Thucydides or Herodotus?

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Which historian's methodology, form and narrative comes closer to the truth?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

lol?

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

lol?

Just play along and post your thoughts even if they are high-brow and make me feel like an idiot.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Meh, they were both fabulists so it's hard to care greatly. Neither are at all relevant to history as a contemporary academic discipline and anyone who suggests otherwise is (by definition) a pretentious idiot. Anyways, I suppose Thucydides was less of a brazen liar, but then being less of a brazen liar than Herodotus isn't really saying much. Is that a satisfactory answer?

[politicus]

Which historian's methodology, form and narrative comes closer to the truth?

Herodotus was more of a journalist/travel writer whereas Thucydides was a more classic (in the true sense of the word) historian. I prefer Herodotus as he is far more entertaining and a true storyteller. Thucydides is likely much closer to the historical truth, but of course still far from the standards of a modern historian.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Thucydides is likely much closer to the historical truth.

Oh, certainly. If you were just to randomly make up a load of stuff that happened during a period that Herodotus was writing about, it would be closer to the historical truth than whatever Herodotus wrote...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Anyways, obligatory:

[politicus]

Basically Herodotus is litterature/storytelling in the genre of history and using a sort of journalistic form. Kind of early historical fiction based on his travels and the tales he had heard. But in the same way that a historical novel influences the historical consiousness of its readers so, presumably, did Herodotus. His stories have value as works of art and entertainment and it is unfair (and pointless) to evaluate him as a historian in the modern sense of the word.
Thucydides was essentially a chronicler which is an entirely different genre.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Anyways, obligatory:

Win.

[The Mikado]

Classical historians don't have much to do with what history as a profession has been for the last 200 years.  Thucydides is a pretty great writer, though, and I wouldn't dismiss him...I'd just say he's closer to being the father of historical fiction than father of history.

Herodotus is simply lucky that he was the first person to name his book Historia.

[politicus]

I wonder why the OP put this under political debate!

[Simfan34]

This would have been exceedingly relevant to my interests a week ago.

Herodotus is far more interesting of a writer.

[Antonio the Sixth]

This would have been exceedingly relevant to my interests a week ago.

This thread was created a week ago.