Herodotus
was born about 484 B.C. at Halicarnassos in Caria in
the southwest corner of Asia Minor and died about 426
B.C. He traveled extensively, visited Athens, Egypt,
Babylon, and Scythia (north of the Black Sea). He
observed many of the facts reported in his books
although obviously much was obtained by hearsay.
Cicero called him "the father of history."
He had observed in Babylonia the method used for
fructification of palm trees as well as the
caprification of fig trees. He confused the two
methods. However, Theophrastus more satisfactorily
distinguished between the two. The sexual theory of
the fertilization of plants was not clearly understood
until 1694. (Rudolf Jacob Camerarius).
Herodotus was particularly noted for presenting
information with respect to manner, customs, means of
livlihood and food of peoples about which he wrote.
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