During Classical Antiquity, the ancient Greeks developed the discipline that we today know as histo-ry.
Ancient Greek historians composed their works by interviewing eyewitnesses, studying documents, and drawing on earlier historical research. Some ancient Greek historians even actively participated in or witnessed the events they described themselves. With the passage of time, the writings of many ancient Greek historians have been lost; it exists only as fragments, quotations, or references in later works. Regardless of whether or not their work has survived in its entirety, the Ancient Greek histori-ans shaped our understanding of Classical Antiquity and the study of history.
The ancient Greeks created history as a way to record, study, and understand the past. These are the 12 most important ancient Greek historians and their works.

Homer
Almost nothing is known of Homer, the legendary author of the Iliad and Odyssey; epic poems which tell the story of the Trojan War and its aftermath. Homer’s identity, the period during which he lived, and the circumstances in which he composed these poems have been hotly debated for centuries. Some even go so far as to question his very existence. What cannot be questioned is the influence that his works have had on Western Historiography and the development of history in ancient Greece.
During antiquity, the Trojan War was the first “historical event” to be recorded in ancient Greece and became foundational. Homer’s works were widely read and were incorporated into the educational systems of many schools of philosophy. As a result, numerous Greek historians drew inspiration from Homer when they composed their own histories. The Trojan War also served as a beginning point for ancient Greek historians as it was often the earliest event that they had any knowledge of and its heroes were tied to the foundational myths and legends of various tribes, dynasties, cities, regions, and kingdoms. Some, however, criticised Homer for his treatment of the gods and doubted his ver-sion of the events of the Trojan War; though they all tended to accept that it had happened.

Herodotus (c. 484-425 BC)
Herodotus, the so-called “Father of History,” was born in the Greek city of Halicarnassus which was then part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. His great work, The Histories, was conceived as an at-tempt to explain the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars. This work, which begins in the mythical peri-od, focuses the years between 550-479 BC and spans 9 books.
Herodotus included a wealth of information in The Histories and has a tendency towards long digres-sions on anthropological and ethnographic matters. Although his work inspired many later historians, Herodotus himself remains controversial and has been called the “Father of Lies.”
Today, a number of the more fanciful aspects of The Histories, such as the Amazons, have been con-firmed through archaeology.

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BC)
A well connected Athenian aristocrat, Thucydides owned a gold mine, served as a general during the Peloponnesian War, survived the Plague of Athens, and was eventually exiled from Athens for the failure of a military campaign in Thrace. He is best known for his History, which is today commonly rendered as The History of the Peloponnesian War. This work spans 8 books and describes the events of a period that roughly encompasses 438-411 BC. As the work ends rather abruptly, it is believed that Thucydides died suddenly and unexpectedly.

Xenophon (c. 430-354 BC)
Born in Athens, Xenophon was an ancient Greek historian, soldier, and philosopher who marched an army of 10,000 Greek mercenaries out of Persia, associated with Socrates and Plato, and had close ties to Sparta. His work as a historian reflects his experiences as it includes: The Anabasis, which de-tails the March of the 10,000; The Cyropaedia, which describes the early life of Cyrus the Great; Agesilaus, a biography of Agesilaus II a powerful king of Sparta; and Polity of the Lacedaemonians, a history of Sparta and its institutions.
Xenophon’s most important work, however, was the Hellenica or “writings on Greek subjects,” which covers the years 411-362 BC and spans a total of 7 books. This history picked up where Thu-cydides left off and was primarily intended to be read by Xenophon’s friends, who had participated in the events describes.

Ctesias (5th Century BC)
Ctesias, who lived in the fifth century BC, was physician to the Achaemenid king, Artaxerxes II, whom he accompanied in 401 BC on his expedition against his brother Cyrus the Younger.
Ctesias had access to the royal archives of the Achaemenid Empire, which he drew upon to construct his histories. He is known for two works, the Persica and the Indica. The Indica reflects Achaemenid knowledge and beliefs about India and is known only as fragments and quotations preserved in the works of other historians. Ctesias’ other work, the Persica, spanned 23 books and was originally written in opposition to Herodotus and his account.

Theopompus (c. 380-318 BC)
Theopompus was born on the island of Chios, this ancient Greek historian spent time in Athens after his father was exiled where he studied rhetoric and built a network of contacts. With the support of Alexander the Great, he was able to return to Chios, but was again exiled and went to the court of Ptolemaic Egypt. With his training, contacts, and relative wealth, Theopompus was well equipped to be a historian.
His chief works were the Hellenica, which deals with the history of Greece from 411-394 BC, and the Philippica, which describes the reign of Philip II. Both works are known as fragments but the Philip-pica was widely quoted by later historians.

Cleitarchus (c. mid-late 4th Century BC)
Cleitarchus was one of the earliest ancient Greek historians of Alexander the Great, he may have even accompanied the Macedonian army during its campaigns. Later he remained active at the court of Ptol-emy I Soter, founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. As such, he was able to witness first hand or access witnesses to the events he described. His only known work, the History of Alexander, has survived in the form of thirty fragments.
Cleitarchus’ work, though now lost, was very popular during Antiquity and was widely read; it was the most famous history of Alexander the Great. It also served to inspire what became known as the Alexander Romances.

Marsyas of Pella (c. 356-294 BC)
Marsyas was a Macedonian of noble birth, this ancient Greek historian appears to have been a relative of Antigonus I Monophthalmus (One-Eyed), a general of Alexander the Great’s who ruled large parts of Asia.
His major work was the Makedonika which consisted of 10 books and described the history of Mac-edonia from the earliest times to about 331 BC. This work was repeatedly cited by later Roman and Byzantine authors. He is also credited with writing a history of Alexander the Great’s education, and possibly a treatise on the antiquities of Athens

Duris of Samos (c. 350-281 BC)
Claiming descent from the infamous Alcibiades of Athens, Duris was an ancient Greek historian and at some point the tyrant of Samos. His main work was the Histories (also known as Macedonica and Hellenica), which describes the history of Greece and Macedonia from 371-281 BC. His narrative was continued by the later historian Phylarchus.
Duris was an exemplar of “tragic history,” a new style or school of historical writing which placed a greater value on entertainment and excitement rather than factual reporting.
Today, his historical work is known only in fragments and includes his Histories, On Agathocles, and the Annals of Samos.

Timaeus (c. 345-250 BC)
Born in Sicily, the ancient Greek historian Timaeus was forced to flee to Athens where he studied un-der the philosopher Isocrates. His greatest work, The Histories, spanned an estimated 40 books. It focused primarily on Greece, but also discussed events in Magna Graecia (Italy & Sicily); and it cov-ered the earliest history of Greece to the time of the First Punic War. He worked diligently to develop a method of reckoning chronology based on the Olympiad cycle, the Archons of Athens, Ephors of Sparta, and priestesses of Argos which was used by many other historians.
Timaeus’ work circulated widely during Antiquity and was utilised by many other historians.
Today only fragments of the 38th book of his Histories, and a reworking of its last section On Pyr-rhus have survived; along with a reference to a history of the cities and kings of Syria, and The Vic-tors at Olympia, a chronological piece that probably functioned as an appendix.

Phylarchus (3rd Century BC)
Three different cities are given as the birthplace of the ancient Greek historian Phylarchus; Athens and Sicyon in Greece and Naucratis in Egypt. His greatest work, The Histories, spanned an estimated 28 books. It is known to have covered a 52 year period beginning with Pyrrhus of Epirus (272 BC) and ending with the death of Cleomenes III of Sparta (220BC); though based on fragments it may have actually begun with the death of Alexander the Great. Phylarchus described events in Greece, Mace-donia, Egypt, Cyrene, and elsewhere.
His works are known to include the Histories, The story of Antiochus and Eumenes of Pergamum which described a war between monarchs, Epitome of myth on the apparition of Zeus, On Discover-ies, Digressions, and Agrapha which probably dealt with obscure mythological aspects.

Polybius (c. 200-118 BC)
Polybius was born into a prominent family from the city of Megalopolis in Greece. He was an active member of the Achaean League before he was taken to Rome as a hostage. Whilst in Rome, Polybius was able to gain entry into the most elite social circles where he made many friends and contacts. As a result, he was able to witness and participate in many of the most important political events of the pe-riod; even accompanying and advising his Roman friends on military expeditions.
With his unparalleled access, Polybius was able to write a number of historical works, the most im-portant of which was the Histories. Originally spanning some 40 books, today only 5 exist in their entirety. Polybius also wrote several other works, which are now lost, and is considered one of the founding fathers of Roman historiography..

Legacy of ancient Greek historians
Although they lived thousands of years ago, ancient Greek historians have left a lasting mark on mod-ern western society. From the ancient Homeric epic came the modern journey of the hero, and from the documentation of ancient warfare, historians have been able to study the military conquests of An-tiquity and develop modern war tactics. The documentation of judicial, political, militaristic, cultural and artistic history in Antiquity has had an incalculable impact on modern western culture. Without the contributions of these ancient Greek historians, our world would look very different.
By R. C. L. Holmes: An MA in Ancient & Medieval History and a BA in Archaeology. An inde-pendent historian and author, who specialises in the Military History of the Ancient and Medieval World.

Source: thecollector.com

Book Review: Greece in the Ancient World
by Jeremy McInerney

Spanning the Minoan and Mycenaean origins of Greece to its eventual conquest by Rome, this new single-author survey combines an authoritative and engaging retelling of the history of ancient Greece with an assessment of the relevance of the Greeks today. Beautifully illustrated with examples of art, archaeology and architecture – from the frescoes of Akrotiri to the spectacular discovery of the Tomb of the Griffin Warrior in 2015 – this account foregrounds the variety and diversity of what it meant to be Greek. Dedicated chapters on Athens and Sparta highlight the differences of culture and civic structure within the Greek world, as well as the political tensions that would precipitate the Pelopon-nesian War and the subsequent Macedonian Hellenistic Age. Numerous maps and timelines support the clear chronological narrative, while ‘Spotlight’ features at the end of each chapter offer a visual commentary on specific concepts, places and institutions, such as the oracle of Delphi and the image of Alexander the Great.