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greek-historyfeatured in 8 works

Historiē (Inquiry / Eyewitness Research)

The founding idea that history is 'inquiry' — actively investigating, weighing testimony, and recording what you find.

The Greek word historie simply means 'inquiry' or 'research.' Herodotus (5th c. BCE) opened his work by calling it the 'showing-forth of his inquiry,' inventing history as a craft of active investigation rather than mere storytelling. The historian steps forward as a researcher, names his methods, and separates what he saw from what he was told. This redefinition of inquiry as systematic, recorded research is why Herodotus is called the 'Father of History.'

How it traveled

  1. On Oratory
    Formiae · -55
    explains
  2. Antiquitates Romanae
    Rome
    explains
  3. De Thucydide
    Rome
    explains
  4. Historical Library
    Syracuse (Sicily)
    explains
  5. Alexias
    —
    explains
  6. Suidae lexicon
    —
    explains
  7. Epistula ad Pompeium Geminum
    Rome
    explains
  8. Ecclesiastical history
    —
    explains

Key passages(20)

Origin Anchor — gr-historie-inquiry↗origin

Fragments & Testimonia · Herodotus

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Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library 17.arg.0↗explains

Historical Library · Diodorus Siculus

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Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae 5.56.1↗explains

Antiquitates Romanae · Dionysius of Halicarnassus

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Dionysius of Halicarnassus, De Thucydide 6↗explains

De Thucydide · Dionysius of Halicarnassus

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Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical history 6.praef↗explains

Ecclesiastical history · Socrates Scholasticus

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Cicero, Marcus Tullius, On Oratory 2.62↗explains

On Oratory · Cicero

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Agatharchides, De Rubro Mari 5.110↗explains

De Rubro Mari · Agatharchides

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Agathias Scholasticus, Historiae 4.30↗explains

Historiae · Agathias Scholasticus

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Anna Comnena, Alexias 3.8↗explains

Alexias · Anna Comnena

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Anna Comnena, Alexias 4.8↗explains

Alexias · Anna Comnena

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Anna Comnena, Alexias praef.2↗explains

Alexias · Anna Comnena

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Anna Comnena, Alexias praef.3↗explains

Alexias · Anna Comnena

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Aristides, Aelius, Orationes 49 381↗explains

Orationes 49 · Aelius Aristides

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Arrian, Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἀνάβασις 5.5.1↗explains

Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἀνάβασις · Arrian

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Dio Chrysostom, Orationes 88.10↗explains

Orationes · Dio Chrysostom

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Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library 13.90.7↗explains

Historical Library · Diodorus Siculus

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Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library 14.117.8↗explains

Historical Library · Diodorus Siculus

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Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library 15.36.1↗explains

Historical Library · Diodorus Siculus

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Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library 16.1.1↗explains

Historical Library · Diodorus Siculus

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Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae 1.1.1↗explains

Antiquitates Romanae · Dionysius of Halicarnassus

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