Why is Herodotus called “The Father of History”? - Mark Robinson

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

["Okolnosti vladaju ljudima; ljudi ne vladaju okolnostima."]

Džinovski mravi koji kopaju zlato,

Giant gold-digging ants,

a furious king who orders the sea to be whipped 300 times,

gnevni kralj koji naređuje da more primi 300 šiba,

and a dolphin that saves a famous poet from drowning.

i delfin koji spašava čuvenog pesnika od davljenja.

These are just some of the stories from The Histories by Herodotus,

Ovo su samo neke od priča iz "Istorije" od Herodota,

an Ancient Greek writer from the 5th century BCE.

antičkog grčkog pisca iz V veka p.n.e.

Not all the events in the text may have happened

Možda se svi događaji iz teksta i nisu desili

exactly as Herodotus reported them,

baš onako kako je Herodot izvestio o njima,

but this work revolutionized the way the past was recorded.

ali ovo delo je bilo revolucionarno zbog načina na koji je beležilo prošlost.

Before Herodotus, the past was documented as a list of events

Pre Herodota, prošlost je dokumentovana kao spisak događaja

with little or no attempt to explain their causes

s malo ili nimalo truda da se objasne njihovi uzroci

beyond accepting things as the will of the gods.

mimo prihvatanja stvari kao volje bogova.

Herodotus wanted a deeper, more rational understanding,

Herodot je želeo dublje, racionalnije razumevanje,

so he took a new approach:

pa je usvojio novi pristup:

looking at events from both sides to understand the reasons for them.

gledanje na događaje s obe strane kako bi razumeo njihove razloge.

Though he was Greek, Herodotus's hometown of Halicarnassus

Iako je Herodot bio Grk, njegova domovina Halikarnas

was part of the Persian Empire.

je bila deo Persijskog carstva.

He grew up during a series of wars between the powerful Persians

Odrastao je tokom niza ratova između moćnih Persijanaca

and the smaller Greeks,

i slabijih Grka,

and decided to find out all he could about the subject.

a odlučio je da sazna sve što je mogao o toj temi.

In Herodotus's telling, the Persian Wars began in 499 BCE,

Prema Herodotovim rečima, Persijski ratovi su počeli 499. p.n.e.,

when the Athenians assisted a rebellion by Greeks living under Persian rule.

kada su Atinjani potpomogli pobunu Grka koji su živeli pod Persijancima.

In 490, the Persian King, Darius, sent his army to take revenge on Athens.

Persijski kralj Darije je 490. poslao svoju vojsku da se osveti Atinjanima.

But at the Battle of Marathon, the Athenians won an unexpected victory.

Međutim, u Maratonskoj bici, Atinjani su izvojevali neočekivanu pobedu.

Ten years later, the Persians returned, planning to conquer the whole of Greece

Persijanci su se vratili 10 godina kasnije s planom da osvoje čitavu Grčku,

under the leadership of Darius's son, Xerxes.

pod vođstvom Darijevog sina Kserksa.

According to Herodotus, when Xerxes arrived,

Prema Herodotu, kada je Kserks stigao,

his million man army was initially opposed by a Greek force

njegovoj armiji od milion muškaraca se prvobitno suprotstavila grčka sila

led by 300 Spartans at the mountain pass of Thermopylae.

koju je predvodilo 300 Spartanaca u planinskom klancu Termopil.

At great cost to the Persians,

Po visokoj ceni za Persijance,

the Spartans and their king, Leonidas, were killed.

ubijeni su Spartanci i njihov kralj Leonida.

This heroic defeat has been an inspiration to underdogs ever since.

Ovaj junački poraz je otada služio kao inspiracija slabijima.

A few weeks later, the Greek navy tricked the Persian fleet

Nekoliko nedelja kasnije, grčka mornarica je prevarila persijsku flotu

into fighting in a narrow sea channel near Athens.

da se bore u tesnom morskom kanalu blizu Atine.

The Persians were defeated and Xerxes fled, never to return.

Persijanci su poraženi, a Kserks je bespovratno utekao.

To explain how these wars broke out and why the Greeks triumphed,

Kako bi objasnio kako su izbili ovi ratovi i zašto su Grci trijumfovali,

Herodotus collected stories from all around the Mediterranean.

Herodot je sakupljao priče širom Mediterana.

He recorded the achievements of both Greeks and non-Greeks

Beležio je dostignuća i Grka i drugih naroda

before they were lost to the passage of time.

pre nego ih vreme izbriše.

The Histories opens with the famous sentence:

"Istorija" počinje čuvenom rečenicom:

"Herodot iz Halikarnasa ovde prikazuje svoja ispitivanja."

"Herodotus, of Halicarnassus, here displays his inquiries."

By framing the book as an “inquiry,”

Koncipiravši knjuigu kao "ispitivanje",

Herodotus allowed it to contain many different stories,

Herodot je time omogućio da knjiga sadrži razne priče,

some serious, others less so.

neke ozbiljne, a neke manje ozbiljne.

He recorded the internal debates of the Persian court

Zabeležio je unutrašnje debate na persijskom sudu,

but also tales of Egyptian flying snakes

ali i priče o egipatskim letećim zmijama,

and practical advice on how to catch a crocodile.

kao i praktične savete kako da uhvatite krokodila.

The Greek word for this method of research is "autopsy,"

Grčka reč za ovaj istraživački metod je "autopsija",

meaning "seeing for oneself."

što znači "lično posvedočiti".

Herodotus was the first writer to examine the past

Herodot je prvi pisac koji je istraživao prošlost

by combining the different kinds of evidence he collected:

kombinujući različite vidove pronađenih dokaza:

opsis, or eyewitness accounts,

"opsis", to jest izveštaji svedoka,

akoe, or hearsay,

"akoe", to jest glasine

and ta legomena, or tradition.

i "ta legomena", to jest tradicija.

He then used gnome, or reason,

Potom je koristio gnome, to jest razum,

to reach conclusions about what actually happened.

da dođe do zaključaka o tome šta se zapravo desilo.

Many of the book's early readers were actually listeners.

Mnogi od ranih čitalaca knjige su zapravo bili slušaoci.

The Histories was originally written in 28 sections,

"Istorija" je prvobitno bila napisana u 28 delova,

each of which took about four hours to read aloud.

a za svaki je bilo potrebno oko četiri sata da se pročita naglas.

As the Greeks increased in influence and power,

Kako su jačali uticaj i moć Grka,

Herodotus's writing and the idea of history spread across the Mediterranean.

Herodotovi spisi i zamisao o istoriji su se širili Mediteranom.

As the first proper historian, Herodotus wasn't perfect.

Kao prvi pravi istoričar, Herodot nije bio savršen.

On occasions, he favored the Greeks over the Persians

Ponekad je favorizovao Grke u odnosu na Persijance

and was too quick to believe some of the stories that he heard,

i bio je suviše lakoveran za neke priče koje je čuo,

which made for inaccuracies.

a koje su uzrokovale netačnosti.

However, modern evidence has actually explained

Međutim, savremeni dokazi su zapravo objasnili

some of his apparently extreme claims.

neke od njegovih očito ekstremnih tvrdnji.

For instance, there's a species of marmot in the Himalayas

Na primer, na Himalajima postoji vrsta mrmota

that spreads gold dust while digging.

koja tokom kopanja širi zlatnu prašinu.

The ancient Persian word for marmot is quite close to the word for ant,

Antička persijska reč za mrmota je prilično slična reči mrav,

so Herodotus may have just fallen prey to a translation error.

pa je Herodot možda prosto bio žrtva greške u prevodu.

All in all, for someone who was writing in an entirely new style,

Sve u svemu, za nekoga ko je pisao u potpunosti novim stilom,

Herodotus did remarkably well.

Herodot je bio iznenađujuće dobar.

History, right down to the present day, has always suffered from the partiality

Istorija, sve do današnjeg dana, oduvek je ispaštala zbog pristrasnosti

and mistakes of historians.

i omaški istoričara.

Herodotus’s method and creativity earned him the title

Herodotov metod i kreativnost su mu obezbedili titulu

that the Roman author Cicero gave him several hundred years later:

koju mu je podario rimski pisac Ciceron nekoliko stotina godina kasnije:

"The Father of History."

"otac istorije."