Herodotus and the Greek Poetic Tradition

Charles C. Chiasson

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781009503686
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Ancient History
• Index: History

This is the first comprehensive analysis in any language of Herodotus' interaction with the Greek poetic tradition, including epic, lyric, and tragic poetry. It is essential reading for scholars of ancient Greek storytelling (including myth) and those interested in the hybrid nature of narrative history, as both a true or truth-based account of past events and a necessarily creative account, which requires the author to present data in a meaningful and engrossing literary form. Close readings of specific passages demonstrate how Herodotus uses the linguistic, thematic, and narrative resources of the poets to channel and challenge their social authority, and to engage the emotions and intellect of a broad Hellenic audience steeped in the traditions of poetic performance. Herodotus adopts or adapts some poetic features while rejecting others (explicitly or implicitly) as a means of defining the nature of his own research and narrative.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Title page
• Imprints page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Poetry in Herodotus, Herodotus on Poetry
• Chapter 2 The Prologue of the Histories and the Greek Poetic Tradition
• Part I: Herodotus and Epic Poetry
• Part II Herodotus and Greek Lyric Poetry
• Part III Herodotus and Greek Tragic Poetry
• Conclusion: Herodotus and the Poets
• References
• Index Locorum
• Subject Index