If Herodotus is the father of history, who are some of his children? This episode looks into it. Starting with a brief look at Herodotus's reputation down the ages, we examine the works of three ancient historians whose works can be said to derive from our pal Herodotus. They include:

• Thucydides of Athens (c. 460-404 BCE), who purged his History of the Peloponnesian War of all that messy stuff about myths and gossip
• Procopius of Caesarea (c. 500-565 CE), who worked as an official historian for the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I - all while writing The Secret History about the nasty business Justinian got up to with his wife
• Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095-1195 CE), a patriotic Welshman whose pseudo-historical History of the Kings of Britain inspired generations of poets and writers with its detailed legends of King Arthur (and its "prophecies" by "Merlin" which include a lot of talk about a hedgehog in Winchester)

We also check in with the 26th American president, Teddy Roosevelt, who had some thoughts about history as literature. Bully!

Note: Thanks to Procopius, this episode discusses quite a bit of sexual content. Please use discretion when listening.

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