CLA362H1 Midterm: Midterm Study Guide 1
Document Summary
[what is the difference between history and prehistory ?] Archaic greece is a prehistoric period, for it is a period before history was ever written. The earliest history in the western world is the work of herodotus of halicarnassus. For the later historians, what was important was the tradition. What was being said about what had happened in the past and about past contacts between greek and barbarian. Herodotus tells the story despite its credibility. Present conditions determine what is remembered of the past and how much is remembered. Literature of various types survive from the 8th century when writing became available and the biases that were created were product of the society not the biases of a later society. It is hard to determine accurate deductions from material remains. Although deducing history from tradition is dangerous, that is the only way to make any assumptions of the archaic period.
