Herodotus

Historian

Herodotus is the ancient writer and reporter called "The Father of History." He was among the first to approach the reporting of history in a logical and skeptical way; he tried to separate true events from myth, and made a point of identifying his sources and noting his trust (or lack of trust) in them. It didn't hurt that he was a colorful writer and commentator; his most famous work, The Histories, remains a widely-read account of ancient facts and legends and (in particular) of the Persian invasion of ancient Greece. (It's the main source for details on the famous battles at Marathon and Thermopylae.) Ironically, the details of Herodotus' own life are unclear. He is believed to have been born at Halicarnassus, on the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor, and to have traveled widely, collecting and recording stories as he went.

Extra credit: The Histories is sometimes titled The Inquiries or simply Histories; all are variations on the original Greek.

The Persian king Xerxes figures prominently in The Histories... Other ancient scribes include Homer, Aesop, Plutarch and Virgil.