Abstract
The Histories is a work of monumental originality, and one that springs from monumental traditions. Herodotus occasionally refers to epic characters and deeds; moreover, story-patterns familiar from myths emerge from time to time in the Histories . This chapter considers how epic and mythical traditions interact with his work, both by shaping the narrative of events and by influencing the scope and style of the work as a whole. Aristotle, writing a century before the Halicarnassus inscription, emphasized the differences between epic and historiography. The text of Herodotus interacts frequently not only with epic narrative but with myths in general, by which traditional, culturally significant stories, often involved gods or heroes. The narratives of myth and history can well be expected to overlap, because both are generated in the same cultural climate and reflect its categories and concerns, whether psychological, social, or political. Keywords: Aristotle; epic; Halicarnassus; Herodotus; mythical traditions
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