Herodotus magister vitae, or: Herodotus and God in the Protestant Reformation

Abstract

During the sixteenth century Herodotus’ Histories reached new audiences throughout Europe, in Greek, Latin, and the vernaculars. This period saw the emergence of an extensive scholarly literature on Herodotus, particularly in German-speaking lands, where Lutheran reformers and academics worked concertedly to incorporate Greek historiography into the new didactic curriculum of Protestant humanism. This article explores Herodotus’ reception in the context of the religious and cultural upheavals of the Reformation, and examines the origins and impact of some striking claims: that Herodotus’ religious beliefs were largely commensurable with Christianity; that his Histories were part of a divine plan to create a continuous record of world history; and that his was an excellent text with which to illustrate the Biblical Ten Commandments. In tracing a little-known chapter in the Christianisation of Herodotus, I focus on the close-knit circle of Hellenists trained by the Lutheran reformer Philipp Melanchthon and on the prodigious Francophone scholars Henri Estienne and Isaac Casaubon. Published in Anthony Ellis, ed., God in History (HISTOS Supplement 4), p. 173-245.