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Work #778 · Early

The Histories

Herodotus
c. 440s-420s BCE · Ancient Greek (Ionic)
Historical narrative · Classical Greek historiography

Herodotus's 5th-c. BCE Histories — "Father of History" — Greek-Persian Wars and the wider known world

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute The Histories (Early)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Theistic
Observer · Moral Authority Tradition
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

The Histories

The historical time of the Greek-Persian Wars.

Space

The Histories

The known world from Greece to Egypt to Scythia.

Matter

The Histories

Peoples, armies, customs, monuments.

Observer

The Histories

Herodotus the traveler-historian.

Energy

The Histories

Energies of empire and resistance.

Information

The Histories

The collected reports of many peoples.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

The Histories

Herodotus's Histories: founding work of Western historiography and comparative ethnography; central to the long tradition of historical writing.