Book contents
- The Authoritative Historian
- The Authoritative Historian
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Myth, Fiction, and the Historian’s Authority
- Chapter 1 Seven Types of Fiction in the Greek Historians
- Chapter 2 Folktale and Local Tradition in Charon of Lampsacus
- Chapter 3 Mythical and Historical Time in Herodotus
- Chapter 4 Myth and History in Livy’s Preface
- Part II Dislocating Authority in Herodotus’ Histories
- Part III Performing Collective and Personal Authority
- Part IV Generic Transformations
- Part V Innovation within Tradition
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Chapter 4 - Myth and History in Livy’s Preface
from Part I - Myth, Fiction, and the Historian’s Authority
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2022
- The Authoritative Historian
- The Authoritative Historian
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Myth, Fiction, and the Historian’s Authority
- Chapter 1 Seven Types of Fiction in the Greek Historians
- Chapter 2 Folktale and Local Tradition in Charon of Lampsacus
- Chapter 3 Mythical and Historical Time in Herodotus
- Chapter 4 Myth and History in Livy’s Preface
- Part II Dislocating Authority in Herodotus’ Histories
- Part III Performing Collective and Personal Authority
- Part IV Generic Transformations
- Part V Innovation within Tradition
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Summary
If a scholar proposes to write on the subject of authority and tradition in ancient historiography, it is inevitable that he will pay particular attention to the prefaces of historical texts. Almost every ancient historian began his work with a preface in which he sought to establish his literary authority by deploying those elements of the tradition that were appropriate to his forthcoming narrative.1
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Authoritative HistorianTradition and Innovation in Ancient Historiography, pp. 82 - 98Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023