History, a literary form, influenced by drama

Poetics (ca. 350 B.C.) Aristotle; Poiein: to make; Poets seek for more fundamental truths as opposed to merely haggling over details by historians.

Herodotus (ca. 485-425 B.C.) the father of history, charted the Persian Wars

Historiai: "Researchers, investigations" besides "stories"

Oracles: temples where seers would tell the future in the form of a riddle

Theme: The arrogance of the great state, in this case the Persian Empire, and the inevitable crash between east and west. The virtual slaves of the Persian king as opposed to the free Greeks, namely the fight between freedom and tyranny.

Thucydides 460/455-400 B.C.; the father of "scientific" history, meaning rational and detached descriptions

The Peloponnesian War 431-400 B.C.

Pericles' eulogy for the dead soldiers

The Melian Dialogue

Xenophon 428/7-354 B.C. more of a journalist than a historian