Greek Historiography

This volume provides an accessible, comprehensive, and up-to-date survey of the ancient Greek genre of historical writing from its origins before Herodotus to the Greek historians of the Roman imperial era, seven centuries later.

• Focuses on the themes of power and human nature, causation, divine justice, leadership, civilization versus barbarism, legacy, and literary reception
• Includes thorough summaries alongside textual analysis that signpost key passages and highlight thematic connections, helping readers navigate their way through the original texts
• Situates historical writing among the forms of epic and lyric poetry, drama, philosophy, and science
• Uses the best current translations and includes a detailed list of further reading that includes important new scholarship

Preface vi

Abbreviations ix

Chapter 1: Origins and Early Forms of Greek Historiography 1

Chapter 2: Herodotus and the Limits of Happiness: Beyond Epic, Lyric, and Logography 26

Chapter 3: Thucydides on the Ends of Power 69

Chapter 4: Xenophon on Leadership and Moral Authority 126

Chapter 5: History and Rhetoric in Fourth]Century Historians 160

Chapter 6: Diversity and Innovation in the Hellenistic Era 190

Chapter 7: Polybius on the Supremacy of a Balanced State 202

Chapter 8: Greek Historians in the Roman Era 237

Chapter 9: Concluding Observations on Greek Historical Writing 276

Further Reading 291

Index Locorum 300

Index 317

"...certainly merits to be considered as a textbook for notably undergraduate students of the subject. To its value adds the fact that it is well written, well produced, that it provides...a concise guide for further reading..., an elaborate "index locorum", and an efficient and comprehensive general index. In providing these assets, the book...offers an excellent value for its price." - Classical Journal Thomas F. Scanlon is Professor of Classics and Chair of the Department of Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages at the University of California, Riverside. He has published several books on Greek and Roman history, including most recently Sport in the Greek and Roman Worlds (2014) and Eros and Greek Athletics (2002).

In this comprehensive new volume, Thomas Scanlon provides an accessible and up-to-date survey of the ancient Greek genre of historical writing from its origins before Herodotus to the Greek historians of the Roman imperial era, seven centuries later. Situating historical writing among the forms of epic and lyric poetry, drama, philosophy, and science for which the Greeks are already so well known, Greek Historiography examines individual historian’s perspectives on power and human nature as a means of tracing the early evolution of ancient Greek history. From Thucydides to Polybius, the volume considers pervading questions of causation, divine justice, leadership, civilization versus barbarism, legacy, and literary reception. Alongside sophisticated close reading, Scanlon provides thorough summaries that signpost key passages and highlight thematic links to help readers navigate their way through the original texts.

Citing the most up-to-date translations and featuring a comprehensive list of further reading that includes important new scholarship, Greek Historiography will prove to be an essential tool for anyone interested in better understanding the evolution of Greek historical writing.