Herodotus
Little is known about Herodotus's own life, except that he wrote histories and lived after the Persian Wars. When he recorded history he acknowledge many sources not just those that seemed plausible. So there were all sorts of crazy stories, my particular favorite is the one about the dolphin who swims a man across an ocean after he wins a singing competition. He included everything no matter how bizarre.
For the greeks history is shaped by tragic patterns.
Summary:
Begins with the story of Gyges the King of Lydia. The king before him wanted Gyges to watch him having sex with his wife. The wife found out and got mad. She then forces Gyges to either commit suicide ot to kill the king and marry her making Gyges king.
Then the story of King Croesus. He is very rich and wants somebody to tell him, enter Solon a wise ruler of Athens who set up a legal system there and then left for ten years to see how it would turn out. Solon tells Croesus that he isn't the happiest person on earth because you can't know how happy a person is until you know how they died. Wealth has nothing to do with how happy we are. Luck can turn against us or for us at any moment. Croesus is angry because he thinks he's happy. Then Croesus dreams about how his son Atys will die of a wound. When getting ready for Atys' wedding a guy named Gordias shows up. Gordias accidentally killed his brother. Croesus cleanses him and takes him into the family. Then Atys wants to go on a bull hunting trip. Croesus says no but finally relents when Gordias says he will protect him. But tragedically strikes and Gordias accidentally kills Atys with a spear instead of the bull. Croesus cries, buries his son, and banishes Grodias. Tragedy sucks.
Vocab:
Olbios: Happy blessed prosperous
Tragedy: By our own feathers we are slain.
The reversal of fortune
-Don't realize it until it happens
-It happens when everything seems to be good.
It will happen again it is the pattern of history it is the way things are.
Notes: "His purpose is to prevent the traces of human events from being erased."