I think Herodotus gets too much hate. It’s not like he was trying to deceive people since half the time he says “I myself do not believe it, but I am recording it for the sake of recording it” and honestly I don’t see a problem in recording folklore. In fact, many of his insane claims that scholars dismissed as fabrications for centuries have actually been proven correct by modern archeology (e.g. Scythian cannabis rituals and that one Egyptian ship type). Many of his “sketchy” claims were also due to translation issues rather than outright deception as the Old Persian word for marmot is similar to the word for mountain ant.
> In fact, many of his insane claims that scholars dismissed as fabrications for centuries have actually been proven correct by modern archeology (e.g. Scythian cannabis rituals and that one Egyptian ship type)Huh?
>>18721888>In fact, many of his insane claims that scholars dismissed as fabrications for centuries have actually been proven correct by modern archeology (e.g. Scythian cannabis rituals and that one Egyptian ship type)Is there anyone of note who ever actually denied these claims?
>>18721888Is he really hated in the modern academia? There was a period of scepticism a century or two ago, but nowdays it's just a historical source, which can lie just like any other historical source.
Herodotus wasn’t lying so much as running the ancient world’s least rigorous podcast
