Logographer (history)

Early Greek prose chroniclers and mythographers before Herodotus

Summary

A logographer in the historiographical sense was an early Greek prose writer of genealogies, local chronicles, and accounts of peoples and places active before and alongside Herodotus. The center of activity lay in Ionia and adjacent islands, and the preferred dialect was Ionic written in a continuous or "running" style. Their work systematized mythic traditions into prose narrative — especially city-foundations, ruling families, and ethnography — and supplied material later reworked by classical historians.

Originally created by 70.80.73.227

3/7/2005, 7:56:06 PM

Modified

11/16/2025, 8:55:43 PM

Recent revisions

Shhhnotsoloud11/16/2025, 8:55:43 PM

Remove hatnote: not needed at this unambiguous title ([[WP:NAMB]])

0xReflektor9/26/2025, 5:55:00 AM

Expansion, historical clarity, and table

PrimeBOT5/4/2025, 7:56:43 PM

/* top */ [[User:PrimeBOT/24|Task 24]]: template replacement following [[Wikipedia:Redirects_for_discussion/Log/2025_April_12#translation_redirects|an RFD]]

RockviewLove3/14/2025, 7:42:19 PM

Adding references

InedibleHulk12/8/2024, 5:40:47 PM

I'd say "a crude attempt to rationalize the current legends and traditions connected with the founding of cities, the genealogies of ruling families, and the manners and customs of individual peoples" is PLENTY more.

InedibleHulk12/8/2024, 5:38:55 PM

/* Famous logographers */ Renamed "Notable examples".

Timothy Cooper5/10/2024, 4:48:09 PM

Improved word order.

StarTrekker3/7/2024, 1:01:08 AM

/* Further reading */

StarTrekker3/7/2024, 1:00:08 AM

/* Further reading */

FrrrrESH100008/11/2023, 10:40:27 AM
IvanScrooge984/8/2023, 5:29:44 PM
Dewritech10/13/2022, 8:48:43 PM

clean up, [[WP:AWB/T|typo(s) fixed]]: 147-153 → 147–153

Gre regiment4/10/2022, 9:12:01 PM

/* Famous logographers */

Zenzyyx2/20/2022, 1:40:54 AM
Cote d'Azur7/23/2021, 6:24:24 AM

de-italicise

47.232.136.289/28/2020, 3:02:19 AM

/* Famous logographers */ removing link - wrong Damastes

Jmg388/15/2020, 11:48:00 AM

/* Famous logographers */ 15-year-old redlinks

Jmg388/15/2020, 11:45:58 AM

13-year-old redlinks

Wrong Bekker number for this passage in Aristotle's text

Paul August3/24/2020, 11:02:29 PM

Presumably

Contributors

Source: WikipediaView full article