Nearly two dozen eminent historians from eight countries have come to the Turkish Aegean for a workshop on Herodotus, known as the "Father of History.”
Starting on Wednesday, the International Herodotus Workshop aims to make it better known that Herodotus hails from Bodrum, now the Turkish resort city, according to a Thursday press release by the municipality.
Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian, was born in Halicarnassus – now Bodrum – in the fifth century B.C.
The historian spent his entire life working on the account of the origins and execution of the Greco-Persian Wars (499-479 B.C.) that he called “The Histories.” Before Herodotus, there was no writer that conducted such a systemic, thorough study of history through the lenses of cause-and-effect analysis.
Ahmet Aras, Bodrum’s mayor, said: "The only way to have a lasting impact is through scientific and academic studies, and our main goal is to establish a Herodotus Research Center."
He added that Bodrum is doing the same for Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı, also known as the Fisherman of Halicarnassus, a Cretan Turkish novelist, essayist and travel writer who died in 1973.
Mustafa Hamdi Sayar, a historian at Istanbul University, said the workshop had been planned for Herodotus’ 2,500th birthday but was postponed due to the pandemic.
"Eminent researchers here have devoted years to studying Herodotus and have been working on this subject for 30-40 years," he said.
