Herodotus was a Greek historian who was born in the 5th century BC in what is now modern-day Bodrum in Turkey (then part of the vast Persian Empire).A contemporary of Thucydides, Socrates, and Euripides he is often called ‘The Father of History’, initially by no less than Cicero.
Herodotus broke from the then tradition to treat history as one of investigation of facts and evidence to present a better whole.
The Histories is the only work for which he is known to have produced a record of his inquiry on the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars; In it he deals with the lives of Croesus, Cyrus, Cambyses, Smerdis, Darius, and Xerxes and the battles of Marathon, Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale. He expands into many cultural, ethnographical, geographical, historiographical, and areas to form a complete cultural landscape. This attention to detail helps The Histories remain a riveting account of this fascinating trime.
Whilst some of what he wrote appears inaccurate to modern day historians Herodortus would state that he reports only what he was told. Much of what he wrote has now been confirmed as an accurate distillation of the times.
Over the centureries many have translated his works.
George Campbell Macaulay was born on 6th August 1852, in Hodnet, Shropshire.
Macaulay was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was a Fellow at Trinity from 1878 to 1887 and Assistant Master at Rugby School.
In 1878, Macaulay married Grace Mary Conybeare. The couple had six children; two sons and four daughters.
From 1901 to 1907, Macaulay was Professor of English Language and Literature at University College of Wales, at Aberystwyth.
In 1905, he lectured on English at Cambridge.
He was also the editor of the Modern English Review (English Department).
During his career Macaulay was a noted translator of the works of Herodotus as well as an editor of the works of Matthew Arnold and John Gower amongst others.
He died on 6th July 1915 at his home at Southernwood, Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire.
