GENEALOGY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANCIENT HISTORIOGRAPHY: GENEALOGY AND HISTORY IN HERODOTUS

Abstract In this article, I suggest that genealogy was a rhetorical strategy to build authority in the ancient history writing. In this way, I divide my argument into four parts. Firstly, I present my understanding of genealogy and authority, as these concepts orient my selection and analysis of the evidence. Secondly, I turn to the genealogical evidence, trying to demonstrate its relation with controversial debates and its role as a rhetorical tool. For this, I compare Herodotus’ and Isocrates’ use of genealogy, and suggest that genealogy was a form of tekmerion. Thirdly, I try to substantiate this hypothesis by looking at both Aristotle’s definition of tekmerion and to what extent Herodotus and Isocrates share his understanding of this word. Finally, I present considerations about why genealogy was such a powerful rhetorical resource in discourses of various nature, history included.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Condilo,Camila
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas, Departamento de História 2022
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-83092022000100300
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