the spelling of Herodotus’ name in ancient Greek. If you would like to spell his name in modern Greek, please remove the breathing mark: Ηρόδοτος. If you would like to spell his name in a language using the Latin alphabet, please continue. (If you would like to spell Herodotus’ name in a language that does not use the Latin alphabet, you will need to contact a specialist in your target language.)
In order to spell Herodotus’ name in a language using the Latin alphabet, you will begin by transliterating the Greek letters: this means representing the Greek letters with their equivalent Latin letters. Transliteration into the Latin alphabet can be done fairly easily with many letters: for example ρ (rho) = r, δ (delta) = d, and τ (tau) = t. Some letters require more troubleshooting. Ἡ represents eta, long e, with a rough breathing mark; the Latin alphabet only has one form of e, and represents the sound of the rough breathing with h, producing two letters: He. The letter ο (omicron) is usually transliterated with the Latin latter o, but in some cases can be transliterated with Latin u, as in the second to last letter in Ἡρόδοτος. This is a matter of personal preference: if you would like your spelling to look more Greek, use Latin letter o, and if you would like it to look more Latin, use Latin letter u.
After you have transliterated, you should have produced either Herodotus or Herodotos. This may be suitable for your needs, especially if you are writing in English. However, you may also wish to apply linguistic nuances to your spelling. For example, if you want to write about Herodotus in German, you will need to adjust your word ending: Herodot. If you want to write in French, you will need to adjust the ending and add an accent: Hérodote. If you want to write in Italian, you will need to adjust the ending and drop the H: Erodoto. These changes depend on the specific linguistic features of your target language. Other languages will have additional nuances, so please check the instruction manual for your language.
Congratulations! You have spelled Herodotus. If you would like to spell another word related to Herodotus, like Halicarnassus, the same principles apply, though watch out for κ (kappa), which can be transliterated with k or c in the Latin alphabet. If the problem recurs in future, please repeat the above steps. Thanks for contacting the Herodotus Helpline!
If you’d like to learn more about the Ancient Greek language, including how to read the Greek alphabet and identify English equivalents for Greek letters, try the following free courses from the Open University:
Herodotus Helpline 